The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released the first-round football playoff pairings on Oct. 31, and several Western North Carolina teams earned playoff berths.
Asheville High was the only area team to earn a No. 1 seed. The Cougars are the top seed in the 6-A division.
Listed below are all the pairings involving area teams (with area teams in bold) that earned spots in the West brackets, including their seeds. Several area teams earned first-round byes.
Games will be played at the higher seeds in the first round, which will be played on Friday, Nov. 6.
FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF PAIRINGS
6-A
- No. 1 Asheville (bye)
- No. 2 T.C. Roberson (bye)
- No. 7 Freedom (bye)
- No. 20 Olympic at No. 13 Watauga
- No. 17 Statesville at No. 16 A.C. Reynolds
5-A
- No. 2 Franklin (bye)
- No. 22 North Henderson at No. 11 Enka
- No. 20 North Buncombe at No. 13 Smoky Mountain
- No. 18 Jesse Carson at No. 15 West Henderson
- No. 17 Erwin at No. 16 Parkwood
4-A
- No. 2 Tuscola (bye)
- No. 24 Lincoln Charter at No. 9 R-S Central
- No. 23 Fred T. Foard at No. 10 Pisgah
3-A
- No. 2 Shelby (bye)
- No. 3 Hendersonville (bye)
- No. 18 West Lincoln at No. 15 East Rutherford
- No. 20 Polk County at No. 13 Owen
- No. 24 Bessemer City at No. 9 Mountain Heritage
2-A
- No. 3 Murphy (bye)
- No. 10 Mitchell (bye)
- No. 17 Avery County at No. 16 Langtree Charter Academy
- No. 22 Hayesville at No. 11 Cherokee
- No. 18 Bishop McGuinness at No. 15 Swain County
1-A
- No. 3 Robbinsville (bye)
- No. 10 Andrews at No. 7 Rosman