Here's what each of our teams are and could be facing in the game's first two rounds of the playoffs:

APEX (8-2), 7-seed in 4-AA East

The Cougars open at home against 10-seed West Johnston (7-3) of the Greater Neuse conference. These two teams are going in opposite directions. Apex has won six of its last seven. West Johnston started the year 8-0, but has lost their last three and is dealing with some in-house turmoil. Still, it should be one of the better games on the 4-A or 4-AA bracket. The winner plays the winner of (15) Southern Pines Pinecrest (6-4) at (2) Wilmington Hoggard (9-1).

MIDDLE CREEK (4-6), 7-seed in 4-A East

The luck of the draw was the difference in giving the Mustangs a home game in the first round, but their task won't be easy. Smithfield-Selma, also of the Greater Neuse Conference, finished the year 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the conference. Looking at SSS, the upset over Chapel Hill certainly stands out, but so do losses to Knightdale and Clayton - two 4-7 teams that didn't make the postseason. Who knows which SSS team Middle Creek will face, but I'm sure the Mustangs are hoping for the latter. The one who wins this game must play the winner of (15) Cary versus (2) SE Raleigh. Speaking of Cary...

CARY (4-6), 15-seed in 4-A East

The Imps squeaked into the playoffs. There has never been more than 40 guys on the Cary roster, and the lack of depth has hurt a team that has more talent than it's given credit for. Cary had leads on Apex and Sanderson entering the fourth quarter and had lost third-quarter leads against Leesville Road and Athens Drive. Now the Imps will have a rematch on their hands with the Greater Neuse River champion SE Raleigh (9-1), the team that defeated them 27-18 on Sept. 18 at SE Raleigh. In that game, SE Raleigh ran for 232 yards - 231 of them came from Kevin Howell. Howell is still running well, but the Imps were a long ways from rounding into midseason form. That being said, however, it'll be a tall task of any team having to face SE Raleigh in the first round.

ATHENS DRIVE (4-6), 14-seed in 4-A East

Athens also snuck into the playoffs, proving that their last game, a 41-3 win over Green Hope, was an important one. The Jaguars will hit the road to face 3-seed Southern Durham (8-2). Southern Durham is a traditional powerhouse, and this year they finished tied for first in the PAC 6 Conference. Although talented, Southern Durham has been somewhat of a dysfunctional family at times this year. That might be a thing of the past however, as the Spartans have reeled off back-to-back shutouts, outscoring opponents 93-0. If one team can overcome adversity, it's the Jaguars. They've won four games this year with three different starting quarterbacks, and I'm not sure many teams can win even one game with a third-string QB, but the Jags did it. They've rounded into form slowly, as the defense is still working to catch up with the offense. "Catch up" is something the Athens will try to avoid playing with Southern Durham on Friday. The winner advances to play the winner of (11) Fayetteville Pine Forest (5-5) at (6) Durham Hillside (9-0-1).

The playoff draw was something we felt pretty good would happen, so much that we dedicated a web-only to lay out all the possible scenarios and had three games stories posted that night, plus The Cary News was at the draw so we could bring it to you first.

Lewis "Lucky" Owens, Middle Creek athletics director, drew last but still drew the third seed. I need to go to Vegas with that guy -- he drew the No. 1 seed last year while also drawing last.

 At the time, I thought the move meant Cary & Athens Drive had played their last game, particularly Athens Drive.

But instead, all three teams made the playoffs, right behind Apex and Fuquay-Varina.

That's not to say the draw didn't mean anything. Middle Creek gets a 7-seed and a home game against Smithfield-Selma. Athens Drive and Cary must go on the road.

Athens goes to Southern Durham while Cary goes to SE Raleigh.

So instead of having just two area teams in the playoffs, we have four. Athens, Cary, and Middle Creek are in the 4-A playoffs (the smaller 4-A schools) while Apex is hosting West Johnston as the 7-seed in the 4-AA playoffs (larger 4-A schools).

Remember how I said if a draw happens it'll be at Middle Creek High School following the games?

Scratch that.

Now it's at Green Hope High, according to Middle Creek Athletics Director Lewis Owens.

Green Hope doesn't even have a home game tonight. Go figure.

I'm guessing it'll be done by moonlight in the parking lot? Oh well. Just a reminder though, I will be there and carynews.com will have the story on the web as soon as it happens.

I confirmed with Middle Creek Athletics Director Lewis Owens that IF there is a 3-way tie for third place in the Tri-Eight conference after tomorrow's games, the drawing for third will be held at Middle Creek High.

The athletics directors from Middle Creek, Athens Drive and Cary will be present if the 3-way tie occurs.

Cary News will have it covered. We'll post game results online and which team won the draw as soon as we can that night.

I'll be at Middle Creek, Josh Harrell will be at Fuquay for Cary's game, and Joe Overby will be at Athens Drive.

 To review what needs to happen for each team to either advance into the playoffs as the automatic third bid or force a 3-way tie, review the web-only story I posted earlier this week by clicking here.

Just a warning though, you may need to read it twice as this is truly a head-spinning situation to try to get your mind wrapped around.

Southeast Raleigh runs past Cary as Kevin Howell rushed for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

Eloheim Palma of Cary is ranked No. 3 in the country among all heavyweight high school wrestlers by Win Magazine.

Palma, who is also a lineman on the Imps football team,  was  national runner-up last spring at the National High School Coaches Association Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va. He lost in overtime in the finals.

He is a two-time state champion and was undefeated last season. He lost once in 2007. He has a 167-8 career record.

RALEIGH — Leesville Road scored 29 points in the third period to rally from a nine-point deficit and win the non-conference football game on Thursday night.

“Our first half was atrocious,” said Leesville coach David Green. “We had a nice 90-yard drive, but didn’t do much offensively or defensively in the first two periods.

Leesville trailed 15-7 at the half, before Leesville scored on three short runs, on Zach Greene’s 85-yard kickoff return and Zach Gentry’s seven-yard run.

Even Zack Schilawski can't help but laugh at what he's done at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Last December, Schilawski came back to his hometown and scored the game-winning goal for Wake Forest in the Demon Deacons' 2-1 win over Ohio State in the national championship game.

Thursday night, Schilawski's 56th-minute goal tied the RailHawks U-23s international friendly against England's Burnley FC, a match his PDL team won 2-1.

Coincidentally, Schilawski scored both times in the goal at the south end of the WakeMed Soccer Park field.

"I've been pretty fortunate," Schilawski said as he turned back to look at the goal. "It's kind of a funny it's the same thing. I was in the right spot at the right time. The ball popped out to me and I was lucky enough to finish it."