Prep notebook: E. Wayne ready for home playoff game

By Staff Reports
Published in Sports on November 11, 2013 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY -- On to the "third season."

And another chance to erase recent history.

Eastern Wayne looks to snap a nine-game, postseason skid when it entertains West Carteret in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A playoffs on Friday evening.

According to Association records, the Warriors' last playoff win occurred at Rocky Mount Senior High in 1978.

"We haven't won a playoff game in a while, so it's time to change that," EW head coach Bubba Williams said.

Home sweet home

PRINCETON -- Looking back on his team's memorable run to the N.C. High School Atheltic Association 1-A eastern regional championship last season, Princeton head coach Derrick Minor was reminded of a unique fact.

All of those games were on the road in 2012.

That's not the case this year. The Bulldogs (8-3 overall) open the playoffs at home against Granville Central on Friday.

"Last year was great because it showed us how to win games in hostile environments," Minor said. "Hopefully this season we can take advantage of our own home-field advantage and make another run."

Don't forget

SEVEN SPRINGS -- North Duplin's trip the NCHSAA 1-A state playoffs came to an abrupt end in 2012 with a home loss to Princeton.

The Rebels won the regular-season, but suffered a shocking loss to the Bulldogs in the first round of the playoffs. The painful memories of that defeat haven't been forgotten for North Duplin, which opens the postseason at Weldon on Friday.

"When you get in the playoffs, it's one and done," North Duplin head coach Hugh Martin said. "You've got to show up every Friday night if you want to advance and you have to have that mindset that you're going to do whatever it takes to advance to the next week.

"Last year was disappointing, but we also played in the first round what turned out to be an eastern final team that had improved tremendously."

Humble beginnings

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek's 41-14 loss to North Duplin on Friday night couldn't have started any worse.

The Gators turned the ball over on two of their first three possessions and fell behind 21-0 just 13 minutes into the ballgame. Spring Creek ran just five plays from scrimmage in the opening quarter and failed to record a first down.

"We didn't execute and the wheels came off the bus a little bit, and North Duplin outplayed us," Spring Creek head coach Aaron Sanders said. "It was a snowball effect and it just got larger and larger, and we never really could get anything rolling in the first half."