Monroe dominates: Union County high school punches ticket to NC 2A state championship
Kaegan Chambers put the game in his own hands early, and it worked well for state title game-bound Monroe.
On the second drive of the Redhawks’ 41-15 drubbing of Brevard in the North Carolina 2A regional final, the athletic dual-threat quarterback scrambled for an 81-yard touchdown. Chambers juked several defenders before hitting paydirt, giving Monroe an advantage from which it wouldn’t look back.
Chambers, who has five Division I offers including the Charlotte 49ers, impressed with both his arm and legs throughout the Redhawks’ dominant win Friday night in Union County.
“It felt like they were going to pack the box and try to stop our (running) backs, and that would just leave me open on the edges,” Chambers said. “And once I’m gone, they can’t catch me. Just trying to put my team in a position to win. This is my last time playing here, unfortunately, but we went out with a bang. That’s all we wanted.
“We’ve been talking about this since the summer and spring of last season. We didn’t want to feel the same hurting we felt last season, going to Bunker Hill and falling short (in a 29-28 loss before the state quarterfinals). We just wanted to get our seniors and underclassmen on board, and we wanted to go do this thing.”
Monroe is now set to play Northeastern — which earned a 24-14 win over Whiteville on Friday night in Elizabeth City — in next week’s 2A state championship game.
How Monroe blew out Brevard in the NCHSAA regional finals
Chambers had already posted more than 200 rushing yards early in the second quarter.
Monroe didn’t stop following its quarterback’s initial long rushing touchdown that came on second down and long. Chambers exploded for a 73-yard burst, bolting down the sideline to set up a short touchdown carry from senior running back Zion Lindsey.
Possessions from Brevard, whose blue-clad fans were well-represented on the road in Union County, weren’t lasting long. But while Monroe had taken a commanding lead early, penalties continued to give the Blue Devils chances.
Even Chambers had several big runs called back, but the standout senior quarterback made more than enough highlights that mattered. A 56-yard touchdown rush — punctuated by a two-point conversion from nine yards out — gave Monroe a 21-0 lead.
“Kaegan was that guy where we knew we had a secret weapon,” Monroe head coach Johnny Sowell said. “We know he can throw the ball. We know he can run it. And that was a matchup that we knew was going to be tough for a lot of people.”
With the Redhawks already ahead by four touchdowns, a strong Brevard kick return set it up in plus territory late in the first half. Junior quarterback Christian Conley fired a pass to senior tight end Judson Weaver for a big fourth down conversion — but the Blue Devils ended up turning it over on downs after a great stop by the Monroe defense.
Chambers kept going throughout the second half, hustling for another touchdown rush early in the third quarter before tossing one to junior receiver Bryson Simpkins.
Brevard added a touchdown during the final seconds of regulation: Junior running back Karter Macfie punched it in and made it 41-15.
They said it
“People have doubted us every week. Second round when we played Burns, they say we haven’t played any physical teams. We came out there, hit them in the mouth. Third round, West Stokes, they say we couldn’t handle their big line. Came out there, hit them in the mouth as well. Fourth round, they had Shelby beating us. They said we couldn’t stop their athletes or just couldn’t compete with them.
“Went and took over their place. And then this week, they said we weren’t able to stop their run. They had us losing; ‘We’re gonna flop like we do every year.’ So we just keep proving everybody wrong. We’ve just got one more, and there’s nothing else that they can say.” — Monroe senior Jordan Young, the Michigan-bound wide receiver and cornerback
What’s next?
Monroe will play Northeastern next week for the NCHSAA 2A state championship, set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill.
PHOTOS: Brevard at Monroe
This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 10:33 PM.
