All but one Randolph County football team make state playoffs

ASHEBORO — When the high school football season began, no one was quite sure how the changes in conferences, the addition of four more classifications and not knowing for sure if teams would be placed in the East or West region would affect the playoffs.

After the regular season was completed this past week, the playoff scenario has turned out pretty well for the Randolph County teams. Six of the seven county teams qualified for the postseason with five of those six earning first-round byes.

Asheboro, the No. 6 seed in the 6-A West; Eastern Randolph, the No. 3 seed in the 3-A West; Providence Grove, the No. 5 seed in the 3-A West; Randleman, the No. 5 seed in the 4-A East; and Southwestern Randolph, the No. 8 seed in the 4-A East, all earned first-round byes.

Wheatmore will be the only Randolph County team in first-round action as the No. 22 Warriors travel to No. 11 West Wilkes.

“That’s pretty good for Randolph County,” RHS coach David Diamont said of five teams earning first-round byes. “There were a lot of competitive football games in the county.”

Randleman (7-3) is in a most unusual situation as the TIgers earned a first-round bye coming after a bye in the final week of the regular season.

“There are definitely positives and negatives,” Diamont said of the two weeks off. “Our job is to keep them locked in. Seeing that light at the end of the tunnel. I’m very fortunate in that I have most of the varsity players in my first and second period class, so I can not only work in the weight room, but sit and talk to them about the playoffs. We have been aware of a bye in the first round and they have been aware.”

The Tigers will play the winner of No. 12 North Pitt and No. 21 Cummings in the second round.

After capturing its fifth consecutive league title, ER (8-2) will sit at home in the first round and host the winner of the No. 14 Owen and No. 19 Union Academy in round two.

Asheboro (7-3) will enter second-round play next week against either No. 11 Dudley or No. 22 Glenn with the most wins since the 2016 season. It will be the first time AHS, which finished fourth in the Triad Area Athletic Conference, has advanced to the second round since that 2016 season.

PG (8-2) has taken huge strides this season and the Central Carolina Conference champions will host the winner of conference foe and No. 12 seed West Davidson and No. 21 Madison.

SWR (7-3) has won five of its last six games and will host the winner of the game featuring No. 9 Eastern Wayne and No. 24 Anson. The Cougars, whose second-place finish in the Four Rivers Conference was the highest in school history, will be appearing in the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history.

“We’re excited to be in the second round for the first time,” SWR coach Seth Baxter said. “It may happen other times, but to be a part of the first time is special. Our group has gotten better every week and our coaching staff has done a great job.”