With a win, Southern would be champion after perfect PAC-6 run

BY JOE JOHNSON

jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667

For the past two seasons Southern has shared the PAC-6 title but this year the Spartans are in no mood to share.

Southern (9-1, 5-0 PAC-6) will take on Northern (0-9, 0-5) at Durham County Stadium in its regular-season finale. A win by the Spartans would give them the conference title all by themselves and that is something Southern coach Adrian Jones said winning the championship is a goal the team has been working for all season.

"I like the way we've been playing this season and the work the team has done is paying off," Jones said. "It will be big for the team to win the championship and it will be big for the staff. This year we don't want to share it."

Northern has limped through the year and still is seeking its first victory. The Knights fell victim to a 50-yard field goal by East Chapel Hill in their last game. Jones said he has seen some progress by Northern through the season and he wants to make sure his team doesn't take the Knights lightly.

"It is a rivalry game," Jones said. "We know they will be ready and we have to be ready, too."

Riverside (4-5, 2-2) is looking to get back to the .500 mark overall but to do so the Pirates will have to beat Person (4-5, 2-2).

Riverside coach Todd Spell said he expects the game to be a close one because of the outcomes from previous seasons.

"Every year that we've played them it's been a close game," Spell said. "We're just compatible [opponents]."

One thing that will be at stake in the game is playoff positioning based on the PAC-6 standings. With both teams having two losses, neither team wants to drop behind the other.

"Playoff positioning is on the line," Spell said. "We got a lot to play for. We have to play smart and not shoot ourselves in the foot again. We can't have any bad penalties, either."

Hillside (6-3, 3-1) has won three straight and will visit East Chapel Hill (1-8, 1-3), which got its first win of the season last week against Northern.

Hillside coach Antonio King and East Chapel Hill coach Issac Marsh were high school teammates with the Hornets and later at Howard University.

"It's going to be fun going up against my friend," King said. "We don't want to take them lightly because they are a better team than their record.

In the Carolina 6 3-A race, Orange (5-4, 2-1) is looking to bounce back from a tough loss last week at Southern Vance. The Panthers will be hosting Cardinal Gibbons (8-1, 3-0), the remaining unbeaten team in the conference standings.

The other game in this league has Southern Vance (4-5, 1-2) visiting Chapel Hill (4-5, 2-1).

In the Carolina 9 1-A/2-A, Carrboro (3-6, 0-3) will be at home squaring off against winless Granville Central.

Carrboro coach Jason Tudryn said his team, which still has playoff asperations, is excited about playing a meaningful game so late in the season.

"There has been a good sense of urgency with the team," Tudryn said. "It's going to be a playoff type of atmosphere because they see it as a big game, too. It's an opportunity for them to get their first win and they've been improving. It's gonig to come down to the team that executes better."

The other game in the conference pits a pair of teams that have yet to lose a league game. Cedar Ridge (7-2, 2-0) has found ways to escape with victories in a lot of games this season and it will find another tough challenge when it travels to South Granville (6-3, 2-0).