Stifling defense and a deluge: How Cardinal Gibbons unseated Chambers for a state title

For Cardinal Gibbons quarterback Connor Clark, a touchdown pass to Maverick Shotwell after a stop-and-go route to the end zone’s right corner was so very nice, they did it twice.

Clark’s and Shotwell’s near carbon copy connection with 7:41 remaining in the third quarter earned the Crusaders’ first double-digit lead in Saturday’s N.C. 4A state final against Julius Chambers of Charlotte at NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Cougars never got closer.

The second Clark-to-Shotwell touchdown — this time for 74 yards — set up a 14-2 score that went final, and secured Cardinal Gibbons’ first ever football state championship.

“This school has been in existence for 113 years, and this is the first time we’ve won a state title in football,” Cardinal Gibbons coach Steven Wright said.

Cardinal Gibbons also became the first school located in Raleigh to win an NCHSAA football state championship since the 1970 Broughton team.

“I got an email from a member of the 1970 Broughton High School state championship team this week,” Wright said. “There’s been a lot of cities that have had a lot of success over the years. It’s nice to bring one back home.”

Cardinal Gibbons set a school record for wins in its 30th football season since the program was rejuvenated in 1992. The Crusaders reversed their August 20 season-opening setback — a 35-29 Chambers win across the street from Carter-Finley Stadium on Cardinal Gibbons’ Edwards Mill Road campus.

Chambers had been a second-half team this season and scored 21 points in the final two minutes last week against Hough. But the Cougars were held to 52 yards of total offense in the second half.

Cardinal Gibbons’ second half shutout earned Crusaders defensive coordinator Nick Drew distinction for leading units that held the teams of North Carolina’s last two “Mr. Football” winners — Chambers’ Daylan Smothers (last spring) and Omarion Hampton of Cleveland-Clayton (this fall) — scoreless after halftime.

“The whole crew showed up tonight, and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Wright said of his defense. “They worked so hard for this.”

Chambers (14-2), the winner of the past two 4AA state championships, got nine tackles and two-and-a-half tackles for loss from Chris Chalk. The Cougars had their last opportunity defused by Tristan Beasley’s interception inside the final stanza’s four-minute mark. The Cougars finished with just 114 yards of total offense.

“The conditions were bad. But at the end of the day, it’s football,” Smothers said. “You’ve got to deal with it. You’ve got to play through it.”

Cardinal Gibbons (14-2) struck first at the first quarter’s 4:57 mark, before any driving rain began pelting the turf and soaking spectators at Carter-Finley. Just ahead of the deluge, Shotwell, whose third-down reception kept the Crusaders’ second drive alive, completed a stop-and-go move before he corralled Clark’s 34-yard pass for a touchdown.

“I was just adjusting to the ball,” Shotwell said.

The Clark to Shotwell third-down conversion was the lone successful attempt among the teams’ combined 12 third-down opportunities in the first half.

“They were both kind of simple routes. The rain and the wind kind of affected it, too,” Shotwell continued. “We actually had to take off our gloves because of the rain.”

Much of Wayne Day Family Field was waterlogged by the start of the second quarter. Both teams were foiled by the adverse weather within a 90-second span. Cougars tailback Daylan Smothers broke loose for a 56-yard run before a touchdown saving tackle inside both the 10-yard line and nine-minute mark.

“It was huge. The way the elements are, you’ve got to make every play that is presented to you,” Chambers coach Glenwood Ferebee said of the two-play sequence. “It didn’t work out that way, and it kind of took some air out of us.”

One play later, Cardinal Gibbons’ Joshua Stoneking recovered a Chambers fumble. The Crusaders, deep in their own territory, muffed a punt snap that punter Ethan Hastings kicked out of the end zone for a safety 7:28 before halftime.

The teams combined for just 125 yards (64-61 Chambers) of total offense and six first downs in the first half, which concluded with a 7-2 score.

Cardinal Gibbons survived the second quarter’s waning minutes without a turnover leading to a score for the first time among the Crusaders’ three state finals. In 2019, East Forsyth recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Last spring, Grimsley of Greensboro turned an interception into a touchdown before heading to the locker room.

The Cougars were held without a touchdown for the first time in Ferebee’s three seasons at the IBM Drive school.

Cardinal Gibbons finished with 243 total yards, including Donovan Shepard’s 119 on the ground. Shepard rushed for 61 yards among two third down-and-15+ yards to go plays (one for 41, another for 20) in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, the Crusaders got eight tackles from Will Mason, and six tackles each by Ethan Grace and Ryan Ziegler. Grace added one-and-a-half sacks and three tackles for loss.

Cardinal Gibbons dominated time of possession: 29:38 to 18:22.

Three who made a difference

Connor Clark, Cardinal Gibbons: The Crusaders’ junior quarterback threw two touchdown passes and finished with 128 yards in the air.

Jordan Thompson, Chambers: A junior linebacker, Thompson was a thorn in the side of the Cardinal Gibbons offense, with five tackles for losses.

Tristan Beasley, Cardinal Gibbons: A senior defensive back, Beasley had an interception, a sack and two tackles for losses.

Worth mentioning

▪ Can’t get enough of Cardinal Gibbons vs. Chambers? The two teams open their 2022 seasons next August against one another. Chambers will be the home team.

▪ Chambers was among two teams in this weekend’s state football finals making a fourth straight appearance in a championship game. The other was Tarboro, in 1A.

▪ While Saturday night’s loss was a disappointment for Chambers fans, they can take consolation by knowing 10 of 11 offensive starters return next season.

▪ Chambers finished with 121 yards of total offense. Cardinal Gibbons had 246.

▪ The most effective runner was Cardinal Gibbons’ Donovan Shepherd, who carried 16 times for 112 yards.

Game stats

Chambers 0 2 0 0 — 2

Cardinal Gibbons 7 0 7 0 — 14

CG: Maverick Shotwell 34 pass from Connor Clark (Colin Blandford kick)

JC: Safety; Cardinal Gibbons punter kicked ball out of his end zone

CG: Shotwell 74 pass from Clark (Blandford kick)

This story was originally published December 11, 2021 at 10:08 PM with the headline "Stifling defense and a deluge: How Cardinal Gibbons unseated Chambers for a state title."