RONDA -- As his team suffered through a seven-game losing streak in late August, September and October, East Wilkes football coach Monty Chipman kept coming back to one thought.

His Cardinals had beaten a very good 2A West Davidson squad during the first week of the season and had pushed a solid East Surry team to double overtime a few weeks after that. Certainly, the group that pulled off those feats was still out there somewhere, right?

East Wilkes players provided a pleasing answer last Friday, coming alive on the road to upset fourth-seeded Hayesville 17-14 on the opening night of the 1-A state playoffs. Chipman's Cardinals were double-digit underdogs but became one of the few double-digit playoff seeds around the state to survive the first round.

East Wilkes scored 10 points in the final minute. Daniel Mesimer provided the winning points by booting a 25-yard field goal with 17 ticks on the clock, silencing the rowdy Hayesville crowd.

"We could have easily, with that atmosphere, laid down," Chipman said. "But we went in with a mission. The kids got back up for the playoffs, and we probably had the best week of practice last week. The kids believed we were going to win the ball game."

As a reward, East Wilkes (4-8) will get the chance to do it all over again tonight. The 13th-seeded Cardinals will make a more familiar bus trip, traveling to face conference rival North Stokes in a second-round contest.

The Vikings (8-4) beat Bishop McGuinness 40-20 last week after finishing fourth in the Northwest 1-A.

This will be the third year in a row East Wilkes and North Stokes have met in the playoffs after also facing off in the regular season. But Chipman believes this duel will have a different feel for his team.

The past two seasons, East Wilkes had beaten North Stokes in the regular season and felt the pressure of being the favorite in the playoff rematch. With the Vikings taking this year's conference meeting 12-7, the Cardinals now will wear the underdog label. Chipman doesn't mind that one bit.

"That's a different feeling than trying to beat somebody you've beaten two or three times in a row," he said. "There is no pressure on us."

The East Wilkes coach credits a shift in his team's offense with recent successes, which also included a win over Alleghany in the next-to-last Friday of the regular season.

The Cardinals had been running sophomore back Aaron Bauguess almost exclusively in the early going but now use an offense based on the Wing-T look, which puts other backs into play. Quarterback Graylan Tharpe may hand to Bauguess, fellow halfback Nathan Bryan or fullback Terrell White on any given snap, or he may throw. The element of surprise is more of a factor. Teams can't just stack up on Bauguess.

"We've got several things we can do," Chipman said.

The Cardinals' offense actually looks a lot more like North Stokes' scheme. The Vikings use a lot of Wing-T principles, with running back Brandon Joyce (1,355 yards, 20 TDs) carrying the bulk of the rushing load. Jayme Ferguson has added another 407 yards this season. Quarterback Darren McHone has thrown for nearly 1,000 yards with 11 more TDs and five interceptions.

The Cardinals have to hope their new-look offense is a good defense as well tonight.

"The biggest thing is just keeping them off the field and keeping the ball out of their hands," Chipman said. "We ran 69 or 70 plays last week, and (Hayesville) ran about 35. We've got to do the same thing this week."

Tonight's winner will move into the third round of the 1A brackets, facing either top-seeded North Duplin (11-0) or No. 8 Union (5-7). North Duplin made the state semifinals last year before losing at Elkin.

"We have been playing real well the last couple of weeks," Chipman said. "I'm proud of the kids. They are maturing as a really good team."

No. 13 East Wilkes Cardinals 4-8 overall, 1-7 in Northwest 1-A

Aug. 17 West Davidson W (21-20)

Aug. 24 North Wilkes W (33-15)

Aug. 31 at Wilkes Central L (21-41)

Sept. 7 East Surry* L (24-31, 2 OT)

Sept. 14 at North Stokes* L (7-12)

Sept. 21 Bishop McGuinness* L (7-10)

Sept. 28 at West Wilkes* L (12-34)

Oct. 5 Elkin* L (0-26)

Oct. 19 at South Stokes* L (19-49)

Oct. 29 Alleghany* W (42-20)

Nov. 2 at Mount Airy* L (0-48)

Nov. 9 at Hayesville W (17-14)

* denotes conference game

No. 5 North Stokes Vikings 8-4 overall, 5-3 in Northwest 1-A

Aug. 17 at Cape Hatteras W (34-0)

Aug. 24 Patrick County (Va.) W (34-19)

Aug. 31 at West Stokes L (30-36)

Sept. 7 at Elkin* W (38-14)

Sept, 15 East Wilkes* W (12-7)

Sept. 21 at South Stokes* W (22-6)

Sept. 28 Alleghany* W (37-12)

Oct. 5 at Mount Airy* L (26-50)

Oct. 12 East Surry* L (22-29)

Oct. 26 at Bishop McGuinness* W (28-13)

Nov. 2 West Wilkes* L (6-29)

Nov. 9 Bishop McGuinness W (40-20)

* denotes conference game