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.

Garner, which finished 6-5 this season and third in the Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference, will host Wakefield in the opening round of the NCHSAA 4-AA football playoffs. The Trojans are seeded eighth and Wakefield is seeded ninth.

The winner meets the winner of Wake Forest-Rolesville and Clayton in the second round on Nov. 20.

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.

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.

Harnett Central 36, Southeast Raleigh 22

The Trojans clinch the Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference championship with the win.

Garner 30, East Wake 27 (OT)

Garner led 27-6 in the fourth quarter before a furious Warrior comeback. Still, the Trojans win on a 26-yard Connor Torruella field goal. 

Princeton 55, Ayden-Grifton 14

The Bulldogs lead 41-0 at the half. David Gurganus throws five TD passes.'

South Johnston 84, North Lenoir 6

Yep, you read that right. The Trojans are already being raked over the coals on this .

Roanoke Rapids 52, North Johnston 14

The Panthers actually held a 7-6 lead at one point before falling.

Wake Christian 41, Fayetteville Village Christian 9

The Bulldogs win their third straight after an 0-7 start. 

Johnston County will be well-represented on the 2009 N.C. Shrine Bowl squad. Smithfield-Selma's Josh Snead and South Johnston's Dee Williams were both named to the team today.

Snead, a Duke recruit, leads the Triangle area with 1,832 yards rushing in 10 games and 24 offensive touchdowns.  Williams leads the Triangle area in receiving. He is tops in yards receiving (962), receiving touchdowns (17) and receiving yards per game (106.9).

Smithfield-Selma head coach and former Garner standout Anthony Barbour will serve as an assistant coach for the N.C. squad as well. 

One of Barbour's fellow Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference players — Harnett Central's Anthony Johnson, an outside linebacker — was also selected to the squad. For a complete rundown of the N.C. roster, visit http://ncpreps.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1008293

The 73rd Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas will be played Dec. 19 in Spartanburg, S.C.

Garner's 49-42 football victory over Southeast Raleigh last Friday night is a game that won't likely be forgotten for a long time. The Trojans played their best game of the season, surprsing the Bulldogs, who still can win the GNRC conference title.

Now comes word from N&O preps editor Tim Stevens that legendary former Garner coach Hal Stewart gave the Garner boys an impromptu halftime pep talk.

You can read about that and more, including an early look at this Friday's big clash between Southeast and Harnett Central, online now at http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/high_school. The mention of the Stewart appearance is at the end of this article: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/high_school/story/159671.html

Area results from Saturday's opening round of the NCHSAA volleyball playoffs...

1-A

Princeton swept Southside, 3-0

Next up: Princeton (17-5) hosts Lakewood (19-3) on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock.

2-A

South Granville sweeps North Johnston, 3-0.

The Panthers finish the season with a 18-8 record.

3-A

Wilson Hunt sweeps South Johnston, 3-0.

The Trojans finished the season at 19-4.

4-A

Greenville Rose sweeps West Johnston, 3-0.

The Wildcats finished 5-14.

Wilmington Ashley topped Garner in four games.

The Trojans finished the season at 15-7.

Fayetteville South View beats Southeast Raleigh, 3-1.

The Bulldogs finished 9-12.

Here are the start times and match ups we've been informed of involving area teams in the NCHSAA volleyball playoffs, which begin Saturday.

1-A

Chocowinity Southside at Princeton, 3 p.m.

2-A

South Granville at North Johnston, TBA

3-A

South Johnston at Wilson Hunt, 3 p.m.

4-A

Wilmington Ashley at Garner, 1 p.m.

West Johnston at Greenville Rose, TBA

Southeast Raleigh at Hope Mills South View, TBA

Harnett Central topped Garner in five games Wednesday night to win the GNRC 4-A conference volleyball championship. Garner takes the league's No. 2 playoff seed with the loss. The Trojans will host a first round NCHSAA 4-A playoff match on Saturday at 1 p.m. The opponent has not been determined.