Eastern Randolph and Randleman will play home football games to begin the state playoffs Friday night, while Asheboro makes a long-awaited return to the postseason.
Eastern Randolph (10-0), the Piedmont Athletic Conference champion for a fourth year a row, is the No. 4 seed in the Class 1A West Region with a game against No. 29 seed Swain County (1-9).
In Class 2A, fourth-seeded Randleman (8-2), which has lost its last two games, is home against No. 29 seed East Gaston (4-6).
No. 27 seed Southwestern Randolph (6-4) visits sixth-seeded East Surry (8-2), which holds a seven-game winning streak and won the Foothills Conference with a 6-0 record.
The Cardinals were one of the teams playing make-up games last week, drubbing host West Wilkes 49-0.
Providence Grove (3-7), Trinity (3-7) and Wheatmore (1-9) didn’t qualify for the postseason.
In Class 3A, this will be Asheboro’s first appearance in the state playoffs since 2016.
The No. 28 seed Blue Comets (4-6), who tied for fourth place in the Mid-Piedmont Conference, go to fifth-seeded Greensboro Dudley (10-0) for the first round.
Asheboro’s last postseason game resulted in a second-round loss to visiting Eastern Guilford in 2016.
Since that defeat, the Blue Comets have won just 12 of their last 79 games. This year, they have their most victories since the 9-4 record in 2016.
