It worked out well for a couple of Randolph County football teams playing home games Friday night when the state playoffs began.
Not so much for teams going on the road.
Eastern Randolph and Randleman were the lone county teams to keep their seasons alive.
Here’s a look:
Eastern Randolph 68, Cherryville 7: In Class 1-A at Ramseur, the third-seeded Wildcats cruised against the No. 30 seed.
Eastern Randolph (10-1) has won 10 consecutive games.
Next, the Wildcats welcome No. 14 seed Hayesville (7-4) for a second-round game. Hayesville topped Christ the King 28-0 in the first round.
Randleman 43, West Stanly 0: In Class 2-A at Randleman, Edison Hernandez scored three touchdowns for the sixth-seeded Tigers (10-1).
Tyshaun Goldston made two touchdown catches and racked up 156 receiving yards, while on defense he intercepted a pair of passes.
John Kirkpatrick threw for two touchdowns.
Hernandez gained 134 rushing yards. Dylan Atkins ran for a touchdown.
Randleman’s second game comes against visiting Forest Hills (10-1), the No. 11 seed which has won its past two games against Anson County – 22-20 to end the regular season and 28-7 in the first round.
West Stokes 19, Southwestern Randolph 6: In Class 2-A at King, the No. 17 seed Cougars didn’t generate any points on offense as their season closed.
The lone points for Southwestern Randolph (6-5) came on Nathan Ellis’ 80-yard kickoff return. Scoring woes were a constant for the Cougars, who failed to reach the 20-point mark in six games this year.
All the scoring took place in the first half. No. 16 seed West Stokes (7-4) never trailed.
East Surry 42, Providence Grove 13: In Class 2-A at Pilot Mountain, the visiting Patriots couldn’t keep up after taking an early lead.
No. 19 seed Providence Grove (6-5) led 7-6 on Logan Fox’s 5-yard run and Tucker Batten’s extra-point kick. No. 14 seed East Surry (8-3) scored the next 36 points.
Jacob Flinchum had the other touchdown for the Patriots, who lost four of their final five games under first-year coach David Hayes.
Brevard 44, Trinity 13: In Class 2-A at Brevard, Dominic Payne scored both of the touchdowns for the No. 25 seed Bulldogs (5-6), who completed their first season under coach Bear Bradley.
Payne scored on a pass from Noah Bradley and on a kickoff return.
Eighth-seeded Brevard (9-2) has won nine games in a row.
