The Triangle Is Deep With Playoff Teams

There are still at least 4 teams from the Triangle left in the playoffs in each Class 4a bracket. In the 4AA bracket you have Wake Forest, Apex, Garner, and Leesville Rd. The only team out of the 4 with a home game will be Wake Forest, so if you want to brave the freezing temperatures Friday night come out and root for the Cougars against Lumberton. Interesting enough this bracket is wide open. No one is undefeated and all of the teams seemed to have picked up steam. My wild card would be Garner. If they can contain Jack Britt's running game and establish their own with the threat of 6'4" receiver on the outside then an upset could be in the making. Since starting 1-2, Garner they has been playing some solid football against some good teams. Don't be shocked if they show up in the Eastern Regionals. In the 4A bracket things are a little more interesting with 5 Triangle teams still competing for a shot at the title game. 3 of the 5 teams will be at home, but all of the games will be within driving distance since Middle Creek will be at SE Raleigh and Hillside will travel about 10 minutes away to play Southern Durham. The Hillside vs Southern Durham match-up is the most intriguing one here. You have the PAC6 Tri-champions playing each other in the 2nd round of the playoffs and not to mention that they are heated rivals. Hillside has overcome the media's dismissal of them this year by just winning. No one thought they could compete with Southern going into the year, but the game was a nail biter. No one thought they could beat Chapel Hill, but they used superior speed to run sideline to sideline instead of straight at the largest defensive line in the conference. When these teams play home field is out the window due to the close proximity of these schools. You couldn't ask for a better playoff match-up. The only thing that I regret is that it's only in the 2nd round. (Update) Game has been moved to Durham County Stadium in expectation of a large crowd. The TRI8 dispelled all myths that the conference was weak when Middle Creek and Apex ousted the Greater Neuse duo of West Johnston and Smithfield-Selma. I expect Fuquay to make it to the Eastern finals and with the brackets setup the way they are another Triangle team will definitely be there.