The Raiders will be the No. 1 seed out of the SEC once the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-AA state playoffs begin next week.
Although Richmond took out all the suspense of the conference title coming down to the last week of the regular season, the second, third, fourth and fifth slots are still up for grabs with a possible drawing out of a hat that could determine playoff seedings.
Lumberton rebounded from its 24-7 loss to Richmond and improved its record to 7-3, 3-1 in the conference following a 38-22 victory over Scotland. The Pirates’ win and the Patriots’ loss to the Raiders allowed Lumberton to move into second place in the SEC.
The Pirates can lock up the second spot with a victory over Purnell Swett. Lumberton can fall to third with a loss to the Rams and a Hoke victory over Pinecrest.
But a Lumberton loss coupled with a Patriots’ win would drop the Pirates into a three-way second place tie with Swett and Pinecrest at 3-2. According to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association handbook, if a tie still exists after going through all the other tie-breaker scenarios, a draw will be held by the tied teams for the seeds available. All tied teams for a position will draw with the numbers of the spots for which they are tied in a hat.
Pinecrest had its two-game conference winning streak snapped by Richmond, which ended the Patriots conference championship hopes. Pinecrest is currently tied with Swett for third with an identical 8-2, 2-2 mark in the SEC. But the Patriots won the head-to-head matchup and hold the tie-breaker over the Rams.
Pinecrest could finish as low as fourth with a loss to the Bucks and a Swett victory over Lumberton. But a Pinecrest victory coupled with a Pirates’ loss to the Rams would produce a three-way tie at 3-2 for second with the drawing determining the seedings of each team.
The fourth-place Rams broke a two-game slide with a 30-20 win over Hoke to improve to 8-2 and 2-2 in the conference. Swett can finish as high as second with a victory over Lumberton and a Patriots’ loss to Hoke.
If the Rams lose and Pinecrest wins, Swett would stay at fourth. If both Swett and Pinecrest win that again would send the Rams, Patriots and Pirates into a three-way tie with the drawing out of the hat resolving the seedings.
Hoke failed to build off the 42-21 victory over Scotland as the fifth-place Bucks were defeated by Swett to drop to 2-8, 1-3 in the conference. Hoke can force a three-way tie for third place at 2-3 with a win over Pinecrest and a Rams’ loss to Lumberton. Hoke can finish fourth with a win over the Patriots and a Swett win against the Pirates.
n Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com
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