A few area story lines captivate the NCHSAA 2A football state playoffs this year.
In the beginning, it was a sure thing Kinston and Ayden-Grifton would at the very least make it to the playoffs.
Well, they made it, but one not so stylishly.
The Chargers started the year 0-6 before going on to sweep the Eastern Carolina 2A conference. Ayden-Grifton began its conference play sluggishly, and understandably so after an injury-plagued roster began filling up the field again.
A couple of weeks in, the Chargers proved they were contenders for the conference title and that they were back in action.
Also in the beginning, calling Greene Central a playoff contender was the furthest prediction from anyone’s mind.
But here we stand in the first round, and the Rams are in the state playoffs, as unlikely as it was at the start of the 2013 season.
First-year coach Allen Wooten took over a program that was on a nine-gamelosing streak, a drought that extended deep into his inaugural campaign. However, three big wins was all it took for the Rams to keep their season going at least one more week.
Here are the first-round matchups:
No. 10 Franklinton (8-3, 3-2) at No. 7 Kinston (6-5, 4-1)
The Kinston Vikings have reached the NCHSAA state playoffs the last five years, as first-year head coach Ryan Gieselman continued the tradition in grabbing the No. 7seed.
The post-season stage shouldn’t be foreign to Kinston, but the Vikings have looked unfamiliar in the last couple of weeks. It’s hard to erase the 76-0 shutout to Ayden-Grifton before a very close call in Deep Run last week.
Kinston has a chance to return to domination in the first round — if they can pull of the execution.
The Franklinton Rams are no strangerto the playoffs either, but they didn’t go as far as Kinston last year when they were in the 2AA brackets. Franklinton lost to Randleman, 21-14, in the first round. The Vikings advanced to the second round last year, where they lost 48-14 to Tarboro, a team that went on to compete for the state championship.
In last week’s close 22-21 win over South Lenoir, Kinston’s Tiquan Canady exited the game with an injury. How well the Vikings play against a team they’ve never met in school history could depend on if Canady comes back healthy.
In the meantime, the Vikings can play a running QB in Tavon Herns — similar to Canady — or go with more of a passer in Thomas Vermillion.
Franklinton has nearly a two-hour trip to make to Viking Field today. If the Rams are tired out and the Vikings push the pace early, it should be competitive.
Jessika’s Pick: Franklinton 43, Kinston 32
No. 11 Greene Central (3-8, 3-2) at No. 6 Bunn (7-4, 4-1)
Greene Central picked a great time to be able to hold on to a game. In defeating Goldsboro last week, 20-19, the Rams earned the last playoff spot out of the conference.
Both sides of the ball clicked in the final regular-season game for GC, and the team is going to need to pull out all of its ammo tonight. The Rams haven’t seen playoffs since 2011, when they suffered an awful 50-0 shutout to Northside in the first round.
They travel to face No. 6-seeded Bunn tonight in the teams’ second meeting. Last time they played in 2007, Bunn beat GC, 21-10 — in the first round of the state playoffs.
Bunn has a strong running team, powered by a pair of good RBs. GC coach Allen Wooten is aware of that, so he has to get his own offense to play hard for 48 minutes.
If Greene Central plays its heart out, the Rams can compete with a Bunn team who has a better record. But GC hasn’t been able to put away games all season and has been close in many contests, although the three-win record doesn’t indicate it.
If there’s anything the Rams have proven through a daunting season, it’s that they can compete. Luckily for them, they came together when it most mattered.
Jessika’s pick: Bunn 26, Greene Central 17
No. 13 Fairmont (8-3, 4-3) at No. 4 Ayden-Grifton (5-6, 5-0)
No one cares anymore that Ayden-Grifton didn’t win a game until it go into conference play. How they shook off each of its five opponents is what proved the Chargers a true threat.
AG came from behind to beat Greene Central, things became a bit clearer in the win over South Lenoir and even Goldsboro and hammering Kinston was eye-opening: Ayden-Grifton was back.
The Chargers’ first-round opponent Fairmont looked to do the opposite. The Golden Tornadoesripped through their opponents in the non-conference part of the season, but their scoring became limited in the conference play and they lost in a couple of blowouts (67-28 to Whiteville and 56-24 to South Columbus). Fairmont seemed mediocre in the latter half of the season, whereas AG rose again.
Ayden-Grifton is the real deal and has a veritable chance to advance.
Jessika’s pick: Ayden-Grifton 36, Fairmont 20
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.