Today, the North Carolina public school playoffs will resume with the third round of games. Each classification has 16 teams remaining and plenty of potential outcomes on the horizon. Although there are several contenders in 3A, Huss is making noise as one of the most intriguing teams in the classification. They’ve defeated Statesville and North Lincoln, and will now face off against High Point Central. Should they take care of business against the Bison, Huss will still have plenty of challenges in the following rounds.
Five of their eight losses have come against Ashbrook (x3) and Crest (x2)—both squads Huss could potentially play to advance to the title. Although Ashbrook has bested the Huskies three times, including twice by double digits, anything can happen at this stage of postseason play. Between Jaleel Smith, Zaiyir Phillips, Antonio Worthy, and Zamarius Gladden, Huss has a clearly defined core of impact players. Smith and Phillips carry a massive offensive load and will likely need to put up big numbers over these next few contests. Worthy does a little bit of everything and Gladden offers a tough, physically overwhelming presence.
Ultimately, Huss is quite young. Their top four guys will all return next season, so they’ll have another opportunity regardless of what happens over the next few weeks. However, a variety of teams could win 3A. Getting past Ashbrook will be a tall task, but it’s very difficult for a team to beat an equal-level opponent four consecutive times. Then, should Crest advance (and Huss beats Ashbrook), another battle will ensue. Could a freshman (Smith) be the focal point for a state championship team' In addition to Smith, there’s certainly no lack of talent on the roster. Countless scenarios could happen, so it’ll be exciting to watch things unfold going forward.