The NCHSAA football brackets are now official. Here are the games of note for the Garner and Johnston County area set for next Friday:

1-A Western Regional

(11) Hayesville at (4) Princeton

3-AA Eastern Regional

(16) Eastern Guilford at (1) South Johnston

4-A Eastern Regional

(10) Greenville Rose at (7) Southeast Raleigh

4-AA Eastern Regional

(9) Wakefield at (8) Garner

(16) Clayton at (1) Wake Forest-Rolesville

Smithfield-Selma (4-7), North Johnston (3-8) and West Johnston (3-8) did not qualify for the playoffs.

Clayton earned the final spot in the NCHSAA 4-AA eastern regional brackets. The Comets (4-7) are seeded 16th and will take on top-seeded and 11-0 Wake Forest-Rolesville in the first round. The Cougars beat Clayton 16-14 earlier this season, winning on a touchdown pass on the last play of the game.

South Johnston 21, Triton 14

The Trojans (10-1) clinch the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference Championship and have a chance at the No. 1 overall seed in the Eastern 3-A bracket, based on their 10-0 record for seeding purposes.

Clayton 13, Smithfield-Selma 7

The Comets' Shaquille Mangum returns an interception 80 yards for the game-winning touchdown with just two seconds to play, giving Clayton a bit of hope for a playoff spot at 4-7. SSS finishes the season.

Harnett Central 34, Garner 9

Garner falls hard but gets the No. 3 seed from the Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference when Knightdale upsets East Wake, 13-12.

Southeast Raleigh 27, West Johnston 7

The Bulldogs clinch the No. 2 seed from the GNRC, while West ends up out of the playoffs with a 3-8 mark.

Princeton 42, Rosewood 20

The Bulldogs finish off an 8-3 season, taking second in the Carolina 1-A Conference. It's likely the Dawgs will be hosting a first round playoff match up next Friday.

Franklinton 42, North Johnston 34

The high-scoring loss likely leaves the Panthers out of the playoff hunt after they finish with a 3-8 record.

Wilmington Laney beat Clayton 2-1 Tuesday night in the opening round of the NCHSAA 4-A boys soccer playoffs. The Comets finished the season with a 15-6 record and won the Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference championship.

We'll recap the match in next week's paper. The other area boys soccer playoff teams are in action tonight.

This week's area first-round prep boys soccer playoff matches. Matches are set for Wednesday, unless otherwise noted.

2-A

Durham School of the Arts (10-8-1) at North Johnston (11-6-3), 6 p.m.

3-A

Wilson Fike (10-13-1) at South Johnston (15-5-1), 7 p.m.

4-A

Wilmington Laney (13-6) at Clayton (15-5), Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Wilmington Hoggard (10-8-3) at Southeast Raleigh (10-7-2), 6 p.m.

West Johnston (9-11-2) at Green Hope (14-4-2), 6:30 p.m.

West Johnston's boys cross country team won the eastern regional 4-A championship Saturday at Hope Mills South View High School. The Wildcats placed six runners in the top-13 individually.

The Wildcat girls team finished second, two points behind Fayetteville Terry Sanford. 

Also qualifying for the state championships next weekend were Michelle Bailey of Garner and three runners from Clayton.

Well, maybe it wasn't even close. But it's a relief to learn that the US 70 Clayton Bypass did NOT win a prize as America's most innovative transportation project this year.

Yes, it's pretty. Yes, it provides a quicker path to the beach for U.S. 70 drivers.

But:

* The project was delayed for years and the pricetag grew enormoously because of DOT environmental dithering,
* It makes the weekday drive WORSE for many I-40 commuters, and
* Its innovative technology is broken. DOT folks didn't realize this until they read it in the N&O. They're still trying to repair it.

So it would have been embarrassing to win undeserved honors from AAA, the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

DOT Secretary Gene Conti lobbied Johnston County residents, construction moguls and even his own 12,000 employees to stuff an online ballot box with enough mouse clicks to earn honors as the "People's Choice" project.

We got out-clicked by fans of a Florida project: "The 95 Express Miami Project is a $63 million High Occupancy/Toll lanes arrangement that encourages carpooling and rewards travelers with lower fares for traveling during off-peak hours."

And a group of judges gave the top prize to the Minnesota DOT for the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis -- not the one that collapsed in 2007, but the replacement that was designed and built in 14 months.

Thursday night prep football scores

Smithfield-Selma 49, West Johnston 38

Clayton 16, Knightdale 14

We'll have full reports on the games in next week's editions of the Garner-Clayton Record and The Herald of Johnston County. For boxscores from both games visit.... http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/high_school/

Smithfield-Selma will host Clayton in junior varsity football on Wednesday, Nov. 4, instead of the previously scheduled Thursday date next week. The varsity game will remain on Friday night at Clayton High School.

The Comets are honoring their 1989 state championship team at the Nov. 6 varsity game. 

Clayton High School senior Lizzie Bundy finished fifth in the NCHSAA 4-A Girls Golf Championships Tuesday at Foxfire Golf and Country Club. Bundy shot a 79 on Tuesday putting together a total of 151 (5-over-par) for the 36-hole event.

Athens Drive won its second straight team championship, led by individual champion Katherine Perry (2-under, 144).

At the 1-A/2-A/3-A state golf championships, Princeton junior Christi Mileski finished at 193.

We'll have more on the state golf finals in next week's community papers.