Rocky Mount Academy won 13 of its last 14 games, finished with a 20-4 record and won the Eastern Plains Independent Conference championship.

The reward?

A No. 14 seed in the NCISSA 2-A playoffs and a trip more than 300 miles west to play Ashville Christian Academy in the first round Tuesday.

“I’m certainly not pleased with the draw,” Rocky Mount Academy coach William Harrison said. “There was no telling which way the NCISSA would decide to rank teams, and I guess they didn’t think we had enough to be seeded higher.”

Harrison, the EPIC’s Coach of the Year in his second season at Rocky Mount Academy, said the conference is not highly regarded in the state, and that hurt the Eagles’ chances of a higher seed.

“The thought is that our conference doesn’t play anybody,” Harrison said. “We have teams like (Raleigh) St. David’s and Cary Christian that play the bigger Raleigh schools and some of the other top schools in the state, and we showed we were the best team in the conference. It’s just the way it worked out.”

Rocky Mount Academy, after not making the playoffs last season, earned its way to 20-4 with defense. The Eagles are allowing only 42 points per game this season.

Ashville Christian Academy finished the regular season at 15-12 and lost in the 
semifinals of the Carolinas Athletic Association Tournament.

“Teams really haven’t seen a team like us,” Harrison said. “I’m confident in my team. We may not be impressive on paper, but our record speaks for itself.”

Rocky Mount Academy’s girls’ team also is in action Tuesday. The No. 13 Eagles will travel to No. 4 Gaston Day.

Nick Piotrowicz can be reached at 407-9952 or at npiotrowicz
@rmtelegram.com.