Local High School Squads Eye Postseason

As county teams enter the regular season's final two weeks, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape for the Mid-Southeastern and Two Rivers 4-A Conferences.

Jack Britt (8-1, 4-1), Seventy-First (8-1, 4-1) and Douglas Byrd (7-2, 4-1) are tied at the top of the Mid-Southeastern, all with one conference loss each. Britt travels to Byrd this Friday and a win for the Bucs will put them in the driver's seat for their first outright conference title in the school's 8-year history.

Britt owns a tie-breaker over Seventy-First in case both teams finish with identical records. The Bucs beat the Falcons 14-0 three weeks ago in Fayetteville behind a strong defensive showing.

Defending Two Rivers champion South View (6-4, 4-1) seeks to capture another conference title with a win Friday against winless E.E. Smith (0-9, 0-5). The Tigers' 37-13 win over Cape Fear last night assured South View at least a share of this season's hardware.

Jack Britt and Seventy-First will be Cumberland County's best squads in the playoffs with both team's ranked in the state's top 15 as of Friday's games. Britt QB Everett Proctor has a sore knee, but all indications point to the signal-caller returning against Douglas Byrd this Friday.

Purnell Swett (5-4, 2-2) enjoyed the return of All-Two Rivers linebacker JoJo Blanks. Last season's Defensive Player of the Year intercepted a pass in the third quarter to help the Rams beat Terry Sanford 48-28 last night. The surprise of this victory? The win gave Swett its first at home since the second round of the state playoffs in 2007.

Mid-Southeastern and Two Rivers Standings

Cumberland County Statistical Leaders

Here are a few of my most recent HSFB publications from The Fayetteville Observer:

Oct. 28 - Purnell Swett wins high scoring homecoming affair

Oct. 25 - Douglas Byrd rolls as Rowe scores four touchdowns

Oct. 27 - Falcons shut out Scotland County

Oct. 10 - Lumberton clips Purnell Swett in Robeson Rivalry