Panther Creek defeated Green Hope 28-18 last friday to cap off a 9-2 season (6-1 SWAC). The NCHSAA released the 4-AA state playoff bracket the following day, giving Panther Creek the five seed in the East. This will be Panther Creek’s fourth appearance in the 4-AA state football playoffs in the last five seasons. Because of the Catamounts’ seed, they will get a home game for at least the first round. The five seeds always play the twelve seed, which is normally an easy win for any five seed. However, the twelve seed  that Panther Creek is matched up against is Wake Forest, setting up a week one rematch.

Wake Forest defeated the Catamounts 28-14 on their home field in the first game of the season. The Cougars jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead against a rusty Panther Creek team. Panther Creek finally found a rhythm in the second half, outscoring Wake Forest 14-7, but it was too little, too late. Wake Forest is lead by their junior running back Bryce Love, who has offers from college football powers Clemson, Ohio State, Stanford, and Tennessee, among others. Love has rushed for 1682 yards this season and has been on fire for the last half of the season. On the other side of the ball, ball-hawking cornerback  Chris Leonard intercepted the Catamounts three times in the season opener and has been the Cougars’ most consistent defensive threat.

One game that everyone at Panther Creek will be keeping an eye on is the number four seed Pinecrest (Southern Pines, NC) taking on the number thirteen seed Laney (Wilmington, NC). Pinecrest comes into the matchup ranked seventh in the 4-A class AP poll with a 10-1 record. Laney brings a less impressive 6-4 record to the table. Why is this game important? If Panther Creek defeats Wake Forest at home in the first round, the Catamounts will take on the victor of the Pinecrest-Laney game. If Pinecrest wins as expected, their superior seed (four) will grant them home field advantage against either the Catamounts or the Cougars in the second round. If Laney pulls off the unthinkable and upsets Pinecrest, the winner of the Panther Creek-Wake Forest will host them in the second round because both teams possess higher seeds (five and twelve compared to Laney’s thirteen).

Should Panther Creek advance to the quarterfinals, they would play either Wakefield (1), Green Hope (16), Leesville Road (8), or Millbrook (9). Wakefield is the number one overall seed in the East, and should advance past the number 16 seed Green Hope, who squeaked into the playoffs with a losing record (5-6). Leesville Road and Millbrook is arguably the best matchup of the entire first round. Leesville Road defeated Millbrook 7-3 in a rainstorm in the second to last week of the regular season, so the matchup could swing in either team’s favor. Wakefield barely edged Leesville Road 34-31 last week, while Millbrook is the only team to have defeated Wakefield this season. That being said, there is a very good chance that Wakefield gets defeated in the second round, granting Panther Creek the opportunity for home field advantage in the quarterfinals.

The other region in the East bracket is much less complicated. Barring any upsets, either the number six seed Garner,  number three seed Jack Britt (Fayetteville, NC), or number two seed Middle Creek should advance to the East semifinals to face Panther Creek if the Catamounts manage to advance that far. In the West, the semifinals will most likely come down to number one seed West Forsyth (Forsyth, NC), or number two seed Mallard Creek (Charlotte, NC).