Dudley dominated JH Rose by record final, 69-40, in NC 3A football state championship

Greensboro Dudley High football coach Steven Davis had won four state championships before Friday night’s N.C. 3A title game with Greenville’s JH Rose.

None of them probably felt as good as No. 5.

Coaching his son Stephen II, for the final time, coach Davis watched his son, and his Panthers, dominate the title game, winning 69-40.

“This team is so close,” coach Davis said after the game. “They hang out in the parking lot. They eat together. It’s just an honor to coach these guys.”

Dudley set a record for most points scored in a neutral site NCHSAA championship, breaking an 18-year-old record, and the Panthers topped the 60-point mark for the fifth time this season.

Dudley, which won its first state title in five years, had 62 points with two minutes, nine seconds left in the third quarter.

Panthers senior QB Jahmier Slade was championship MVP, after he ran 11 times for 98 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

From the beginning, this one was a mismatch.

Dudley led 21-0 to start the game, scoring a defensive touchdown and forcing Rose backwards 15 yards on another possession. Rose, however, fought back, and closed within one score late in the second quarter. But Dudley had a knockout of an answer, scoring two touchdowns in the final 43 seconds of the second quarter and taking a 42-20 halftime lead. The Panthers tied an NCHSAA state championship game record for most points in a half.

And Dudley opened up the second half with a quick touchdown drive — three plays, 50 yards — to go up 49-20.

Rose had three first half turnovers that were really the difference in the game. Rose was looking for its sixth state championship. It won in 1975 and it won four in a row from 2003-06.

For the Davises, and for Dudley, it had to feel good.

Stephen II is called “Deuce” around school and he’s been on the Panthers sidelines since he was 3. He became a ball boy two years later and started in the secondary this season for a team that finished 15-1.

“The four years went by so fast,” coach Davis told the Greensboro News & Record this week. “I can just remember when he got here as a ninth-grader — a little thin, short thing. He’s finally got some height on him. Overall, it’s been a blessing.”

Notes: Dudley’s Logan Wright, a defensive end, was his school’s most outstanding performer on defense. Wright had eight tackles and a sack....Dudley running back Michael Shaw (12 carries, 191 yards, one TD) was his team’s most oustanding offensive performer.

Rose’s Jayden Grimes, a receiver, was his team’s most outstanding offensive performer. He caught nine passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Klavon Brown won for the Rose defense. He seven tackles, a blocked kick and a sack.

This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 9:58 PM.