Three straight days of rain have left once firm football fields more like rice paddies, but in most cases, area teams will try to play first-round games tonight in the NCHSAA's Class 4-A and Class 4-AA playoffs.
Mount Tabor was the only team from Forsyth County to make an early decision to postpone. The Spartans (8-3) will play Western Guilford (5-6) in Class 4-A at 7:30 Saturday night.
Officials at Reynolds were in a holding pattern yesterday and will decide this morning when to play. Reynolds, 11-0 and seeded No. 1 in the 4-A West bracket, will be at home against Asheville Roberson (4-7).
Under NCHSAA guidelines, any teams that postpone games tonight because of inclement weather or poor field conditions must reschedule for Saturday, the next available playing date.
West Forsyth, 9-2 after losing its last two regular-season games, will open at home tonight against Lake Norman (8-3) in Class 4-AA.
Coach Adrian Snow of West said that his players seemed OK this week considering that they went from being on an undefeated team to finishing third in the Central Piedmont 4-A in just two weeks. Snow said that Lake Norman has some quality linemen and that it reminds him of North Davidson.
"If you don't do what you are supposed to, you will get your hind end beat," Snow said. "But I am glad we are at home. I thought we deserved one, especially after the last two years with all the games we have won and had to go on the road."
There aren't many coaches who would trade places with East Forsyth's Todd Willert, who will take his 6-5 Eagles to Charlotte Independence tonight. Independence (10-1 and coming off its only loss this season) has played in eight of the last nine 4-AA finals and won seven straight titles (2001-07). Last season, the Patriots were knocked out in the semifinals.
But Willert, whose team has rolled off four straight wins, including a playoff-saving 17-16 win over Glenn last Friday, said that his players have nothing to lose, and that they practiced that way this week.
"Lots of kids out there have never dreamed about playing against this kind of competition," Willert said. "The kids are positive, and it's going to be a great atmosphere. Independence can score so far. They are fast, but people have put some points up on them, so we are just working hard to come up with a game plan."
Coach Laymarr Marshall of Mount Tabor said that his team is coming together heading into Saturday's game against Western Guilford.
"It's been a little bit of a disjointed year with all the injuries, and over the last month, we have had a pretty consistent lineup," Marshall said. "We feel good about ourselves. We have a saying that we always want to be playing our best football in November. All the decisions we make, small and large, try to lead us to this point."
Reynolds has been on a roll and should be able to continue it if it can stop Roberson's running game.
"They have completed five passes in the last three games, and maybe thrown only 20," Coach Mike Propst of Reynolds said. "They have used three different quarterbacks. They are a big, scrappy team, typical of Asheville. We put them in catch-up mode, and we should be in good shape. That's the not the style of offense they run."
mlinker@wsjournal.com.
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