Football Western Foothills 4A/5A - 1st Round

[Flyrod]

Conference Picks
Bandys at Wilkes Central
East Gaston at Bunker Hill
East Lincoln bye
Foard at Pisgah
Hunter Huss at Hickory
Newton Conover at Maiden (game of the week. Revenge week for Bazzle??? )
North Lincoln at Northwest Cabarrus
West Iredell bye


Non-conference picks
Hibriten bye
Lincolnton bye
Stuart Cramer bye


Conference Standings
West Iredell (9-1), (7-1)
East Lincoln (9-1), (7-1)
Hickory (7-3), (6-2)
Bunker Hill (6-4), (4-4)
Maiden (5-5), (4-4)
Newton-Conover (4-6), (3-5)
North Lincoln (3-7), (2-6)
Bandys (3-7), (2-6)
Foard (2-7), (1-7)


Hibriten (10-0), (6-0)
Lincolnton (7-3), (5-3)
Stuart Cramer (8-2), (6-2)

Please check....

 

[GrizzlyDevil]

I know Newton hated seeing that bracket. Now the real chess game begins.

Bet that 8 miles felt twice as long driving home last night.

 

[beamer24]

Bandys
Bunker Hill
Pisgah
Hickory
Newton Conover
Northwest Cabarrus

 

[CHEERDUCK]

Bandys
Bunker Hill
Pisgah
Hickory
Newton Conover
Northwest Cabarrus

 

[LTown Wolves 02]

Two Newton-Conover picks already? I believe Maiden is where I’ll be Friday night.

 

[Flyrod]

Someone must know something....

 

[beamer24]

Just rolling the dice thinking its hard to beat a team twice. Maybe Newton will defend the forward pass next week.

 

[amaidendevil]

Just rolling the dice thinking its hard to beat a team twice. Maybe Newton will defend the forward pass next week.

Then we will bring the secret weapon running game out . We did run decently last night also

 

[amaidendevil]

View attachment 1000013324.mp4
When u lie to your kids and they realize u lied about Santa Claus too bad holidays are coming

 

[amaidendevil]

109 rushing yards and 2 TD to all the passing Yards and 5 TDs

 

[mgore87]

Bandys
Bunker Hill
Pisgah
Hickory
Newton-Conover
Northwest Cabarrus

 

[amaidendevil]

Maybe @Maiden Creek knows different but by my recollection chaise Davis is 2nd all time passing yards in a single game for maiden now with 447 yards. And may have broken record if not for those horrible refs Friday night

 

[Lincolnton]

Bandys at Wilkes Central : The Eagles are 7-3…The Trojans are 3-7…Don’t know of anyone who’s played a tougher schedule. They have to be sharpened from this. Bandys by 10.

East Gaston at Bunker Hill: Saw the Bears play at North Lincoln, last week. They are a decent team with a viable running and passing game, and they have size. The Warriors have been an old time favorite and will do their best, but fall short. Bears by 14.

Foard at Pisgah. Good luck to the Tigers but their season ends. Bears by 14.

Hunter Huss at Hickory: About now is when the Tornadoes catch their second wind. H by 20.

North Lincoln at Northwest Cabarrus: Wouldn’t surprise me if the Knights make a good showing, just don’t see them winning. Trojans by 10.

West Iredell bye

Newton-Conover at Maiden: Flyrod’s game of the week. Watched them play last night. Blue Devils are just too much. 460 yards passing, You Kiddin’? Get outta Here! Maiden by 14.
——————————————————————-
Hibriten
Cramer
Lincolnton
All have byes

*Picks are in bold

Side Note: From here to Moravian Falls is only about an hour and 15. Might be worth the drive to see the Bandys-Wilkes Central game.

‘Another possibility is North Surry at East Burke.

Could be wrong on this one but just cannot see Newton-Conover lasting four quarters with the Blue Devils.

Just my opinion here, it looked to me like the Blue Devils play with an attitude. Is that the right word?
“What do you think Mr.Ramirez?”

 

[amaidendevil]

Bandys at Wilkes Central : The Eagles are 7-3…The Trojans are 3-7…Don’t know of anyone who’s played a tougher schedule. They have to be sharpened from this. Bandys by 10.

East Gaston at Bunker Hill: Saw the Bears play at North Lincoln, last week. They are a decent team with a viable running and passing game, and they have size. The Warriors have been an old time favorite and will do their best, but fall short. Bears by 14.

Foard at Pisgah. Good luck to the Tigers but their season ends. Bears by 14.

Hunter Huss at Hickory: About now is when the Tornadoes catch their second wind. H by 20.

North Lincoln at Northwest Cabarrus: Wouldn’t surprise me if the Knights make a good showing, just don’t see them winning. Trojans by 10.

West Iredell bye

Newton-Conover at Maiden: Flyrod’s game of the week. Watched them play last night. Blue Devils are just too much. 460 yards passing, You Kiddin’? Get outta Here! Maiden by 14.
——————————————————————-
Hibriten
Cramer
Lincolnton
All have byes

*Picks are in bold

Side Note: From here to Moravian Falls is only about an hour and 15. Might be worth the drive to see the Bandys-Wilkes Central game.

‘Another possibility is North Surry at East Burke.

Could be wrong on this one but just cannot see Newton-Conover lasting four quarters with the Blue Devils.

Just my opinion here, it looked to me like the Blue Devils play with an attitude. Is that the right word?
“What do you think Mr.Ramirez?”

View attachment 1511164

Not attitude but dealing with incompetent referees

 

[Lincolnton]

Don’t try to change out the real sign. Hey, that sign is coming down. It’s only on the Lincolnton side of town so all of us Lincolnton sorts will see it when we visit Maiden. It isn’t for visitors in any other direction. What would people from other states think, seeing a sign like that.

 

[oldburkeman]

Well regular season sure came and gone like a fart in the wind

Bandys- schedule is their strength, who does Wilkes Central play ha. Could be an interesting game

BH- momentum, upswing, hope they ain’t too cocky to go handle business, glad to see this program exceeded expectations in the preseason.

Pisgah- it’s cute the way the system is as far as making playoffs compared to the old days, Foard in playoffs, NL in playoffs, etc and I’ve seen an East Burke team go 8-3 and not make it..but that was in 96’. These are the days bros

Hickory- talk bout bringing back an 80s classic, they need to play 80s music for the game warmup, get coach on that Cheerduck

Maiden- no extra commentary, it’s Maiden

NWCab- these 2 have met before not sure what the last outcome was. Dated a girl 2 years from this school, 2 years wasted lol. Schedule is tougher for NL so this COULD be an upset. NWCab smashed by teams that Hickory and EL would beat or get down to the wire on. We’ll see. Best of luck to these Knights, grimmer season awaits next year but hope I’m wrong.

 

[Maiden Creek]

Western Foothills pick ‘em ‘26
81 games

LawDog308 - 68
Beamer24 - 67
Oldburkeman - 66
Amaidendevil - 65
Cheerduck - 65
Maiden Creek - 65
AlwaysAWolf - 63
Lincolnton - 62
Sportsnut17 - 61
Mgore87 - 59



Did y’all notice that Flyrod has Foard’s overall record wrong again? I know he did it on purpose because it aggravates the crap outta me!

When I see him…there’s gonna be a misunderstanding!

 

[CHEERDUCK]

Western Foothills pick ‘em ‘26
81 games

LawDog308 - 68
Beamer24 - 67
Oldburkeman - 66
Amaidendevil - 65
Cheerduck - 65
Maiden Creek - 65
AlwaysAWolf - 63
Lincolnton - 62
Sportsnut17 - 61
Mgore87 - 59



Did y’all notice that Flyrod has Foard’s overall record wrong again? I know he did it on purpose because it aggravates the crap outta me!

When I see him…there’s gonna be a misunderstanding!

Flyrod you could offer a chicken liver plate for your peace offering and all is well again.

 

[mgore87]

Well regular season sure came and gone like a fart in the wind

Bandys- schedule is their strength, who does Wilkes Central play ha. Could be an interesting game

BH- momentum, upswing, hope they ain’t too cocky to go handle business, glad to see this program exceeded expectations in the preseason.

Pisgah- it’s cute the way the system is as far as making playoffs compared to the old days, Foard in playoffs, NL in playoffs, etc and I’ve seen an East Burke team go 8-3 and not make it..but that was in 96’. These are the days bros

Hickory- talk bout bringing back an 80s classic, they need to play 80s music for the game warmup, get coach on that Cheerduck

Maiden- no extra commentary, it’s Maiden

NWCab- these 2 have met before not sure what the last outcome was. Dated a girl 2 years from this school, 2 years wasted lol. Schedule is tougher for NL so this COULD be an upset. NWCab smashed by teams that Hickory and EL would beat or get down to the wire on. We’ll see. Best of luck to these Knights, grimmer season awaits next year but hope I’m wrong.

I remember when you could not get in the playoffs being (4-6) sometimes being (5-5) it was hard getting in honestly, now some teams with losing records get a berth, it's pretty bad these days honestly. A team can finish with a sub-.500 record (losing record) but still accumulate a strong RPI rank if they played a very difficult non-conference or conference schedule against high-caliber opponents, more teams with losing records are seeded into the NCHSAA playoffs than ever before, but it dilutes the value of making the playoffs in my opinion.

 

[oldburkeman]

I remember when you could not get in the playoffs being (4-6) sometimes being (5-5) it was hard getting in honestly, now some teams with losing records get a berth, it's pretty bad these days honestly. A team can finish with a sub-.500 record (losing record) but still accumulate a strong RPI rank if they played a very difficult non-conference or conference schedule against high-caliber opponents, more teams with losing records are seeded into the NCHSAA playoffs than ever before, but it dilutes the value of making the playoffs in my opinion.

Been going on a while I suppose, but its all for money and giving more teams more bragging rights and yet money. I like it though. I mean I dunno, maybe they can have a bonus playoff were all the teams that win state from 1A to 8A can have a faceoff for the top. Generate more money but cut into Basketball But we know who'd win that. Hough (cough cough). Years ago I watched Lake Norman when they sucked, come down and play South Caldwell. They won 4 games...almost beat South. Of course thats back with South had a big thing going. They've not had nothing since Dickerson left

 

[oldburkeman]

Western Foothills pick ‘em ‘26
81 games

LawDog308 - 68
Beamer24 - 67
Oldburkeman - 66
Amaidendevil - 65
Cheerduck - 65
Maiden Creek - 65
AlwaysAWolf - 63
Lincolnton - 62
Sportsnut17 - 61
Mgore87 - 59



Did y’all notice that Flyrod has Foard’s overall record wrong again? I know he did it on purpose because it aggravates the crap outta me!

When I see him…there’s gonna be a misunderstanding!

Close pick em' game boys

 

[amaidendevil]

Talking to bandy's kid he said they just got video and looks like West wilkes runs wing T

 

[Lincolnton]

Next Friday, most Lincolnton fans in search of a game will be in Maiden, along with some fans from Hickory and maybe even a few from Cramer, since they are on the same side of the bracket.

Were I a Tuscola fan or member of their staff, I’d surely be in Maiden, as they’re going to be hosting them or Newton-Conover, and they’re not going down easily, especially The Blue Devils.

This past Friday, Maiden looked like a different team… In the second half they came through the NC line like angry yellow jackets, and that air raid, you’ll have to see for yourself.

 

[Stormsurge1]

Next Friday, most Lincolnton fans in search of a game will be in Maiden, along with some fans from Hickory and maybe even a few from Cramer, since they are on the same side of the bracket.

Were I a Tuscola fan or member of their staff, I’d surely be in Maiden, as they’re going to be hosting them or Newton-Conover, and they’re not going down easily, especially The Blue Devils.

This past Friday, Maiden looked like a different team… In the second half they came through the NC line like angry yellow jackets, and that air raid, you’ll have to see for yourself.

I’ve already put my request into AMD for a 2nd round upset if they beat NC and we are lucky enough to win our 2nd round game too. Would love to host the Biggest Little Football City in the 3rd round.

 

[amaidendevil]

I figure it will be a huge gate for maiden. Everyone local who wants to see a game where 2 teams hate each other. A few may want to see if our freshman QB is over hyped.

 

[Maiden Creek]

Talking to bandy's kid he said they just got video and looks like West wilkes runs wing T

It’s Wilkes Central that Bandys plays.

You know…Foard played West Wilkes first game of the year and beat them. The Black Hawks finished 7-3. Do what?

Let that sink in. That’s how stoopid this Western Foothills conference is!

Gosh!…this conference is so fun to watch…it’s like going to Wal-mart after midnight!

 

[amaidendevil]

It’s Wilkes Central that Bandys plays.

You know…Foard played West Wilkes first game of the year and beat them. The Black Hawks finished 7-3. Do what?

Let that sink in. That’s how stoopid this Western Foothills conference is!

Gosh!…this conference is so fun to watch…it’s like going to Wal-mart after midnight!

Walmart after midnight looks like avg day in downtown Lincolnton

 

[Goldendomer10]

I remember when you could not get in the playoffs being (4-6) sometimes being (5-5) it was hard getting in honestly, now some teams with losing records get a berth, it's pretty bad these days honestly. A team can finish with a sub-.500 record (losing record) but still accumulate a strong RPI rank if they played a very difficult non-conference or conference schedule against high-caliber opponents, more teams with losing records are seeded into the NCHSAA playoffs than ever before, but it dilutes the value of making the playoffs in my opinion.

I remember an 8-2 Pisgah team not making the playoffs in the late 90s. They were in a split 2A-3A conference with them and Brevard being the only 2A schools. The rule was whoever had the best record of the 2A schools got the playoff bid and the other school was the “last” place 2A team. Pisgah finished 5-1(2nd in conference) with the only loss to Brevard for conference and then an Asheville non-conference loss. Brevard finished the regular season undefeated and advanced. Meanwhile, 2-3 of the 3A schools advanced to the playoffs even though they finished 3rd or worse but they were considered 3A conference champions, 2nd place finishers, etc.

Point being it has been a struggle to get it right for years.

 

[Stormsurge1]

I remember an 8-2 Pisgah team not making the playoffs in the late 90s. They were in a split 2A-3A conference with them and Brevard being the only 2A schools. The rule was whoever had the best record of the 2A schools got the playoff bid and the other school was the “last” place 2A team. Pisgah finished 5-1(2nd in conference) with the only loss to Brevard for conference and then an Asheville non-conference loss. Brevard finished the regular season undefeated and advanced. Meanwhile, 2-3 of the 3A schools advanced to the playoffs even though they finished 3rd or worse but they were considered 3A conference champions, 2nd place finishers, etc.

Point being it has been a struggle to get it right for years.

Domer, if you guys win Friday you making a trip down the mountain to find out who is full of hot air, me or Deboer? Spoiler alert, we both are .

 

[beamer24]

I remember an 8-2 Pisgah team not making the playoffs in the late 90s. They were in a split 2A-3A conference with them and Brevard being the only 2A schools. The rule was whoever had the best record of the 2A schools got the playoff bid and the other school was the “last” place 2A team. Pisgah finished 5-1(2nd in conference) with the only loss to Brevard for conference and then an Asheville non-conference loss. Brevard finished the regular season undefeated and advanced. Meanwhile, 2-3 of the 3A schools advanced to the playoffs even though they finished 3rd or worse but they were considered 3A conference champions, 2nd place finishers, etc.

Point being it has been a struggle to get it right for years.

Prior to 2001 making the playoffs was an accomplishment in itself.

 

[Goldendomer10]

Domer, if you guys win Friday you making a trip down the mountain to find out who is full of hot air, me or Deboer? Spoiler alert, we both are .

Yes, good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, I’ll definitely be coming to the game should we advance.

You beat me to it. I was going to say that I don’t have to drive 2-1/2hrs to figure the hot air part out.

 

[GrizzlyDevil]

You all got me thinking hard now on playing teams twice in one year and how hard it is to beat a team twice. While true, the opposite side of the same coin also hits...I decided to look at Maiden's history and how many times we've faced someone twice in one year (regular season/playoffs):

Lincolnton:
1993 - Lincolnton won both the non-conference game and the 4th round game
2006 - Maiden won both the non-conference game and the 1st round game
2009 - Lincolnton won both the non-conference game and the 1st round game
2011 - Lincolnton won both the non-conference game and the 3rd round game
2024 - Split; Lincolnton won the conference game and Maiden won the 1st round game

Bessemer City:
1994 - BC won both the non-conference game and the 1st round game

Starmount:
1996 - Starmount won both the non-conference game and the 2nd round game

Hendersonville:
2003 - Hendersonville won both the conference game and the 2nd round game
2004 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 2nd round game

Newton:
2005 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 2nd round game
2006 - Split; Maiden won the conference game and Newton won the 2nd round game
2007 - Newton won both the conference game and the 2nd round game
2025 - Split; Newton won the conference game and Maiden won the 3rd round game

East Lincoln:
2013 - East Lincoln won both the conference game and the 2nd round game

Fred T Foard:
2017 - Split; Maiden won non-conference game and Foard won the 1st round game

West Lincoln:
2021 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 2nd round game

Bunker Hill:
2022 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 3rd round game

In total, and I know this is contained to only Maiden's history, there has only been 4 times the teams have split during a season out of 17 instances. 76% of the time, the team who won in the regular season also won in the playoffs.

That being said, this is Maiden vs Newton, anything goes. Good luck to all...it's playoff season!

 

[Stormsurge1]

Yes, good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, I’ll definitely be coming to the game should we advance.

You beat me to it. I was going to say that I don’t have to drive 2-1/2hrs to figure the hot air part out.

No you definitely don’t. Love that saying you just said in the first paragraph, my Dad says that all the time.

 

[amaidendevil]

When y'all go vote tomorrow there is a position called soil and water conservationist section. Below that is a write in spot so I need everyone to write in amaidendevil on the ballot

 

[Lincolnton]

Walmart after midnight looks like avg day in downtown Lincolnton

🫵 You are a bad man. LMAO

 

[LTown Wolves 02]

You all got me thinking hard now on playing teams twice in one year and how hard it is to beat a team twice. While true, the opposite side of the same coin also hits...I decided to look at Maiden's history and how many times we've faced someone twice in one year (regular season/playoffs):

Lincolnton:
1993 - Lincolnton won both the non-conference game and the 4th round game
2006 - Maiden won both the non-conference game and the 1st round game
2009 - Lincolnton won both the non-conference game and the 1st round game
2011 - Lincolnton won both the non-conference game and the 3rd round game
2024 - Split; Lincolnton won the conference game and Maiden won the 1st round game

Bessemer City:
1994 - BC won both the non-conference game and the 1st round game

Starmount:
1996 - Starmount won both the non-conference game and the 2nd round game

Hendersonville:
2003 - Hendersonville won both the conference game and the 2nd round game
2004 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 2nd round game

Newton:
2005 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 2nd round game
2006 - Split; Maiden won the conference game and Newton won the 2nd round game
2007 - Newton won both the conference game and the 2nd round game
2025 - Split; Newton won the conference game and Maiden won the 3rd round game

East Lincoln:
2013 - East Lincoln won both the conference game and the 2nd round game

Fred T Foard:
2017 - Split; Maiden won non-conference game and Foard won the 1st round game

West Lincoln:
2021 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 2nd round game

Bunker Hill:
2022 - Maiden won both the conference game and the 3rd round game

In total, and I know this is contained to only Maiden's history, there has only been 4 times the teams have split during a season out of 17 instances. 76% of the time, the team who won in the regular season also won in the playoffs.

That being said, this is Maiden vs Newton, anything goes. Good luck to all...it's playoff season!

Man, Bessemer City 1994 brings back memories. That team had some studs. Two NFL players I believe. We beat them (barely) in I think the third round. I didn’t remember that Maiden played them twice that year.

 

[rbrad]

Last chance to see the freshman QB at home. Great source says he will be elsewhere next year

 

[Flyrod]

@amaidendevil do you have any input on @rbrad ? He has great sources

 

[amaidendevil]

I can tell you the kid told me he'll be there next year.

 

[Lincolnton]

I can tell you the kid told me he'll be there next year.

This QB looks to be 6’4 or 6’5, height and weight in proportion, has fair speed for his age and in the course of a season has learned to throw and connect under pressure, and reacts calmly after taking a hit.

With proper training and barring injury he should certainly play Division 1.