This rivalry will get even bigger

Most of the football buzz around Forsyth County this week has been about tonight's rematch between Mount Tabor and Reynolds.

Most of the groans have come from the western part of the county.

"It's awful," said Coach Adrian Snow of West Forsyth. "Every time somebody asks me who we are playing, and I tell them, and it's ‘Oh, oh, oh, no.'"

Reynolds (12-0) and Mount Tabor (9-3) will meet at Deaton-Thompson Stadium in the second round of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs.

West (10-2) will try to keep its season alive in a 4-AA game at Matthews Butler, which is 12-0 and was ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press' final regular-season poll.

"They are a very good football team, very good, no doubt about it," Snow said of Butler. "But Lord, everyone I listen to thinks they are the Indianapolis Colts and they have (Peyton) Manning back there. But the quarterback they have, he is close."

At Deaton-Thompson, Mount Tabor and Reynolds must overcome not only a big rival but all the distractions that come with the matchup. Reynolds defeated Mount Tabor 28-21 on Oct. 16 in a game that was easily one of the most anticipated of the season and lived up to the hype.

This one is bigger.

"It's the biggest game I have had here in eight years -- I know it is," said Coach Mike Propst of Reynolds. "We need to win a second-round playoff game. We are undefeated and we need to continue that, and Tabor multiplies that by about 1,000."

In the first game, Mount Tabor scored on the first play from scrimmage and later led 14-7 before Reynolds came back.

"We were never quite able to play with a lead like we wanted to," said Coach Laymarr Marshall of Mount Tabor. "I am not sure we had the lead and the momentum at any time. Every time we delivered a blow, they answered like a great team does. We made some big plays, but we could have intercepted the ball we tipped to them in the end zone. We have to come up with that play. We dropped three interceptions."

Two players who have made a major impact, and did in the first game, are juniors -- receiver Jake Gainey of Reynolds and quarterback Brad Morton of Mount Tabor. Marshall said after last week's victory over Western Guilford that his team wouldn't kick off to Gainey anymore -- Gainey returned one 86 yards for a score in the first game.

And Propst had effusive praise for Morton, calling him the best quarterback in the Central Piedmont 4-A. That's saying a lot, given the numbers that Reynolds' Craven Knotts has.

Both coaches are so well-versed in the other's game plans and tendencies that there likely won't be an element of surprise.

"We know what they do, and they know what we do, and there are some wrinkles we will have to put in," Propst said. "But on the other hand, we are 12 games into this. We have won 21 of 24 games combined. We have both been pretty successful doing what we do."

West Forsyth's Snow was full of one-liners this week, adding some humor to his team's task at Butler. Christian LeMay, Butler's 6-2, 200-pound junior quarterback, has a long list of scholarship offers, including one from Florida, and directs an offense that averages 46.5 points.

Last week, LeMay threw five touchdown passes in the first half of a 47-20 victory over West Charlotte.

"You can see what people see in him," Snow said. "He wants to beat you with his arm, but he can do it with his feet, too. He has a lot of moxie. It's such a good arm that this week in practice, we took Josh McGee (West's quarterbacks coach and former quarterback at West and Winston-Salem State) and put him on our scout team because the velocity of the ball being thrown will be totally different."

Watching game tapes showed Snow that some Butler opponents didn't appear ready to play, he said.

"We have to go down there and fight, and we have to not give them anything," Snow said. "They have to earn everything they get. We are not going to forfeit and pay the $1,000 and not go. How about that?"

mlinker@wsjournal.com.



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NCHSAA football playoffs

(All games tonight at 7:30)

Class 4-AA East second round

No. 8 Garner (7-5) at No. 1 Wake Forest Rolesville (12-0)

No. 5 Fuquay-Varina (10-2) at No. 4 Southern Pines Pinecrest (10-2)

No. 11 Raleigh Leesville Road (9-3) at No. 3 Fayetteville Britt (11-1)

No. 7 Lumberton (8-4) at No. 2 Wilmington Hoggard (8-4)

Class 4-AA West second round

No. 8 West Forsyth (10-2) at No. 1 Matthews Butler (12-0)

No. 12 East Mecklenburg (7-5) at No. 4 Charlotte Olympic (10-2)

No. 6 Charlotte Independence (11-1) at No. 3 Charlotte Mallard Creek (10-1)

No. 10 Charlotte Providence (8-4) at No. 2 Richmond Senior (11-1)

Class 4-A East second round

No. 8 Raleigh Athens Drive (9-3) at No. 1 Southern Durham (11-1)

No. 5 Wilmington New Hanover (9-3) def. No. 4 Fayetteville Sanford, forfeit

No. 6 Durham Hillside (9-3) at No. 3 Apex Middle Creek (11-1)

No. 7 Southeast Raleigh (9-2) at No. 2 Harnett Central (12-0)

Class 4-A West second round

No. 8 Mount Tabor (9-3) at No. 1 Reynolds (12-0)

No. 5 Alexander Central (10-1) at No. 4 Asheville Reynolds (10-2)

No. 6 Monroe Sun Valley (9-3) at No. 3 Ragsdale (12-0)

No. 10 High Point Central (9-3) at No. 2 Greensboro Dudley (11-1)

Class 3-AA East second round

No. 8 Rocky Mount (7-4) at No. 1 South Johnston (11-1)

No. 12 Fayetteville Byrd (8-4) at No. 4 West Brunswick (8-3)

No. 11 Southern Nash (9-3) at No. 3 Wilson Hunt (9-3)

No. 10 Pikeville Aycock (10-2) at No. 2 Hope Mills Gray's Creek (10-2)

Class 3-AA West second round

No. 9 Hickory Ridge (7-5) at No. 1 Northern Guilford (11-1)

No. 13 Shelby Crest (7-4) at No. 12 Wadesboro Anson (8-4)

No. 11 Asheville Erwin (8-4) at No. 3 Kannapolis Brown (10-2)

No. 7 Belmont South Point (10-2) at No. 2 Gastonia Forestview (10-2)

Class 3-A East second round

No. 9 China Grove Carson (7-5) at No. 1 Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (11-1)

No. 5 Eastern Alamance (11-1) at No. 4 West Craven (10-2)

No. 6 East Rowan (9-3) at No. 3 Havelock (11-1)

No. 7 Western Alamance (9-3) at No. 2 Hertford County (12-0)

Class 3-A West second round

No. 8 Concord (6-6) at No. 1 Lenoir Hibriten (12-0)

No. 5 Lawndale Burns (6-6) at No. 4 Waynesville Tuscola (10-1-1)

No. 6 Franklin (10-2) at No. 3 Asheville (10-0-1)

No. 10 Rutherfordton-Spindale Central (9-3) at No. 2 West Rowan (12-0)

Class 2-AA East second round

No. 9 Kinston (10-2) at No. 1 East Duplin (12-0)

No. 5 Pittsboro Northwood (11-1) at No. 4 South Granville (9-3)

No. 6 Bunn (9-3) at No. 3 Reidsville (12-0)

No. 7 Jacksonville Northside (9-3) at No. 2 SouthWest Edgecombe (12-0)

Class 2-AA West second round

No. 8 Salisbury (8-4) at No. 1 Shelby (11-1)

No. 5 Canton Pisgah (8-4) at No. 4 Marshville Forest Hills (9-3)

No. 6 West Stokes (8-4) at No. 3 East Lincoln (10-2)

No. 7 Newton-Conover (11-1) at No. 2 Catawba Bandys (11-1)

Class 2-A East second round

No. 8 Louisburg (9-3) at No. 1 East Bladen (12-0)

No. 5 Siler City Jordan-Matthews (10-2) at No. 4 Fairmont (5-6)

No. 6 Tarboro (11-1) at No. 3 Roanoke Rapids (9-3)

No. 7 Whiteville (8-3) at No. 2 Kill Devil Hills First Flight (10-2)

Class 2-A West second round

No. 9 Lexington (6-6) at No. 1 Starmount (10-2)

No. 5 Polk County (10-2) at No. 4 Thomasville (8-4)

No. 6 Lincolnton (9-3) at No. 3 Carver (8-4)

No. 10 Eastern Randolph (8-4) at No. 2 Burnsville Mountain Heritage (10-2)

Class 1-AA East second round

No. 8 Warsaw Kenan (7-5) at No. 1 Southwest Onslow (12-0)

No. 5 Ayden-Grifton (7-5) at No. 4 Pender (10-1)

No. 14 Rocky Point Trask (5-7) at No. 11 Gates County (6-6)

No. 7 Southeast Halifax (4-8) at No. 2 Goldsboro (10-2)

Class 1-AA West second round

No. 8 Murphy (8-4) at No. 1 Albemarle (12-0)

No. 5 Bessemer City (8-4) at No. 4 Swain County (8-3)

No. 11 East Wilkes (7-5) at No. 3 Hendersonville (10-2)

No. 7 West Montgomery (9-3) at No. 2 Monroe (12-0)

Class 1-A East second round

No. 9 Plymouth (8-4) at No. 1 Manteo (12-0)

No. 5 Williamston (10-2) at No. 4 Wallace-Rose Hill (10-2)

No. 6 Trenton Jones (8-4) at No. 3 Weldon (10-1)

No. 7 North Edgecombe (7-4) at No. 2 Creswell (11-0)

Class 1-A West second round

No. 9 West Columbus (6-6) at No. 1 Mount Airy (12-0)

No. 5 Hobbton (9-3) at No. 4 Princeton (9-3)

No. 6 South Stanly (8-4) at No. 3 Robbinsville (9-2)

No. 10 North Duplin (5-7) at No. 2 Elkin (10-2)