Contributed by Jimmy McDonald

Richmond Senior was ranked 10th in the last AP poll of the season.

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ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior football team fell three spots in the final Associated Press North Carolina high school poll of the year released Tuesday afternoon.

The Raiders were ranked 10th by voters with 10 points following their 41-7 loss at Scotland County in the regular season finale. Richmond was seventh in last week’s poll. The Fighting Scots jumped two spots from fourth to second following their first victory over the Raiders in 17 years.

Mallard Creek remained in the top spot with 12 of the 13 first-place votes. The Mavericks routed Hough, 51-14. Mallard Creek received the No. 1 seed in the 4AA West pod and will face South Mecklenburg in the opening round.

Page fell from second to third in the poll despite downing Southeast Guilford, 35-13. The Pirates are the No. 1 seed in the 4AA West bracket and will open the playoffs against Southeastern Conference member Pinecrest. Butler dropped one spot to fourth this week. The Bulldogs knocked off Independence, 38-26. Butler will host SEC member Hoke County in the first round. Garner remained fifth after it stopped Harnett Central, 44-23. The Trojans, the No. 1 in the 4AA East bracket, will battle Athens Drive Friday night.

Porter Ridge stayed at sixth following a 21-16 victory over Sun Valley. The Pirates earned the top seed in the 4A West bracket and will play High Point Central in the first round. Leesville Road moved up two spots to tie Porter Ridge for sixth. The Pride cruised past Wake Forest-Rolesville, 41-16. Leesville Road will take on Broughton Friday. New Bern jumped from ninth to eight after a 48-36 win against J.H. Rose. The Bears will face Clayton in the opening round. Mount Tabor slid up to ninth from 10th with a 45-21 victory over Reagan. The Spartans open the playoffs against Western Guilford.

In the NCPreps.com poll, Richmond dropped from seventh to 12th this week. Mallard Creek was No. 1, while Scotland jumped to second from fourth. Butler and Page each fell one spot. The Bulldogs are now third, while the Pirates slid to fourth. Garner remained fifth.

Richmond plummeted to 19th from 13th in the CarolinaPreps.com rankings. The top four teams in the poll remained the same with Mallard Creek earning the No. 1 spot. Scotland County was second, Page stayed in third, followed by Butler.

— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com