And then there were two.

Fairview and Good Hope both took care of business in the first round of the playoffs last Friday and will now turn their attention toward possible quarterfinal berths — though a pair of second-round obstacles stand in the way of accomplishing that goal.

The Aggies are set to host Leeds this Friday night, while the Raiders will travel to Anniston.

See below for capsules on each local matchup.

---

Team: No. 3 Fairview (10-0, 6-0 in Class 5A, Region 7)

Opponent: No. 9 Leeds (9-2, 5-1 in Class 5A, Region 6)

First Round: Fairview 15, Carver-Birmingham 12 | Leeds 35, Guntersville 28

All-Time Series: First Meeting

The Skinny: The Aggies advanced to the second round for the fourth time in six seasons following last week’s victory over Carver-Birmingham.

Their opponent, meanwhile, is certainly no stranger to postseason success.

Leeds has reached the playoffs five straight years and 17 of the past 19 — notching four state crowns (2008, 2010, 2014, 2015) during that impressive stretch in Class 3A and 4A, respectively.

According to AL.com, quarterback Conner Nelson accounted for 347 total yards in last week’s victory against Guntersville — including the game-winning, 68-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Taylon Gaiter with 28 seconds remaining.

The Green Wave is led by coach Jerry Hood, who’s tallied a 50-19 record in six seasons at the school, and its lone losses have come to Briarwood and
No. 4 Moody.

Leeds has scored at least 28 points in all nine of its wins.

Coach Speak: “I thought our guys played extremely hard last week and really well defensively in terms of just keeping plays in front of us. We struggled on offense, but we made plays when we needed to make them. The goal each week is to find a way to win and our guys were able to do that. I think they’ve had a great mentality this week and have wanted to learn from some things last week.” — George Redding

“Leeds has a tremendous football team on both sides of the ball. They’re good up front defensively and big up front along the offensive line. They give you a lot of issues with their formations and movement and shifting. Our guys are working hard to make sure we line up properly each and every play.” — Redding

“You’ve got to have confidence to play at a high level. That and believing in what you’re doing are important. But at the end of the day, it comes down to blocking, tackling and being physical.” — Redding

---

Team: No. 6 Good Hope (10-1, 7-0 in Class 4A, Region 5)

Opponent: Anniston (6-5, 5-2 in Class 4A, Region 6)

First Round: Good Hope 42, Hatton 12 | Anniston 40, Randolph 12

All-Time Series: First Meeting

The Skinny: The Raiders advanced to the second round for the fourth time in seven seasons after taking down Hatton last week.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have also reached the second round in four of the past seven years.

According to E.A. Sports Today, JaKorie Carr registered three total touchdowns — two receiving and a punt return — in his team’s win against Randolph last week.

Anniston has also played a difficult schedule under second-year coach Rico Jackson — with two of its five losses coming against No. 2 Pleasant Grove and No. 3 Cherokee County.

The Bulldogs have won four of their last five bouts since a 2-4 start, scoring at least 36 points in each of those victories.

Coach Speak: “Ultimately, I thought we did what we had to do to win last week. Hatton played really hard and tried to win that football game. I think our guys withstood that early and took control in the second half.” — Alan Scott

“Anniston’s record isn’t indicative of how good they are. They play in a talented region and their non-region schedule was also kind of ridiculous. They are just very big, very athletic and very well-coached.” — Scott

“We’ve got to play a clean game — protect the ball on offense and get a couple of stops on defense. Getting a couple of turnovers would be great, too. And special teams — we saw last week what can happen there and know we need to get some things cleaned up there. We’ve just got to be solid from top to bottom to give ourselves a chance.” — Scott