By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

The N.C. High School Athletic Association unveiled its football state playoff brackets Saturday afternoon, and there is a lot to like if you’re a fan from The Tribune coverage area, especially fans interested in conserving gasoline.

• Starmount earned a No. 1 seed in the 2A brackets, getting the chance to play at home all the way up to the state championship game, if the Rams make it that far.

• Elkin has a No. 2 seed for the 1A playoffs and wouldn’t have to leave Surry County until the state title game. The Buckin’ Elks have the opportunity for three home games. Then, if they make it back to the 1A West championship, they’ll likely meet familiar rival Mount Airy.

• Surry Central got into the playoffs by virtue of winning two games in the past three weeks, including a 55-0 smashing of South Stokes on Friday. The good news is that the Golden Eagles won’t be banished to the nether-regions of the state like most No. 16 seeds. The bad news is that Central draws rival Starmount as its opening round opponent, a tall order indeed.

• East Wilkes had hoped to be home for the first round of the playoffs. But a 4-4 record in conference play puts them on the road this Friday. The Cardinals’ drive will be a familiar one, however — to Pilot Mountain, to face the Cardinals from East Surry in the 1AA (Big 1A) bracket.

East Wilkes and East Surry had been conference partners for the past decade until realignment put the schools into different leagues this year. Most of their football meetings have been exciting in recent years, so this could be one of the better first-round match-ups.

Here are some other early observations as the road to the 1A, 1AA, 2A and 2AA championship weekend begins:

A familiar path for the Buckin’ Elks

If the second-seeded Buckin’ Elks (9-2) get past No. 15 Union Academy (2-7-1) as expected in the first round Friday, they’ll play either Cherokee or North Duplin in round two. Elkin faced Cherokee in the 2005 state semifinals and North Duplin in the 2006 semis (winning both contests).

If Elkin is alive after round two, a possible rematch with Robbinsville looms in round three. The Elks survived a close battle with Robbinsville in last year’s third round.

Mount Airy is the probable opponent in the 1A West title game. The Bears are the No. 1 seed out of the West and defending state champion. If Elkin wins that one, there could be a rematch with Manteo — the No. 1 seed from the East — in the state title game. The Elks beat Manteo in the 2006 state finale.

Some big names in the Rams’ path

It’s been a decade since Starmount has been a No. 1 seed for the playoffs, according to resident high school football guru Deana King. The Rams clinched the top overall seed in the 2A playoffs with a 41-17 win over Wilkes Central on Friday.

Starmount (9-2) will face familiar Surry Central (2-9) in the opener. While defending 2A champion Newton-Conover has moved up to the 2AA bracket this season, the Rams still must contend with some power programs to reach their goal of another state title-game appearance if they advance past Friday.

Thomasville, the No. 4 seed and reigning 1AA champion, looms as a potential third-round match-up. Carver (No. 3 seed) or Mountain Heritage (No. 2) could be fourth-round opponents. Starmount went to the 2A semis last season as a No. 4, upsetting South Columbus on the road.

The Rams may not have the fondest of memories for their last time as a No. 1 seed. Swain upset Starmount 7-3 in the second round in 1999. That loss snapped a 27-game winning streak, King said, coming a year after the state title season.

An unexpected twist for North Wilkes?

The Vikings’ lone football win this season came against Forbush, and that was via a forfeit. The Vikes, who didn’t even score in five games, may have seen having a bye week this past Friday as a blessing in disguise, the chance to get an early jump on basketball season.

But welcome to 1A football, where basically you advance to the playoffs just by fielding a team. North Wilkes’ “reward” for making the post-season, a trip to 11-0 Albemarle for a first round game in the “Big 1A” bracket. Yikes.

Extra points

• While Tribune area teams and fans won’t have to drive far this week, there are a lot of schools from around the state that will be spending several hours on athletic buses this Friday.

Mount Airy’s first opponent is Rosewood, located in Goldsboro about 190 miles away. North Stokes will welcome West Columbus, which is roughly 200 miles away.

The longest trips of the day will be the ones being made by Hayesville players and fans (traveling about 390 miles to Princeton, south and east of Raleigh) and North Duplin (driving about 360 miles to Cherokee).

Such is the curse of the “Small 1A” bracket, where the number of schools east of Raleigh far exceeds those from the foothills and mountains.

• Bishop McGuinness, whose only two losses this season came against Mount Airy and East Surry, dropped all the way to a No. 10 in the seeding for the 1AA playoffs.

That’s because the state seeds all the conference champions first before the rest of the teams.

The Villains from Kernersville could be the toughest No. 10 in the playoffs.