Observer Sweet 16 Football: Mallard Creek repeats as No. 1

After Mallard Creek High football coach Mike Palmieiri watched his team beat Wake Forest 25-14 in the N.C. 4AA state championship game late Saturday night, he went home and got some rest for the first time, he said, since June.

Palmieri also took some time to reflect on what his team had done. In two seasons, Mallard Creek has won 31 of 32 games and won back-to-back state championships. The Mavericks repeated as champions in 2014 despite losing 38 seniors and 18 starters from an unbeaten 2013 team.

After a vote of a four-member panel of sportswriters, the Mavericks also repeat as Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 champions for the 2014 season. They are the top team in the Obsever’s 99-school primary coverage area, which covers teams in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Union and York Counties.

“I stayed home with my family Sunday,” Palmieri said. “I just relaxed. I got to appreciate this one a little more. The second time, you can take it all in. The first time went so fast, it just blows right by.”

Palmieri’s Mavericks began the season nationally ranked and on top of the Sweet 16, but dropped after losing 28-27 to Butler early in the season. As the Bulldogs – and later, Independence – took turns at the top, Mallard Creek just kept on winning.

Hough upset Independence in the playoffs and Mallard Creek returned to the top spot, and the Mavericks fought through some early penalty problems and execution problems against Wake Forest High on Saturday in order to finish in that top spot.

N.C. 4A finalist Charlotte Catholic (14-2) – which lost to Mallard Creek and N.C. 4A state champ New Bern – is No. 2 in the Sweet 16.

N.C. Independent Schools Division I champ Charlotte Christian (11-1), which only lost to Mallard Creek, is No. 3.

Palmieri said it was fun to walk into school Monday morning.

“It was awesome,” he said. “The kids were happy. There was a lot of good positive energy. This season was a little bit harder than last year. The championship game was a lot harder. We were a resilient group. Last year, we controlled every game. This year was one of those seasons where we had to fight for everything and no one gave us anything. I just thought it was a big accomplishment for the coaches and the players, and when it was finally over, there was one big sigh of relief that all of the hard work was worth it.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2014 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Observer Sweet 16 Football: Mallard Creek repeats as No. 1."