CHAPEL HILL – All four local public schools reached the North Carolina High School Athletic Association football playoffs.

Bertie High School, Gates County High School, Hertford County High School and Northampton County High School will all continue their season Friday night when they open play in their respective divisions.

The top-rated team from the region will be the Jaguars of Northampton County. The Jags will be the number two seed in the 1-AA East Division and have at least two games at home if they advance.

Northampton will open the playoffs Friday at 7:30 p.m. when they welcome Riverside High School from Williamston to the friendly confines of Roy F. Lowry Stadium.

Head Coach George Privott and his Jaguars enter the playoffs 9-1 for seeding purposes while the Knights come in 6-4, but riding a three-game winning streak.

Bertie High School will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Head Coach Greg Watford and his club won as many regular season games in 2012 as they had during the past two seasons combined and have the most wins of any Falcon team since 2007.

They didn’t get much of a break in the 2-A East seedings however, drawing league foe Northeastern High School in the first round of the playoffs. The Falcons hosted Northeastern during the regular season and suffered a 55-12 loss.

Bertie is seeded number six in the East while Northeastern is number three.

Whoever wins that matchup will likely be looking at a rematch with Edenton, who garnered the number two spot. The Aces will host 5-5 Louisburg in the first round.

Change is afoot at Hertford County High School and that means this will be the last trip to the 3-A playoffs for the Bears. HCHS enters the 2012 3-A football playoffs as the smallest school in the 3-A bracket.

Thanks to their 7-3 record, however, Head Coach Scott Privott and the Bears will be the number two seed in the East and will host number seven West Carteret in the opening round of the playoffs.

Hertford County would host a second round matchup as well if they advance. They would meet the winner of the West Craven-Washington game.

Also making the playoffs locally will be Gates County High School. The Red Barons and skipper Matt Biggy will make their fifth consecutive trip to the 1-AA playoffs.

The Barons are seeded number five and will make the trip to Ayden-Grifton Friday night where they will look to pull the upset of the number four Chargers.

Gates County enters the game winners of four straight and six of their last seven while Ayden-Grifton (8-2) had a six-game win streak snapped last week at Goldsboro.

The number one seeds in the East include: Plymouth (1-A), Southwest Onslow (1-AA), Tarboro (2-A), Northside (2-AA), Havelock (3-A), Triton (3-AA), New Bern (4-A) and Garner (4-AA).

Those who garnered the top spot in the Mid-East are: North Duplin (1-A), James Kenan (1-AA), East Bladen (2-A), Carrboro (2-AA), Eastern Alamance (3-A), Northern Guilford (3-AA), Scotland County (4-A) and Richmond Senior (4-AA).