The football playoffs are here, and five Tri-Nine teams are in the 4AA bracket, with Athens Drive in the East and all others playing the Mideast.

Panther Creek (8-3) at Middle Creek (8-3)

If you thought the "Battle of the Creeks" was just getting good, think again. While Middle Creek may have taken the title of Tri-Nine champ away from Panther Creek this year, it was PC who handed the Mustangs their only conference loss.

In that 16-12 victory, the Catamounts became the only team this season to hold Middle Creek to less than 21 points. The short drive from one conference foe to the other should make this one of the most packed Friday night playoff openers.

Lumberton (7-3) at Cary (8-2)

Cary got its coveted home game, but now the Imps are hosting a very good wild-card team in the Lumberton Pirates, who at one point this season were 7-0 and ranked among the state's elite. The Pirates ended their season with three straight losses. The Imps have won four straight.

Lumberton played at Athens Drive this year and won 22-14. In that game, the Pirates blocked two punts and forced an interception to set up the game's first three touchdowns. Lumberton passed just three times that night, so Cary's run defense must be alert.

Seventy-First (4-6) at Fuquay-Varina (9-1)

It's easy to get fooled by Fayetteville Seventy-First's record and think that this game will be a pushover for Fuquay-Varina, winners of their last seven overall and 14 at home. But Seventy-First's six losses are all to playoff teams, and the Falcons have not allowed anyone - not even unbeaten Scotland County - to score more than 27 points all year.

The Bengals had their bye week in the season finale, which is so rare, it's unknown if most teams enter the playoffs rusty or well-rested.

Athens Drive (5-6) at Garner (11-0)

We've seen this before. Week 2, actually, when the Drive visited Garner and lost 29-7. Sure, Garner ran 41 times for 298 yards, but those 29 points are the season-low for the Trojans. The Jaguars will no doubt test Garner in the air, as pass defense is perhaps the Trojans' only weakness. Athens threw for 280 yards in their earlier loss to Garner but also ran 21 times for just 45 yards.

player of the week

David Mayaka

Panther Creek RB, Junior

Mayaka ended his first regular season on the offensive side of the ball with a bang against Green Hope. The junior ran for three touchdowns and 112 yards on 20 carries. Those yards and points were much needed, as the Catamounts completed just three of their seven passes in the 35-18 win. Mayaka leads the Tri-Nine with 1,359 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns.

Coach speak

Sean Crocker

Middle Creek head coach

"At the beginning of the year, I felt like we were playing at a high level against really good competition. Then, I thought we dropped off a bit against lesser competition. So I'm hoping with the competition level going back up in the playoffs, we'll again be able to raise our level and get that spark we need to advance."