NCHSAA state championship update: Reidsville rolls past Clinton for 2A title
A recap of Friday and Saturday’s NCHSAA 1A, 2A and 3A state championship games.
For coverage of the 4A game, click here.
2A final: Reidsville wins 23rd state title
Reidsville won its 23rd state title Saturday, beating previously unbeaten Clinton 28-18 in the NCHSAA 2A state final at N.C. State.
Reidsville (15-1) jumped out to a 14-3 lead early, but in the third quarter Clinton answered back with a 1-yard run from Amaris Williams with eight minutes left in the third quarter, trimming the lead to 14-10. But Reidsville quickly answered, driving down the field and getting a 24-yard pass from quarterback Al Lee to tight end Kendre Harrison.
Lee added to his team’s lead with about nine minutes left, when he hit Cam’ron Jones with a 45-yard scoring pass and a 28-10 lead.
Clinton fumbled the ensuing kickoff and a penalty brought back another Reidsville touchdown. Reidsville eventually turned the ball over, deep in Clinton territory, and Clinton drove for another score. Williams caught a touchdown pass from Nydarion Blackwell and ran in the two-point conversion. That got Clinton to within 10 points, at 28-18, with 5:32 to play.
But that was as close as Clinton could get.
Clinton (15-1) was playing in its 11th state final. It dropped to 5-6 all time.
NCHSAA live scoreboard
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1A final: Mount Airy repeats as state champs
Mount Airy repeated as NCHSAA 1A state champions, beating Tarboro in the finals for the second season.
Mount Airy won 21-3 after trailing 3-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Tyler Mason’s 12-yard run gave his team a 7-3 lead with 3:47 to play in the third quarter. But at the start of the fourth, Mario Revels broke loose for an 89-yard scoring play on the first play of the fourth quarter. That play also broke the game open.
Revels started up the middle, after a shovel pass and popped to his left, hitting the sideline. His calf cramped up near the end, but he was able to get into the end zone for the game-breaking score.
Later with 2:02 left, senior Blake Hawks caught a fourth down pass from the Tarboro 4 for a third touchdown.
Mount Airy QB Ian Gallimore was 3-for-6 for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Revels ran three times for 26 yards and caught two passes for 100 yards and a score. Mason ran 27 times for 133 yards and a score.
Mount Airy (16-0) won its third state title and improved to 3-2 in state finals. Tarboro (13-1), making its 14th championship appearance, fell to 8-6 in those finals.
Tarboro, which came into the game with three 1,000-yard rushers, ran 27 times for 48 yards and had 18 yards passing.
3A final: Hickory wins with late rally
Hickory marched 62 yards in the closing minutes Friday night and rallied past Seventy-First, 33-26, to capture the 3A state football championship.
Playing at Kenan Stadium on the UNC campus at Chapel Hill, the Red Tornadoes capped a 16-0 season and won the state title for the second time in school history.
Hickory’s other championship came in 1996.
Seventy-First finished 15-1.
Hickory junior quarterback Brady Stober entered the game with nearly 4,000 passing yards for the season, but it was his running on the final drive that helped push his team to the state championship.
Tied at 26-all, Hickory started at its 38.
Stober ran 16 yards to the Seventy-First 38, then completed key passes to Damarion Lee and DeShawn Malley. Isaiah Lackey, who ran for three touchdowns Friday night, also carried four times for 22 yards in the final drive.
On first-and-goal from the Falcon 8, Stober broke two tackles and scored the go-ahead score. Braeden McCourt’s conversion kick made it 33-26.
Seventy-First had one more threat. The pass completion and a pass interference call against Hickory moved the Falcons to the Red Tornadoes’ 34 with 11 seconds to play. That threat ended on the game’s final play when Hickory’s Will Prince intercepted a Nance pass in the end zone.
The game’s final 12 minutes were a blur of back-and-forth lead changes and ties.
Hickory, trailing 19-18 late in the third quarter, put together its best drive of the second half. The Red Tornadoes moved 76 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 12-yard run by Lackey. Brady Stober then connected with Damarion Lee on a two-point conversion, giving Hickory a 26-19 lead with 8:41 remaining.
Then Seventy-First answered. Donavan Frederick returned the Hickory kickoff 32 yards to the Red Tornadoes; 45.
The Falcons then moved the distance, scoring with 2:42 remaining on a 6-yard pass from Deandre Nance to Jaydyn Surgeon. Devlin Coleman’s conversion kick tied the game.
Stober finished with 21-of-30 passing for 238 yards.
Seventy-First did most of its damage on the ground, with Nance rushing for 159 yards and two scores, and Donavan Frederick adding 122 yards on the ground. Nance also passed for 90 yards.
Game summary
Hickory 7 11 0 15 – 33
Seventy-First 7 6 6 7 – 26
H – Isaiah Lackey 2 run (Braeden McCourt kick)
SF – Amire Drummond 13 pass from Deandre Nance (Devlin Coleman kick)
H – Lackey 1 run (Tyler Johnson run)
SF – Nance 1 run (pass failed)
H – FG McCourt 26
SF – Nance 38 run (run failed)
H – Lackey 12 run (Damarjon Lee pass from Brady Stober)
SF – Jaydyn Surgeon 6 pass from Nance (Coleman kick)
This story was originally published December 8, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
