It's playoff time, and Holmes had no trouble coming through when it counted. They snuck past the North Duplin Rebels with a 34-28 victory on Friday. The win almost wasn't to be: the Aces were down 14-0 in the second quarter.
When it comes to explaining why North Duplin lost, don't look at Carell Phillips. Despite the final result, he rushed for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also caught one TD. Phillips' rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 132 rushing yards. Ben Kelly was in the mix as well, providing North Duplin with one score.

Aces
| 11/21/25 @ North Duplin | 34-28 |
| 11/14/25 vs Perquimans | 55-16 |
| 10/30/25 @ Manteo | 43-7 |
| 10/24/25 vs Perquimans | 59-21 |
| 10/17/25 vs Bertie | 56-30 |
| + 3 more games |
The victory (which was Holmes' eighth in a row) raised their record to 8-4. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32.9 points. As for North Duplin, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-2.
Looking ahead, Holmes will square off against Warren County on Friday. The Eagles' defense has only allowed 11.4 points per game this season, so the Aces' offense will have their work cut out for them. North Duplin does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps