By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Mid-Carolina Conference champion Williams and runner-up Southern Alamance join the football playoff mix this week following first-round byes.
Southeast Alamance and Eastern Alamance won games to advance to Friday night’s second round. Here’s a look at area teams in East Region matchups:
Class 6-A: Franklinton at Williams
Fifth-seeded Williams (9-1) has an eight-game winning streak. A victory this week would give the Bulldogs back-to-back seasons with double-digit win totals for the first time since 2004 and 2005.
No. 12 seed Franklinton (8-3) is plus-six in the win column compared to last year’s 2-8 record and has clinched its first winning season since 2018. It began the playoffs with a 28-6 victory against Gray’s Creek (4-7).
The Red Rams opened the season by winning 29-20 at Roxboro Person, while Williams closed the regular season on the same field by rolling 56-12 against the Rockets. Both teams also played at Heritage, with Williams winning 24-0 and Franklinton falling 23-20.
Franklinton’s last visit to Alamance County resulted in a 41-7 postseason loss to Eastern Alamance in 2022.
The 2024 season ended for Williams with a second-round home defeat.
Class 6-A: Greenville Rose at Southern Alamance
Sixth-seeded Southern (7-3) didn’t win a playoff game last year after posting three postseason victories in 2023.
Southern will want a better result than the last time it came off an open week. The Patriots returned to action and lost at Williams, but they haven’t had a setback in four games since then.
“Definitely have momentum,” Southern lineman Brantley Messick said.
No. 11 seed Greenville Rose (6-5) had a total of five playoff victories in the two previous seasons prior to this year. The Rampants have scored 44 or more points in each of their last four victories, including in a 47-10 hammering of Erwin Triton (3-8) in the first round.
Class 5-A: Southeast Alamance at Southern Nash
Ninth-seeded Southeast (8-3) will be in its first postseason road game since losing in the third round in 2023 at Clinton.
Eighth-seed Southern Nash (6-4) has a three-game losing streak, including a 51-34 setback at Wilson Hunt on October 10.
Other than the pandemic-reconfigured 2021 spring season, the Firebirds registered at least seven wins every year since a 4-6 record in 2008.
Southern Nash played Southern Alamance in tight regular-season games the past two years, losing in 2023 and winning in 2024.
Class 5-A: Eastern Alamance at Wilson Hunt
The most-recent game for both teams came against Wilson Fike. Eastern won 35-0 last week, while Wilson Fike fell 50-34 to Wilson Hunt on Halloween night.
Eastern (5-6) must win to avoid a second consecutive losing record. Wilson Hunt (8-2) is aiming for its first nine-win season since 2021.
Eastern defeated Wilson Hunt 44-14 in a 2019 playoff game.
