Three area football teams will take to the road this week as they begin their quest for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state title.

Hertford County High School, seeded fourth in the 3-A playoffs, will make the trek to Western Alamance as they begin their bid to return to the eastern finals.

The Bears, who finished 6-5 in the regular season, are coming off four consecutive victories as they head into the playoffs.

Second-year skipper Greg Watford said his team was following the same pattern as last season.

&uot;We’re blooming late again this year,&uot; Watford said of his club.

The Bears made the playoffs via an at-large bid after suffering from the Northeastern Coastal Conference’s tiebreaking system.

Watford said he wouldn’t complain about the system because it’s the one that helped his team reach the state semifinals a year ago.

The Bears will continue to depend on quarterback Danny Dembry and running backs LaMarcus Bond, Jaquin Sessoms and Rayshawn Mercer for their offensive prowess.

Defensively, linebackers Joel Britt and TreMayne Newsome will join defensive lineman Tydreke Powell to lead the Bears.

The travel to Western Alamance at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The contest will be broadcast live on 98.3 FM WDLZ in Murfreesboro.

Gates County’s trip will come a bit sooner than most.

The ninth-seeded Red Barons will take to the road Thursday night instead of Friday. They will travel to Pamlico High School to meet the state’s number eight seed in the 1-AA playoffs.

Head coach Clark Harrell’s teams are mainstays in the playoffs, having been there in 11 of the past 12 years.

Harrell said the Barons would see a lot of power from Pamlico, something they would have to adjust to up front.

&uot;We’re going to have to buckle our helmet up tight and come on and lets go,&uot; he said.

The final team hitting the road will be the Rams of Northampton County High School – East.

The Creeksville-based club is seeded 12th in the Class 1-A playoffs and will be traveling to Ayden-Grifton.

East comes in 4-7 on the year as they travel to 9-2 Ayden-Grifton.