Playoff football is here

The state football playoffs are here and the two Burke County teams start their playoff runs in Rowan County.

2AA No. 9 East Burke (8-3, 5-2 CVAC 2A) at No. 8 Salisbury (7-4, 4-1 Central Carolina 2A)
For the last few years East Burke High has made a name for themselves in the 4A playoffs, including a playoff run in 2007 that ended in the sectional round with a 42-28 home loss to powerhouse Independence High.
The Cavaliers now try something new in a new field of competition in the 2AA playoffs. Their first opponent will be on the road at Salisbury High.
The Hornets have a high-powered rushing attack. The leading rusher, with 924 yards on 98 carries, is Romar Morris. Other Salisbury rushers include John Knox, Dejuan Jones, Dominique Dismuke and Ike Whitaker. The four Hornet rushers combined for 2,221 yards on 352 carries with 29 touchdowns.
Knox is also the quarterback. He has connected on 21 of 56 passes and thrown for 577 yards and 10 touchdowns.
On the receiving end, Morris and Riley Gallagher should be the main targets for Knox's passes. Morris has 196 receiving yards on six catches and Gallagher has 121 receiving yards on five catches. They have a combined four touchdowns.
The Cavaliers look to use a mix of run and pass plays to hang with the Hornets. In last week's finale at South Iredell High, Ken Gaither led in Cavalier rushing with 125 yards on 14 carries, scoring one rushing touchdown.
For the first time since an earlier non-conference matchup with South Caldwell High, Justin Lail went perfect in passing. Lail threw for 69 yards on three of three passes. All three passes were also touchdowns with Cody Evans, Josh Debro and Dustin Wilson being on the receiving end.

3A No. 15 Freedom (5-6, 3-3 SMAC) at No. 2 West Rowan (11-0, 6-0 N. Piedmont 3A)
In Freedom High Head Coach Mike Helms' first season at the helm of Patriot Football, he guided his Freedom team to their first playoff berth since 2006.
Helms' first playoff trip with Freedom will be a tough task taking on the defending 3A state champions, West Rowan High.
"First and foremost, we are thrilled to be in the state playoffs. Our players and coaches have worked extremely hard to reach this goal in only our first year," Helms said. "West Rowan is the defending 3A champion, so we must be ready for a physical and emotional game. They have many weapons and will be a great challenge. However, I have confidence our team will rise to the challenge and represent our school and community with great pride and determination."
The main focus of the Patriot defense will be on their star running back Kevin "KP" Parks.
Parks is the state-record holder for carries and 100-yard games and is closing in on the all-time rushing record. Parks currently has 2,689 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns this season which gives him a career total of 9,790 rushing yards and 139 touchdowns. Parks is verbally committed to play at Virginia.
The Falcons also have two big-play receivers to keep the Patriot secondary on their heels.
Jon Crucitti has 945 receiving yards on 56 catches and KaJuan Phillips has 285 yards on 19 catches. Both combined for 13 West Rowan touchdowns. BJ Sherrill is the star quarterback. Sherrill has 1,576 passing yards on 99 of 148 passes with 15 touchdowns.
Freedom is coming off a 24-0 win over cross-town rival Patton High in the first annual Motown Throwdown.
"Our football team showed tremendous improvements again this past week and I credit their hard work for our success," Helms said. "I think the future is very bright. In just my first year, I think we have improved as a team and we have instilled the toughness and skills that will be necessary for us to continue our improvements. Our JV team (8-2) had an outstanding season, so we look to the future with optimism."
Patrick Parks, Mike Helms and Dean O'Neil look to lead the Patriot offense to a possible upset bid. Parks, in the win over Patton, rushed for 100 yards on 14 carries and scored one rushing touchdown. Parks also scored on a fumble return on defense.
Helms connected on seven of 11 passes for 42 yards and a touchdown to Jerry Duckworth in the win over Patton.
O'Neil led in receiving for the Patriots recording 15 receiving yards on two catches at Patton.
Jason Baker is a local sports writer for The News Herald.