It’s no fluke. Weddington going to the NCHSAA 4A western regional final.
Weddington High, which beat Asheville’s AC Reynolds 17-10 in a N.C. 4A state quarterfinal Friday, is 13-1.
Since losing 52-32 to NCISAA Division I state champion Providence Day, the Warriors have won 12 consecutive games.
And most of those wins have been pretty convincing.
But Warriors coach Andy Capone has a sneaking suspicion that people are looking at the Warriors’ playoff road to the regional final, and they are paying more attention to who Weddington didn’t play on the way there.
There’s no Chambers, Hough, Grimsley or East Forsyth on the playoff resume. But that’s OK with Capone, whose team beat Marvin Ridge 29-19, Cox Mill 30-14, Northwest Guilford 35-14 and Reynolds, on Friday, to arrive at the school’s first 4A Western Regional championship game. Next up for Weddington is a road game at Grimsley, a 40-37 winner in three overtimes against Hough.
“It’s a great win for us,” Capone said after his defense came up with two big fourth-quarter stops to seal the win. “I know a lot of people didn’t expect us to be where we’re at, and they say we got through with a fluke, but there’s 60 guys and 12 coaches who believe in us. And, man, that’s all we need.”
Weddington has enjoyed plenty of playoff success, however, just not in North Carolina’s largest and most competitive class. The Warriors won 3AA state championships, in the old subdivided format, in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Now in the state’s largest class, 4A, the Warriors are one win away from going to another state final. And that’s no fluke.
“It feels great,” Capone said. “Hats off to our kids. They played their tails off for 48 minutes and I couldn’t be more proud of them. It’s awesome to get this win. There’s four teams left in 4A who will get to practice Monday and we’re one of them.”
Friday, Weddington jumped out to a 17-3 lead before Reynolds got a long catch and run after a Weddington defender missed a tackle.
Down 17-10, Reynolds drove inside the Warriors 25, where the drive stalled. Reynolds got another shot to drive and score, getting the ball at its 42 with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left. That drive stalled, too.
Weddington, which lost to Chambers in the 4A quarterfinals last year, is going at least one round deeper.
“Our defense played great the whole game,” Capone said. “I knew when we needed it, they would get the stop.”
PHOTOS: Reynolds at Weddington
This story was originally published November 25, 2022 at 9:45 PM.
