By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Mid-Carolina Conference play begins for five Alamance County football teams Friday night, including what could turn out to be a significant matchup with Southeast Alamance going to Southern Alamance.
Meanwhile, Cummings and Williams will conclude their non-league slates.
Here’s a look at the games, which begin at 7:00 p.m.:
Southeast Alamance at Southern Alamance
This will be the first varsity football clash between the schools. Numerous former or would-be Southern players are at Southeast’s team as part of redistricting when the new school opened in 2023.
Southeast (3-0) won all eight of its conference games last season when there was a far different composition of schools in the league.
Southern (1-2) went 11-1 in two seasons in the former Central 3-A Conference. The Patriots have won nine of their last 10 matchups with Alamance County schools.
Western Alamance at Graham
These teams will meet for the first time since 2019 in a series dominated by Western, which has won every matchup for the past two decades. The last six meetings were decided by at least 16 points.
Western (2-1) looks to win its third game in a row this year.
Graham (0-3) has played its past two games without Aaron Royster, who was the starting quarterback in the opener. Coach Mykel Searcy said he’s expected back this week.
Eastern Alamance at Roxboro Person
These teams met in each of the past eight seasons, with Eastern winning every time, though last year’s outcome came by 22-21.
In winning 32-31 last week at Central Davidson, Eastern (1-2) racked up its second-highest point total in 15 games dating to late in the 2023 season.
Roxboro Person (2-1) has won its last two games, defeating Halifax County and Durham Riverside.
Bartlett Yancey at Cummings
These teams were in the same conference for years until this season, and they even met in the 2022 state playoffs. Cummings has won eight of the last nine meetings, with the exception in the 2021 spring season.
Cummings (1-2) will be in its third home game of the season.
Bartlett Yancey (1-2) is coming off a 36-18 setback at Northwood, which is another former conference foe.
Williams at Heritage
The Bulldogs (2-1) make the trip to Wake Forest for a first-time meeting.
Heritage (1-2) hasn’t scored a touchdown since its opener, losing 50-3 last week at Leesville Road.
Heritage opened in 2010 with its first varsity season in 2011 under coach Jason McGeorge (son of Elon legend and ex-Green Bay Packers tight end Rich McGeorge). After Jason McGeorge departed, former Eastern Guilford star Torry Holt, who played for North Carolina State and in the NFL, was an assistant coach for the Huskies several years ago.
