DURHAM– Round one of the state playoffs in high school football featured some intriguing match-ups involving three local schools.
Chapel Hill’s season came to an end with a 40-6 loss at Southern Durham. Somehow, the Tigers found a way to slip into the playoffs with a 4-7 record, but the 9-2 Spartans were too much for them on this night.
With the victory, Southern Durham improved to 10-2 on the year and moved on to the second round of the tournament where they will face a daunting challenge against Cardinal Gibbons.
Meanwhile over in Hillsborough, the 10-1 Orange Panthers were busy shutting down 8-3 Rocky Mount in a 31-3 decision.
The vaunted Panther defense reappeared Friday night after a hiatus against Southern Durham a week ago. Running back Tay Jones recorded a 26-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Next up, Head Coach Pat Moser’s squad will take on 9-3 Cleveland in the second round.
If both Orange and Southern Durham win their games next week, they will meet for an anticipated rematch of their regular season finale that saw the Spartans spoil Orange’s run at an undefeated season.
Not to be forgotten, the Northwood Chargers were in playoff action Friday night as well. Things didn’t go too well for Head Coach Bill Hall’s team as they fell 56-21 on the road at Eastern Alamance.
Northwood tailback Kadarus Rone fumbled the ball away early on in the first quarter. The turnover resulted in a score for the Eagles, and Eastern Alamance never looked back from there as they lit up the scoreboard to advance.
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