By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With an undefeated regular season (10-0), Watauga High School drew the No. 5 seed in the NCHSAA 4A West bracket it was announced on Nov. 10 and will play No. 29 seeded Ragsdale HS (4-6 overall, 2-5 in Metro 4A Conference).
On the surface, comparing an undefeated regular season vs. a 4-6 overall record might be considered the proverbial “feeding lambs to the lions” — but when it comes to the North Carolina state playoffs nothing is certain.
Ragsdale is based in Guilford County and part of the Greensboro/High Point metropolitan area. The Tigers finished the regular season No. 6 in the powerful Metro 4A Conference, with seven conference members receiving 4A West entries into Round 1. Ragsdale is that sixth team, behind No. 1-seeded Grimsley (10-0, 7-0), No. 10 Northern Guilford (9-1, 6-1), No. 11 Northwest Guilford (8-2, 5-2), No. 17 Southeast Guilford (6-4, 4-3) and No. 24 Page (3-7, 3-4), but ahead of No. 32 Western Guilford (4-6, 1-6). In short, even though they are sixth out of eight teams in the Metro 4A, Ragsdale’s admission to the 4A West bracket speaks to its strength of schedule and how very strong the Metro 4A league is.
This explains why every year there seems to be a major upset of higher seeded teams by lower seeded entries. In the 2023 4A West bracket, Round 1 upsets included No. 24 Charlotte Catholic over No. 9 Myers Park, 42-24; No. 19 Mount Tabor def. No. 14 Davie County, 48-26; No.23 Independence over No. 10 Lake Norman, 35-0; and No. 18 Mallard Creek vs. No. 15 Marvin Ridge, 41-7.
What to look for in Ragsdale
The Tigers feature a strong rushing attack and averaged more than 200 yards per game in that department, scoring 15 TDs running the football. At the same time, Ragsdale completed 109 out of 234 pass attempts for 1,148 yards through the air, including nine TDs vs. eight INTs.
Ragsdale’s offense appears to revolve around senior running back Fabian Diggs, who accounted for 1,518 of the Tigers 2,658 total yards during the regular season. In his last game, Nov. 1, in a 45-42 win over Western Guilford, Diggs carried the ball 26 times for 227 yards and a TD. One game earlier, against Southwest Guilford, the senior RB carried 22 times for 178 yards and three TDs.
Although Diggs may be the feature back for the Tigers, they also have core competency in junior QB Braylon Louis. Including seven passing TDs during the regular season, Louis completed 86 of 168 passes (51.2%) for 999 yards. His chief receiving threat is athletic sophomore Anthoney Washington, Jr., who also plays cornerback and safety on defense. Washington averaged a little more than 10 yards per reception during the regular season, catching 30 passes for 304 total receiving yards. His longest was a 51-yarder on Aug. 30, in a 21-20 win over Glenn HS.
The 3A/4A Northwestern Conference of which Watauga is a member and yet again the conference champion only has one other 4A school invited to the 4A West playoffs, the No. 27 seeded Alexander Central. The Cougars will take on No. 6 Mooresville in Round 1.
If Watauga gets by Ragsdale, the Pioneers will host the winner of No. 13 Mallard Creek and No. 20 Lake Norman.
FULL 4A WEST PAIRING FOR ROUND 1
- No. Grimsley vs. No. 32 Western Guilford
- No. 16 Reagan vs. No. 17 Southeast Guilford
- No. 8 Charlotte Catholic vs. No. 25 Porter Ridge
- No. 9 Palisades vs. No. 24 Page
- No. 5 Hough vs. No. 28 South Iredell
- No. 12 Mount Tabor vs. No. 21 Independence
- No. 13 Mallard Creek vs. No. 20 Lake Norman
- No. 4 Watauga vs. No. 29 Ragsdale
- No. 3 East Forsyth vs. No. 30 Butler
- No. 14 West Forsyth vs. No. 19 Cuthbertson
- No. 6 Mooresville vs. No. 27 Alexander Central
- No. 11 Northwest Guilford vs. No. 22 Olympic
- No. 7 Asheville vs. No. 26 Marvin Ridge
- No. 10 Northern Guilford vs. No. 23 West Cabarrus
- No. 15 Sun Valley vs. No. 18 TC Roberson
- No. 2 Weddington vs. No. 31 AL Brown
OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST
- 3A West – No. 9 Freedom vs. No. 24 West Rowan
- 3A West – No. 12 AC Reynolds vs. No. 21 Central Davidson
- 3A West – No. 3 Hickory vs. No. 30 Tuscola
- 2A West – No. 15 Lincolnton vs. No. 18 Maiden
- 1A West – No. 8 South Stanly vs. No. 25 Avery County
- 1A West – No. 12 Mitchell vs. No. 21 Draughn
- 1A West – No. 2 Mountain Heritage vs. No. 31 North Stokes
