Three Triangle football teams vying for a spot in a state championship game
Perhaps there hasn’t been a more impressive team in the 2019 playoffs than Leesville Road.
The Pride, the No. 2 seed in the 4AA bracket, got a first-round bye, then dominated two opponents, Hoke County and Garner, by a combined score of 84-14.
One could make the argument that the Pride (12-0) has been the most complete team, start to finish, in the Triangle. Now Leesville Road is one game away from a state title game and on Friday will make its first 4AA Regional Final since 2007.
Standing in the way is No. 1 Wake Forest (12-1), the three-time defending 4AA state champions. The Cougars are making their fourth-straight trip to the regional finals and ninth in school history. From the beginning of August, it looked like these two former conference rivals were on a rpath to meet at this point of the season.
Playing this deep in the playoffs isn’t new for Wake Forest, but it’s a first time for this Leesville team that delivered on their preseason expectations.
“It’s been a grind of a year, each week was a challenge and a tough battle and our kids have been waiting for this,” Pride head coach Ben Kolstad said. “They’ve won a lot of games over the last couple of years and they’ve just been waiting for the playoffs.”
Leesville seniors have won 30 games in three years
Most of the core group of seniors on the Leesville roster have played on the varsity team since they were sophomores. They’ve won 30 games in three years and a conference title. But with those sophomores now seniors, the Pride has been the favorite to represent the 4AA East. But with that type of lens on the program, Leesville got the best version of each team they played this season. But the Pride passed each test, especially in the postseason.
“It’s that pressure of losing. We’re a family and we don’t want to leave each other,” senior defensive tackle Tylik Caine said. “We talk about it every day. Every Friday, seven in the morning, we are texting each other ‘this isn’t going to be our last game together.’ We’re family, especially the seniors.”
Wake Forest, however, has been a thorn in the side of those seniors. The seniors at Leesville have gone 0-3 against the Cougars. Wake Forest defeated the Pride twice in 2018, including ending their season in the 2018 playoffs.
But under Kolstad, who took over this past summer, the current Leesville team has been able to focus and still has its sights set on winning it all, no matter who stands in the way.
“We’re ready,” Kolstad said after Leesville’s 41-7 win over Garner last Friday. “Everyone has doubted us all year, so we don’t really care what anyone else says. We just come to play every week and we don’t care who plays us.”
High school football playoff schedule
All games start at 7:30 PM
1A East Finals
(2) North Edgecombe (10-3) vs. (4) Northampton County (10-3)
These two teams from rural eastern North Carolina are very familiar with each other. The Warriors and Jaguars have been in the same conference since Northampton County High School opened in 2012. Since then, the Jaguars have a 5-3 advantage in the series, but the Warriors won this year’s regular-season contest 46-28.
North Edgecombe, one of the perennial powers in the 1A in the late 90s and early 2000s, hasn’t been to the regional finals since 2009.
1AA East Finals
(1)Tarboro (13-0) vs. (2) John A. Holmes (12-0)
There are two teams in Edgecombe county playing for a spot in a state title game. Tarboro is looking to advance to its third straight 1AA championship game. The Vikings are playing in the east regional for the 14th time and fourth time since dropping to the 1A classification. Tarboro is on a 43-game winning streak.
If Holmes played in another division, or any other part of the state, it might have a couple of 1AA titles. After finishing as state runner up as a 2A team in 2016, the Aces were eliminated from the 1AA regional finals by Tarboro in 2017 (50-7) and 2018 (48-7).
In 2017 and 2018 the only two teams to beat Holmes were Northeastern and the Vikings. The Aces knocked off the Eagles earlier this season. Can they exorcise two demons in one year?
2A East Finals
(1)Clinton (12-1) vs. (3) Northeastern (11-3)
Clinton looks to make a return to glory. The Darkhorses have played in five state championship games in the past 18 years, but have been left out of the title game since 2014. Standing in their way is Elizabeth City-Northeastern, which finished second in the state last year.
This will be the fourth regional final for the Eagles.
3A
(1) Southern Nash (14-0) vs. (3) Eastern Alamance (14-0)
The Firebirds lost one of the best players in school history (Bam Knight, who’s now at N.C. State) and somehow got better this season. Led by Wake Forest commit Quinton Cooley (2,633 yards, 45 touchdowns), Southern Nash rolls into their first regional finals in 10 years.
3AA
(1) Lee County (14-0) vs. (2) New Hanover (13-1)
The Yellow Jackets have been on a roll all year and have redeemed their first-round playoff exit from a year ago. The 14 wins are a school record, but standing in front of a 3AA championship game appearance for Lee County is New Hanover.
The Wildcats won the 3AA championship two years ago.
4A
(4) Cardinal Gibbons (11-2) vs. (6) Scotland (12-2)
The Crusaders have rolled through the postseason, outscoring their opponents 84-7 in two games. Gibbons has played against some of the top powerhouse 4A programs in Eastern North Carolina (Richmond, Wake Forest, New Bern) and have one more ahead in the Scots.
Scotland County has finished as the 4A runner up four times since 2012, including the past two seasons. The Scots also eliminated the Crusaders from the postseason in 2018, when they won 7-6. Cardinal Gibbons rides into the game as winners of eight in a row and have two levels of motivation - payback for last year and a 4A title game appearance.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Three Triangle football teams vying for a spot in a state championship game."
