The playoffs loom in the North Carolina Open League, with teams still vying for the top four spots.

With only one weekend left in regular season play, last year's state champions, the Chapel Hill Highlanders, and perennial contenders the Charlotte Tigers find themselves within two points of each other in th standings, trying to get that coveted 4th seed. Both are 5-3. The Highlanders have more bonus points.

The Highlanders control their destiny. Highlanders beat North Meck 76-5 last week and are ahead of the Tigers. Their problem is that they face 8-0 Charlotte Catholic, who leads the league, with Union County 7-1 and 2nd, and the Raleigh Rattlesnakes 3d at 6-2. It's possible that the Highlanders could catch the Rattlesnakes, if they beat Charlotte Catholic and the Rattlesnakes lose to 1-7 Cape Fear. The Tigers are too far behind Raleigh to move into 3rd.

The Tigers, being two points behind the Highlanders, do not control their destiny. That said, they have a couple of things going for them. First, they will be playing the North Raleigh Redhawks on Saturday. The Redhawks are a tough side, but site 3-4. Charlotte should be favored against them. Chapel Hill plays the top team in the league. And lastly, the Tigers bested Chapel Hill in a close match earlier this season. So, should it come down to a tie in points, the Tigers own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

"We hoped to be locked in atop the standings and resting starters by this point in the season," said Charlotte Tigers Head Coach Erik Saxon. "Overall, in both state and regional - MSIRL - play we are 11-3. Our only 3 loses being to the three teams ahead of us in the standings. We have the same record as Chapel Hill and beat them, but they've done a better job collecting bonus points.  Everything comes down to our last match and theirs. It is frustrating from a coaching perspective, but a thrilling end to the NC regular season and illustrated just how competitive and solid North Carolina rugby is in the region."

The Highlanders are close to full strength after dealing with a series of injuries.

"We are really looking forward to renewing our rivalry with Charlotte Catholic, we last played them in 2009 in the state final," said Chapel Hill Head Coach Robert Joseph.  "Obviously it's a big challenge as Charlotte Catholic have been really strong, but it's a great chance to see how we have progressed."

The reason Charlotte Catholic and Chapel Hill haven't played in several years is because North Carolina split up their league to Single-School and Open. Charlotte Catholic was in the single-school division, but moved to the Open to get tougher competition.

For Charlotte Catholic, they had a bit of a shocking result last week as they lost 8-7 to unranked West Shore in the Jesuit Classic. That was an indication that West Shore has improved, 

The weather slowed down Catholic's wide open game, and the West Shore forwards kept the ball nicely. At the same time, Charlotte Catholic made some mistakes close to the West Shore tryline.

"We are still optimistic about our chances at Nationals," said Charlotte Catholic Head Coach Ian Mueller. "Our core senior group is healthy and at the top of their game."