The North Carolina High School football playoffs opened on Friday night. Here’s a look at how the teams from the coverage areas of the North State Journal’s local editions fared in the opening round:
Duplin County
In 2A, No. 11 East Duplin beat 22 Eastern Wayne, 41-18 and faces 6 Whiteville next.
No. 17 James Kenan was eliminated by 16 Beddingfield, 18-16.
In 1A, No. 8 North Duplin beat 25 Pamlico County, 35-27 and will face 9 Southeast Halifax
Moore County
In 4A, No. 1 Pinecrest beat 29 Garner, 45-31 and faces 13 Clayton next.
In 1A, No. 6 North Moore beat 27 Chatham County, 28-0 and face 34 Bertie next.
Stanly County
In 2A, No. 9 North Stanly beat 24 TW Andrews 34-32 and faces 8 Brevard next.
No. 27 West Stanly was eliminated by 6 Randleman, 43-0.
In the 1A bracket, 6 Albemarle (pictured) beat 27 South Davidson, 49-0 and move on to face 11 Thomasville.
25 South Stanly was eliminated by 8 Bessemer, 52-32.
Forsyth County
In the 4A bracket, No. 11 West Forsyth beat 22 Ardrey Kell, 32-15 and will face 6 Butler next.
7 East Forsyth beat 26 Page, 42-6 and will face 23 Independence next.
21 Reagan was eliminated by 8 TC Roberson 42-21.
Chatham County
In 2A, no. 23 Northwood was eliminated by Louisburg, 46-43.
In 1A, No. 27 Chatham County was eliminated by 6 North Moore, 28-0.
Randolph County
In the 2A bracket, No. 6 Randleman beat 27 West Stanly, 43-0 and advances to face 11 Forest Hills.
No. 25 Trinity was eliminated by 8 Brevard, 44-13
No. 17 Southwestern Randolph was eliminated by 16 West Stokes, 19-6.
19 Providence Grove (6-4), was eliminated by 14 East Surry, 42-13.
In 1A, No. 3 Eastern Randolph beat 30 Cherryville, 68-7 and face 14 Hayesville next
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Local Government Commission (LGC) approved a property purchase through $70 million in limited obligation bonds for the city of Wilmington at its June 6 meeting.
The purchase involves the PPD building, which is one of the tallest structures in the downtown Wilmington area and is owned by Fisher Thermo Scientific. The sale of the building was announced in spring 2022 after Fisher Thermo Scientific said it was downsizing and moving its headquarters.
The city of Wilmington plans to move multiple departments out of older buildings and consolidate them in the PPD building. The city said it does not plan a tax increase to help pay for the purchase.
The LGC also approved Onslow County’s request for $68 million in limited obligation bonds to build Northeast Elementary School in the Swansboro area, $25 million in limited obligation bonds to purchase vehicles and equipment for various departments in New Hanover County, and $17.4 million in financing for Rowan County to buy, build and install five airport hangars at the Mid-Carolina Regional Airport in Salisbury.
The city of Salisbury in Rowan County was given approval to enter into a $6.5 million installment purchase agreement to build a 19,000-square-foot fire station.
The LGC gave Orange County the go-ahead for $14.5 million in limited obligation bonds. Most of those funds will be for school projects but will also go toward buying county vehicles and several other facilities projects such as façade and HVAC projects, and IT projects.
Other large fiscal approvals were given to the town of Kernersville in Forsyth County for a $4.5 million installment purchase plan to renovate its Beeson Crossroads Fire Department facility and $3.1 million to the city of Rocky Mount in Nash County to remodel a city warehouse and replace a facility roof as well as sewer and water lines. Rocky Mount will also use some funds to refurbish a pool.
Asheboro Housing Authority’s $10.8 million was approved, and those funds will be loaned to Asheboro Summit to buy and fix up the Asheboro Summit Apartments.
The LGC-approved water and sewer projects for the Town of Laurinburg and Edgecombe Water & Sewer District at $2.6 million each. The town of Wallace in Duplin County also received approval for $1.2 million.
CHAPEL HILL — In terms of experience, it was one of the biggest mismatches in the history of North Carolina’s high school state football tournament. But that just set the stage for some Cinderella magic.
East Duplin controlled the clock to choke off a powerful Reidsville offense and used some high football IQ to pull off the deciding play in a 24-21 upset that earned the Panthers their first state title in school history, beating a Rams team that has won the title more than any other school in North Carolina.
Reidsville, the top seed in the 2A bracket at 14-1, entered on a roll, having trailed for all of three minutes in five playoff games and winning by a combined 224-60 margin. The Rams were looking for their 20th state title and fifth in seven seasons. East Duplin, meanwhile, hadn’t been to the championship game since 2017 and was 0 for 5 in previous trips to the game.
“We’re very proud of our football team,” East Duplin coach Battle Holley said. “We fought to the end, just like we have all year. Now we get to do something that hasn’t ever been done before, and that’s win a state championship.”
Holley drew up a game plan to neutralize the Reidsville attack by preventing them from having the ball. The Rams got the ball just three times in the first half, for all of nine minutes, while East Duplin had drives of four minutes, six and a half minutes and five and a half minutes.
The Panthers won time of possession for the game by a 31:24 to 16:36 margin, including holding the ball for 9:38 of the opening 12-minute quarter and 10:01 of the final quarter.
A crushing ground game was key for East Duplin. Avery Gaby, who won Offensive MVP honors for East Duplin, carried the ball 37 times for 184 yards and a score. Nizaya Hall added 94 yards on 14 carries. The Panthers threw the ball just twice in the game, completing one for the game-winning touchdown with 2:16 remaining in the game.
East Duplin jumped out on top, taking the opening kick and capping a methodical drive with a Gaby 1-yard run in the first quarter, then held Reidsville in check until the Rams got a Dionte Neal catch from Al Lee to tie the game at the half.
Reidsville got the second-half kickoff and appeared poised to take its first lead as the Rams lined up for a 27-yard field goal attempt. But East Duplin’s Rodrigo Sanchez went through the middle of the line and blocked the kick.
“I just went up at 100 percent,” said Sanchez, who was voted Defensive MVP for the Panthers. “I felt it hit my forearm and just got excited.”
His excitement would only grow immediately after the play. A Reidsville player picked up the ball and stood with it, apparently unaware the play was still live.
East Duplin’s Elam Moore knew, however, and plucked the ball out of his hands, returning it 70 yards to give the Panthers a 14-7 lead they would not relinquish.
“It was just knowing the game from experience,” Moore said. “The ball didn’t cross the line of scrimmage, so I just took it from him and ran it back. I was so glad I had (his teammates) behind me blocking.”
East Duplin entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead, but Reidsville wouldn’t go away. The Rams got a 40-yard touchdown from Lee to Jaden McCain to cut the lead to three. Lee was 15 of- 26 for 195 yards on the day. It was McCain’s only catch, although he had two solo tackles, three assists and a fumble recovery on defense.
When East Duplin appeared to ice the game with a late touchdown from quarterback Zack Brown to Kade Kennedy — the team’s only completion of the day, Reidsville responded with an 83-yard kickoff return for a score by Dionte Neal, who finished with two touchdowns and 164 all-purpose yards.
The resulting onside kick didn’t go 10 yards, however, and East Duplin was able to run out the final 2:03 to earn its first crown.
“We did it. We did it,” Holley said. “It was our time. We did it, and it goes back all the way from when coach (Brian) Aldridge first came to East Duplin and had great teams to get close. … These guys had a lot of faith all year. They believed in each other. I’ve had some good teams, but this was probably one of the best teams — to be able to get along, care for each other, love one another.”
1A championship: Mount Airy 20, Tarboro 7
Tarboro’s Omarion Lewis sits on the ground in disappointment after throwing an interception during Saturday’s NCHSAA 1A football championship game against Tarboro in Raleigh. (PJ Ward-Brown / North State Journal)
No. 4 seed Mount Airy won its first state title since 2008 and seventh overall, beating defending champion Tarboro and denying the Vikings of winning a third straight title and fifth in six years.
Junior running back Tyler Mason was all the offense Mount Airy needed. He ran 23 times for 139 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns to account for all of the Granite Bears’ scoring. Mount Airy threw just four passes in the game, completing one. Walker Stroup led Mount Airy on defense with nine tackles and a forced fumble to cut short a Tarboro drive in the fourth quarter. The Vikings would not get the ball back. Stroup also punted for the Bears, averaging 39.7 yards and downing two of his three inside the 20. Tarboro had 119 rushing yards from Kamerin McDowell-Moore.
3A championship: East Lincoln 30, Northern Nash 15
No. 4 seed East Lincoln capped an undefeated 16-0 season by knocking off top seed Northern Nash, earning its third state title and first since 2014. East Lincoln broke open the game with 17 second-quarter points. Quarterback Tyler Mizzell threw two touchdowns to earn game MVP honors while UVA commit Keandre Walker had five catches for 41 yards and a touchdown to earn top offensive player honors. East Lincoln’s defense got three interceptions and a fumble recovery to keep Northern Nash’s offense in check. West Virginia commit Ben Cutter led the way with 10 tackles from his linebacker spot, earning defensive MVP honors. Northern Nash was led by Carson Jenkins, who had 20 tackles in the game, while quarterback Keno Jones threw for 224 yards and had a touchdown passing and running. East Lincoln kicker Christopher Mileta also tied a state championship record with three field goals.
4A championship: New Bern 40, Grimsley 28
Unbeaten New Bern knocked off top seed Grimsley to win its fourth state title and first since 2014. It also became the first team to win a state title without throwing a pass since 2017. New Bern was led by Aronne Herring, who ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yarder, and Damaree Tucker, who added 105 yards and two touchdowns, including a 36-yarder. The New Bern defense also held Grimsley to 102 passing yards, with 85 coming on one play — a touchdown from Ryan Stephens to Terrell Anderson. No’Tavien Green led New Bern with a 49-yard interception return, five solo tackles, six assists, a forced fumble and a sack. FSU commit K.J. Sampson had five solos, five assists and 1.5 tackles for loss.
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