Charlotte Area Select Round 1 Playoff Games To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a number of Charlotte Area Schools involved in first-round playoff games this week, and we'll take a quick look at some of these matchups and note some important players to watch as teams start their road to a state championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West Mecklenburg at Davie County</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Players To Watch</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1866125' first='Drake' last='Lineberger'] - QB - West Mecklenburg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1687735' first='Antonio' last='Flowers'] - DL - West Mecklenburg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1148569' first='Ethan' last='Driver'] - WR - Davie County<br>[player_tooltip player_id='918776' first='Elijah' last='Chaffin'] - LB - Davie County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 24 seed Hawks should come into this game with nothing to lose, after picking up their first win of the season last week against Garinger. Davie County will be heavily favored here and has to make sure not to allow the Hawks to break loose for big plays in the passing game. Davie has some good defenders and a solid scheme - as long as they don't turn the ball over and give short fields, I like their chances to move forward to Round 2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hopewell at Butler</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Players To Watch</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zac Jones - RB - Hopewell<br>Randrez Lyons - DL - Hopewell<br>Lej'end Lockwood - LB - Butler<br>[player_tooltip player_id='826678' first='Tyler' last='Dent'] - ATH - Butler</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these teams come in here with 4 wins, and both of them will look to get their running games going. The team that can do that the best, I think, has the upper hand here. First-year Head Coach Brandon Sneed has done a great job getting the Titans to this point, but he's got a tough matchup against veteran championship coach Brian Hales. I'm intrigued to see the coaching matchup here just as much as what goes on between the lines on Friday Night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ragsdale at Olympic</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Players To Watch</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1047155' first='Kingston' last='Chandler'] - DL - Ragsdale<br>Anthoney Washington - WR - Ragsdale<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1228977' first='Chance' last='Cato'] - QB - Olympic<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1610634' first='Kenyan' last='White'] - LB/DB - Olympic<br><br>The Trojans come in here fresh off an undefeated run through their conference, winning a conference championship and earning a first-round home game. It starts with their senior quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id='1228977' first='Chance' last='Cato'], creating some big plays in the air to open up the running game, where the Trojans are dangerous. [player_tooltip player_id='1047155' first='Kingston' last='Chandler'] is a dominant force on the defensive line. I expect Olympic to double him up front a good bit. Anthoney Washington is the leading receiver for the Tigers, and I think they'll try to move it in the air some - I think Olympic does a pretty good job in slowing down the run overall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lake Norman Charter at Fred T. Foard</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Players To Watch</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dorian Morgan - WR - Lake Norman Charter<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2003814' first='Haze' last='Dodson'] - ATH - Lake Norman Charter<br>Jackson Dentel - LB - Fred T. Foard</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is an interesting matchup - Foard is the higher seed, but they have a 4-6 record while Lake Norman Charter comes in at 5-5. Morgan and Dodson are some bona fide playmakers for the Knights. Morgan is electric in the open field, and Dodson has very good vision with the football in his hands from the running back spot. Jackson Dentel is an unquestioned leader for Foard from his linebacker spot. He's a tackling machine with nearly 100 tackles on the year, and he's the reigning defensive player of the year for his team. This is Foard's first home playoff game in 19 years, so Lake Norman Charter needs to be ready to go from the start because they will be fired up for sure. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Forestview at Concord </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Players To Watch </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1614066' first='Jaydin' last='Phillips'] - OL - Forestview<br>Logan Harper - LB - Forestview<br>Alex Williams - OL/DL - Concord<br>Alexis Rosario-Beltran - K - Concord</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Don't let Forestview's record fool you; they have made it tough for some teams earlier this season. This is an interesting Gastonia/Concord matchup here. These two teams have a common opponent in North Gaston - Concord beat them 27-0 in week 3, Forestview beat them 40-0 last week. So this game has the potential of being competitive all the way through. Phillips up front for the Jaguars is a road grader from the center position who can be strong in pass protection. Harper is the Jaguars' leading tackler from his linebacker position. Alex Williams always finds a way to make plays on defense, and Rosario-Beltran is one of the better kickers in the Charlotte Metro Area - he has made a 52-yard field goal earlier this season!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Iredell at AL Brown </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Players To Watch </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1654186' first='Brody' last='Hunt'] - WR - South Iredell<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1599171' first='Brooks' last='Culp'] - OL - South Iredell<br>Lemar Grier - RB - AL Brown <br>Gavin Yow - LB/DB - AL Brown</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is an interesting game with former conference mates facing off here. South Iredell has played a stronger schedule overall than AL Brown, so don't let their 3 wins fool you. [player_tooltip player_id='1654186' first='Brody' last='Hunt'] has had a big season for the Vikings so far, so slowing him down has to be job #1 for the AL Brown defense. Gavin Yow leads the Wonders with 114 tackles in a great senior year, so I'd expect him to shade to Hunt's side of the field. [player_tooltip player_id='1599171' first='Brooks' last='Culp'] can be a big-time lineman up front at multiple positions for the Vikings, and expect the protection and the running game to be set behind him. Lemar Grier has rushed for 1,074 yards this season and 18 touchdowns, so stopping the run is an absolute must for the Vikings' defense here. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->