#81 Fabian Seabrooks and #3 Thurston Cox battle for a pass during Wake Forest-Rolesville High School's 20-3 victory over Leesville Road High School on Friday, Nov. 6. (photo by Will Okun)
Nov 8, 2009
On Sept. 11, Wake Forest-Rolesville nearly saw their unblemished record take it's first hit. However, the Cougars got two hailmary passes and scored as time ran out to defeat the Clayton Comets, 16-14.
Fast forward to Nov. 13, and the Triangle area will once again see Wake Forest-Rolesville (11-0) take on Clayton (4-7) in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association's 4-AA state playoffs.
“Any time you get to the playoffs all teams are capable of beating anybody," Wake Forest-Rolesville head coach Reggie Lucas said. "Obviously, Clayton is going to be a very well coached team, and they gave us a big fight the first time around, I expect the same type of effort this week.”
Wake Forest-Rolesville's defense has been stellar this season. The Cougars have pitched six shutouts in 11 games, and they're giving up an average of four points per game.
Against Clayton, the Cougars' defense only allowed one touchdown, the other touchdown was a 21 yard fumble return by Vincent Faison.
Although the defense garners most of the attention from fans and the media, the Cougars' biggest issue in the Clayton game may have been it's offense.
Wake Forest-Rolesville was missing running back Trea Jones in the game against Clayton in September. Jones, who was suffering from a shoulder injury earlier in the season, is healthy now, and he will be a difficult player for Clayton to stop.
"Obviously Trea is our top back," said Lucas. "We want him to be healthy going into the playoffs and he is."
Wake Forest-Rolesville knew going into last week's game against Leesville Road that a win could give them the overall No. 1 seed in the 4-AA East region, but after Jack Britt lost to Terry Sanford in double overtime last week, 48-42, Wake Forest-Rolesville sealed the No. 1 seed.
Being No. 1 can bring with it added pressure to win, but it also gives the Cougars home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
"Any time a team gets a chance to play at home in front their home crowd, the twelfth man can be vital," Lucas said. "The kids have more confidence, they feel more comfortable, they're in their element at home."
A lot of people are looking ahead to a potential Eastern Regional Final rematch between Wake Forest-Rolesville and Jack Britt (10-1) four weeks from now. Last season, the Buccaneers defeated the Cougars in Fayetteville, but this season the game would be in Wake Forest.
Leesville Road head coach David Green called Wake Forest-Rolesville a "state championship caliber team" after his Pride lost to the Cougars on Friday night, 20-3.
Lucas was cautious in how he worded his team's chances, but it's obvious he believes this team is a special one.
"I would never say this team is not a championship caliber team, but we're going to take it one game at a time... this is what we call the second season," he said. "The state championship is a long way down the road, and that's a conversation that I always try to avoid."
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