nTime: 7:30 p.m.
nBracket: 2AA West
nSeeds: No. 9 East Burke Cavaliers vs. No. 8 Salisbury HornetsnRecords: East Burke 8-3; Salisbury 7-4
nSeries: First meeting
nMassey ratings: (No. 86) East Burke vs. (No. 76) Salisbury
nHead coaches: East Burke: Mike Biggerstaff; Salisbury: Joe Pinyan (62-26, 7th year)
n East Burke offense: 32.2 ppg
n East Burke defense: 14.1 ppg
n SHS offense: 33.6 ppg
n SHS defense: 12.5 ppg
n E. Burke vs. winning teams: 1-3n SHS vs. winning teams: 2-3
n Salisbury at home: 3-2
n E. Burke on the road: 4-1
n Who beat East Burke? Hibriten (11-0), Newton-Conover (10-1), Bandys (10-1)
n Who beat Salisbury? West Rowan (11-0), South Rowan (9-2), Thomasville (7-4), Davie (4-7)
nNext week: Winner takes on the Shelby-Bunker Hill winner
nGame notes: Statistically, the teams are almost identical and it’s basically a 50/50 first-round game for the Hornets, even at home.
East Burke, which draws from the rural communities of Connolly Springs and Icard, finished third in the Catawba Valley Conference behindtraditional powers Bandys and Newton-Conover, who lost one game apiece. East Burke’s other loss was by two points to Lenoir Hibriten, the No. 1 seed in the 3A West bracket.
East Burke is a ball-control team that has rushed for 2,914 yards, about 350 more than the Hornets. Eric Carson and Dustin Wilson are the primary ballcarriers.
Salisbury is led by 1,000-yard rusher Romar Morris and QB John Knox (14 TD passes). Nose Kiontae Rankin (6-foot-4, 390 pounds) keys the defense. He’s a roadblock to any running team. ó Mike London