By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — South Rowan’s return to the football playoffs for the first time in 15 years is a pleasant event, although it’s expected to be a brief visit.

Seeded 26th, South (5-5) travels to Hendersonville to play at No. 7 West Henderson (7-3) on Friday in the opening round of the 3A West state playoffs.

South earned its way into the playoffs with a strong finishing kick, four wins in the South Piedmont Conference and a fourth-place finish. West Henderson was one of the tri-champions in the Mountain 7 Conference, along with Smoky Mountain and Pisgah. Those three teams finished neck-and-neck-and-neck in the 3A West power rankings. West Henderson was 13th, just ahead of its two league rivals, but has a better seed than 13th because it is seeded as a conference champion.

South has played well on the road — 3-2 — while West Henderson is 4-2 at home.

West Henderson quarterback Cade Young throws the ball quite a bit, but the key player for West Henderson probably is Zane McCraw, a two-way athlete who is the leading rusher and the leading tackler.

South is led offensively by the trio of QB Brooks Overcash, running back Bryson Frieze and receiver Jadon Moore. Sophomore linebacker Owen Smith leads in tackles.

In the Simmons Power Ratings, West Henderson, also known as the Falcons, is virtually identical in strength to West Rowan, so that provides an idea of the challenge South is facing. For the Raiders, this will be like going over to Mount Ulla — but driving an extra 135 miles. West Henderson is favored by three touchdowns.

South has never played West Henderson.

Is a South win conceivable? Yes. Is it likely? No.

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KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown (5-5) made the 4A West playoffs, but that’s where the good news ends.

When you’re seeded 31st, the bracket isn’t going to do you any favors. The Wonders travel to Weddington. The Warriors have won 15 in a row. According to the Simmons Power Ratings, second-seeded Weddington (9-0) is the second-best team in the entire state, behind only Grimsley.

The Wonders are 2-4 on the road, while Weddington is 4-0 at home.

The duo of QB CJ Gray and running back Mekhi Herron leads A.L. Brown’s offense. Linebacker Parker Laughlin is the leading tackler.

The programs have played a few times. The Wonders have won two out of three meetings, but that was a different sort of Weddington.

Weddington is favored by 57 — seriously, 57 — according to the Simmons Power Ratings, but the Wonders will do better than that.

Weddington linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., the son of the former Carolina Panther, will be fun to watch. He’s a 4-star recruit committed to Notre Dame.

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SPENCER — North Rowan (6-4) enters the 1A state playoffs with a two-game losing streak, but has had time to heal injuries and has a chance to make a run.

The Cavaliers finished behind 2As Salisbury and Lexington, but they were the top 1A team in the 1A/2A Central Carolina Conference, so they are seeded as a conference champion. That’s why they are a lofty No. 7 in the 1A West bracket and are preparing for what should be a routine first-round smackdown of 26th-seeded Cherryville (3-7).

Cherryville has suffered some scary losses against bigger schools — 75-0 to Burns and 70-0 to Shelby.

North is favored by 37 points by the Simmons Power Ratings, well, actually 39 if you throw in the two points for home-field advantage.

The Simmons Ratings rank Cherryville 362nd out of 408 teams in the state. They are rated as being maybe a touchdown better than East Davidson, one of the teams North clobbered in the CCC.

Cherryville is 1-4 on the road. North is 2-3 at home, but has played better on the road.

North has never played Cherryville in football, but is looking forward to it.

Jeremiah Alford and Emari Russell lead the passing game, while Jo Jo Tarver has been Rowan’s rushing leader. Linebacker Michael Alford is the leading tackler for the Cavaliers.

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SALISBURY — Fifth-seeded Salisbury, the CCC champs, didn’t have to watch much film to get ready for the 2A West playoffs.

The Hornets (9-1) have a rematch with No. 28 seed West Davidson on Friday at Ludwig Stadium. That’s a conference opponent that they played on a Monday night during the regular season. Salisbury won that meeting, 42-7, although it was only 7-0 at halftime. Hank Webb finished with three TD passes and a rushing TD, and the Hornets snowballed the Green Dragons (6-4) in the second half.

Webb, running back Hez Krider and receivers Jay’lin Johnson and Macari House have helped the Hornets put up big offensive numbers.

Linebacker Emmanuel Asare is the leading tackler for a stingy defense.

Salisbury leads the all-time series 15-4 and is favored by four touchdowns by the Simmons Power Ratings. Simmons ranks the Hornets No. 10 in 2A.

West Davidson, the fourth-place finisher in the CCC, is coached by former South Rowan standout Brian Billings.

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MOUNT ULLA — The game of the night should be at Patton High School in Morganton, where West Rowan will be tangling with the Freedom Patriots.

Freedom sustained major flooding to its field house and football field from Hurricane Helene. Patton, which is about 12 minutes away from Freedom, reached out a helping hand to its rival, and Freedom played its final home games of the regular season there. This is like South Rowan playing home games at Carson.

West Rowan and Freedom finished almost dead-even in the final 3A West RPI rankings. Both were third-place teams and both posted 6-4 overall records, but Freedom is seeded as a conference champion as the top 3A squad in a split 3A/4A league. That’s why Freedom is No. 9 and West Rowan is No. 24.

The Simmons Power Ratings give West Rowan about a 5-point edge, but when you factor in the road trip and something of a home-field advantage, although maybe not a full home-field advantage for Freedom, West is reduced to a 3-point favorite.

It’s a spread-offense world, but Freedom runs the triple option. That style of offense, which will have a freshman QB directing it, can be challenging to prepare for in a short time.

But West Rowan has talented personnel on both sides of the ball. West probably should have been 8-2, but let two games get away.

West has a massive offensive line — well, 80 percent of it is massive — so the Falcons can combine a power running game with a high-percentage passing attack. West also has a competent kicking game and athletes all over the place on defense, so it’s a team equipped to make playoff noise if it all comes together.

Quarterback Brant Graham, running back Jaylen Neely and versatile Evan Kennedy lead West’s offense. The leading tackler is linebacker Cameron Martin.

West’s history against Freedom is a success story. The Falcons beat Freedom in playoff battles in 2009, 2016 and 2019.

JK Adkins, a former Salisbury assistant who won two recent 1A state titles at Mount Airy, is in his first season at Freedom. Adkins will be head coach for the East-West All-Star Game.

Who’s better — West Rowan or Salisbury? That’s a good question. The Simmons Power Ratings give the edge to the Hornets by 5 points.