Princeton looks to spoil Rosewood's title hopes

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on November 5, 2015 1:48 PM

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An eight-mile trip to face an archrival has extra meaning Friday evening.

Rosewood heads into its regular-season finale at Princeton with the opportunity to earn a share of the Carolina 1-A Conference championship along with James Kenan and Lakewood.

The Eagles last won a league title in 1999 -- ironically a three-way that involved Midway and Hobbton.

Should Rosewood (7-3 overall, 4-1 CC) lose, it will drop to a fourth seed behind the Bulldogs. And that means a road game as an at-large selection.

"We've tried to get our kids to believe that every game's the most important game," Rosewood head coach Robert Britt said. "We tell them, 'the only team that can beat you on any given Friday night is the team that you are playing'.

"This game has huge implications on the playoffs. Princeton has turned their season around and won three of the last four ball games. Whoever wins this game is going to get a higher seed."

The Bulldogs started the season 0-5, but turned heads with an impressive three consecutive victories, a string that stopped with a shutout loss to Lakewood on Friday.

That outcome means nothing to Britt.

"They (Eagles and Bulldogs) played rec league against each other ever since they were little," Britt said. "Their parents probably played each other when they were in school.

"So, it's not too hard for Princeton to get up to play Rosewood or Rosewood to get up to play Princeton."

The Bulldogs have won three straight in the series and five of the last eight overall since 2008. The Eagles lead the all-time series 39-15.