That's the tough lesson the Hough High Huskies learned last Saturday.
When the N.C. High School Athletic Association released preliminary playoff brackets on its Web site early Saturday afternoon, the Huskies were included in the 4AA (larger 4A) playoffs. Hough, which finished the year 4-7 and tied with Lake Norman and Hopewell for fourth in the I-Meck, was going to play at Olympic this Friday.
Huskies coach Bobby Collins quickly began fielding phone calls from excited players, and some fans and friends called to pass along congratulatory messages. He contacted Olympic coach Barry Shuford and was preparing game film to later exchange with Shuford when the NCHSAA's final brackets were released. There was a note added that some changes had been made, and as he scanned the bracket, Collins saw that Hough had ultimately been left out — and East Gaston inserted instead — just two hours after being included.
"It was tough," said Collins.
The other 3-4 I-Meck teams, Lake Norman and Hopewell, each were included — Lake Norman will travel to South Caldwell and Hopewell to T.C. Roberson Friday — and those teams got the edge over Hough because they beat the Huskies head to head in close games. Hopewell beat Hough 24-23 Sept. 23 on a last-second Ryan Santee field goal, while Lake Norman topped Hough 20-9 on Oct. 21.
"You win either one of those two, and you finish third in the conference (and get in)," said Collins.
Despite the disappointment in how the playoff scenario unfolded, Collins said his team wouldn't be making excuses and ultimately left too much to chance.
"The thing about football is it has to be won on the field," he said.
The Huskies closed the regular season last Friday with a 51-14 loss at I-Meck champion Mallard Creek. Dre Long ran for a 3-yard touchdown and Brandon Mobley added a 52-yard run for a score for the Huskies, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop the Mavericks (10-0, 7-0), who wrapped up their third straight conference championship.
Running back Jela Duncan had five touchdowns to lead Mallard Creek, scoring on runs of 6, 10, 19 and 47 yards and a 38-yard scoring pass from Andrew Goodman.
— Keith Cannon contributed to this story.
