PEMBROKE — Purnell Swett coach Mark Heil was impressed with what he saw on film from Hillside this week in preparation for Friday’s first round 4-A playoff game in Durham.

He quickly pointed out quarterback Vad Lee’s athletic ability and tackle Eric Young’s sheer size on defense, not to mention the Hornets’ staggering offensive line that averages almost 270-pounds per player.

“They (Hillside) are a team with a bunch of great athletes,” Heil said. “They have a bunch of huge offensive linemen, bigger than any team we’ve faced.”

Lee, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior, has offers from Duke, East Carolina and North Carolina while Young, a senior 6-foot-3, 350-pound behemoth has official letters from Florida State, North Carolina A&T and N.C. State.

“We need to try and win the battle up front,” Heil said. “Lumberton and Richmond ran up the middle against us and we can’t let that happen Friday. We have to stand in their way.”

No. 11 Purnell Swett (9-2) is in the playoffs for the third straight season and are on the road despite a 9-2 record.

Heil says his team’s win against Lumberton, while it was a great victory for the players, didn’t factor much in the postseason seeding process since the Rams finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference.

“They (Lumberton) are very good, but it turns out, after the draw, the win didn’t mean much of anything,” he said. “"We're in the playoffs, that's all we worry about.”

The possibility is still there for Swett to get a home game, but a lot has to go in the Rams’ favor first — a win over Hillside and a No. 14 New Bern upset of No. 3 Middle Creek gives Swett a home game against the Bears in the second round.

“You have to keep winning now to extend the season” Heil said. “It doesn't matter if you are a 16 (seed) or 1. You have to win to keep playing.”

Antonio King, who became Hillside’s head coach in January following Ray Harrison’s resignation, is the mastermind behind one of the Triangle’s top rushing offenses. King was the offensive coordinator under Harrison during North Carolina’s Greg Little (2006) and Duke’s Desmond Scott (2008) and Corey Gattis’ (2008) playing days for the Hornets.

Heil says Hillside is a running team who mixes it up, much like his Rams over the last few games. Ethan Clark is coming off a perfect passing night for Swett, completing all seven passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Clark is completing almost 50-percent of his passes and has thrown for 750 yards on 49 completions.

Hillside tailback Brandon China resembles Rams’ fullback Jock Clark, both in stature and statistics. He’s a run-between-the-tackles type of player who pounds linebackers for extra yards. China has 1,059 yards rushing this season with nine touchdowns compared to 1,018 yards and 14 scores for Clark.

"They have a multitude of running backs," Heil said. "They are more of a running team with that huge offensive line. No. 10 (China) is really good. We aren’t real deep at running back ourselves."

Hillside (8-3) has allowed only one touchdown on defense the last five games and is unbeaten at home this season.