NCHSAA state football championship central: Your source for all of the weekend’s finals

It’s a super weekend for high school football fans, with four North Carolina state championship games, plus three big all-star contests.

Originally, this was to have been all-star weekend, with the Queen City Senior Bowl, the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, and the N.C. Coaches Association East-West game.

But Hurricane Helene forced a one-week extension of the regular season, and so we have the state title contests and the all-star games spread across three days.

Below find updates from all the games and links to full coverage.

Live scoreboard

Quick links

4A Final: Grimsley stops Rolesville to win state title

3A Final: West Charlotte gets first title in 29 years

2A Final: Monroe completes the mission, wins state title ring

1A Final: Tarboro ends Corvian’s state title dream

Queen City all-star game ends with thrilling overtime finale

West Charlotte’s “forgotten 1954 state champions”

Grimsley QB Faizon Brandon named NC Mr. Football

Chambers coach Brandon Wiggins resigns. Here’s what’s next

Championship games

CLASS 2A

Monroe stops Northeastern, wins first state championship since 2015

Monroe’s relentless ground game and swarming defense changed the momentum in the second half Saturday night and carried the Redhawks past Northeastern 35-25 for the 2A state football championship.

The Redhawks (15-0) capped a perfect season by outscoring the Eagles 21-7 in the second half on a frigid evening at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.

Tap here for full coverage

CLASS 3A

West Charlotte beats Seventy-First for the 3A state title

Two teams that have overpowered opponents on offense all season played a low scoring 3A final dominated by a defense.

A Seventy-First turnover set up the game-winning touchdown pass from West Charlotte sophomore QB Jamouri Nichols, and the Lions won their first state title in 29 years.

Tap here for full coverage

CLASS 4A

GRIMSLEY POLISHES OFF UNBEATEN SEASON, STOPS ROLESVILLE

Greensboro Grimsley won its second state championship in four seasons, beating a determined Rolesville team 35-23 in Chapel Hill.

(Tap here for full coverage from the game)

Grimsley, which improved to 2-1 in state championship games, played a lot of the game without one of its top three players, 2,000-yard running back Mitchell Summers, who left the game with injury.

With Summers out, N.C. Mr. Football, quarterback Faizon Brandon, ran the ball more often, including three times on a critical fourth quarter scoring drive that put Grimsley up 28-17 with nine minutes to play. After the Grimsley defense stopped Rolesville on downs, Brandon threw a pretty 63-yard pass to Hudson Cooper for a put-away touchdown with 4:19 left.

Rolesville lost for the third time in as many championship appearances. Rolesville lost in the 4AA finals in 2010 (to Butler) and spring 2021 (to Chambers). The school was known as Wake Forest-Rolesville in that 2010 title game.

▪ These teams played in August, with Grimsley winning 35-20. In that game, the Whirlies picked off three of passes, and WR Hudson Cooper had 200-plus receiving yards. Sanders ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Atkinson had 197 passing yards, and Brown carried for 98 yards. But it was Rolesville’s turnovers that made the difference.

CLASS 1A

Corvian falls to Tarboro in 1A final

Corvian’s dream unbeaten season came to an end in the 1A final, when the third year school ran into a Tarboro team making its eighth straight state finals appearance.

Tarboro won, 45-24, with a running game that had more than 400 yards.

Full coverage here

All-star games

QUEEN CITY SENIOR BOWL

An overtime field goal ended one of the most thrilling Queen City games yet.

Tap here for full coverage.

SHRINE BOWL OF THE CAROLINAS

1 p.m. Saturday, Spartanburg High School

TV Info: Bahakel Sports.

The background: This is thought to be the oldest high school all-star game in the United States, and it’s being played for the 88th time. The game matches top players from North Carolina against their South Carolina counterparts.

Scouting North Carolina: The lineup includes 16 players from the Charlotte area, including WR Jerel Bolder (Forest Hills), DL Chuck House (North Mecklenburg), LB Braden Barger (Weddington), and LB Ryan Bassani (North Lincoln). Mallard Creek’s Kennedy Tinsley is among the assistant coaches.

Scouting South Carolina: Finley Polk, who quarterbacked Northwestern to the Class 5A/Division 2 state championship, leads the Sandlappers’ attack. Also in the lineup is Clover RB Landon Stone and Catawba Ridge TE Brady Ambrose. Clover’s Perry Woolbright is an assistant coach for the South Carolina team.

Game history: This game has raised more than $75 million for Shriners Hospitals. South Carolina won last year’s contest 24-0.

N.C. COACHES EAST-WEST GAME

1 p.m. Sunday, Jamieson Stadium, Grimsley High, Greensboro

The background: This game, sponsored by the N.C. Coaches Association, features all-star teams from each half of the state. It was played for years in July but moved to December last year, because many high school players report to college campuses early in the summer.

Scouting the West: Grimsley’s Faizon Brandon was to have been a West QB, but his team is playing for the 4A state championship this weekend. That means a local player, Weddington’s Gregory Fee, will get a lot of the snaps for the West. His backfield will include South Point RB Chancye Ford, who rushed for 13 touchdowns this season. The team includes players from Hough, Mallard Creek, A.L. Brown, Cox Mill, Forest Hills, Hunter Huss, South Point, and Weddington high schools. Andy Capone (Weddington) and Brian Andrews (South Point) are among the assistant coaches.

Scouting the East: The East’s lineup underwent several changes, with players from Rolesville and Seventy-First busy with state championship games. One player to watch, though, is Nash Central’s James “Rocket” Rodgers, who rushed for nearly 1,100 yards this season and also was an effective weapon as a receiver.

Last season: The East won, 35-7.

East-West rosters

Queen City Senior Bowl rosters

West

East

Shrine Bowl rosters

Offense

Quarterbacks: Don Mahan, Burlington Williams; Brady Stober, Hickory

Running backs: Irving Brown, Wallace Rose Hill; Max Guest, AC Reynolds; Jason Willis, Bunker Hill

Receivers: Je’rel Bolder, Forest Hills; Jonathan Williams, Havelock; Nasir Newkirk, Dudley; James Newton, Western Alamance; Brian Rowe, Robinson; Jamien Little, Hickory

Tight ends: Gus Ritchie, Cary; Jack Ewell, Ayden Griffin; Garison Millsaps, Alexander Central

Linemen: Tai Buster, Kannanpolis; Trey Blue, Cary; Isaiah Locklear, Scotland; Jalen Morris, Jamie Randazzo, Weddington; Kiandre Marsh, Hough; Jon Stokes, Randleman; Luke Witt, West Stokes

Defense

Linemen: Isaiah Campbell, Durham; Bryce Lee, East Mecklenburg; Xavier Lewis, Rolesville; Jadon Best, Charles B Aycok HS; Chaz Knox, Mallard Creek; Chuck House, North Mecklenburg

Linebackers: Jamari Farmer, Mooresville; Ryan Bassani, North Lincoln; Kendrick Davis, Palisades; Braeden Barger, Weddington; Taeshown Alston, Vance County; Donovan Darden, Havelock

Defensive backs: AJ Graham, Mooresville; William Miller, Pinecrest; Brandon Rose, Mallard Creek; Jerron Blackwell, Dudley; RJ Rainer, Hough

Kicker: Cristian Harthan, Cuthbertson

Head coach: Richard Bailey, Scotland County

Assistants: Butch Carter, Alexander Central; Kennedy Tinsley, Mallard Creek; Jeff Snuffer, Western Alamance; Joe Glass, Hickory; Scott Loosemore, West Brunswick

2024 SC Shrine Bowl Roster

Offense

Quarterbacks: AJ Brand, Irmo; Will Wilson, Richland Northeast; Cutter Woods, Westside

Running backs: Tydarion Grier, Fairfield Central; Marquise Henderson, Belton-Honea Path; Landon Stone, Clover

Receivers: Chamarryus Bomar, Westside; Connor Brown, North Augusta; Malik Clark, Rock Hill; Jayden Sellers, South Florence; Mikkel Skinner, Riverside; Jamarcus Smith, Gaffney

Tight ends: Brady Ambrose, Catawba Ridge; Jordan Collins, South Pointe

Athlete: Jaquel Holman, Blackville-Hilda

Linemen: Jake Duncan, Crescent; Victor Goree, South Pointe; Christian Huynh, Carolina Forest; Kevin Peay, Lancaster; Bryce Rainwater, Hillcrest; Shed Sarratt, Gaffney; Hunter Taylor, Greenville; Kendall Walton, Lamar; Aiden Wiles, North Central

Defense

Linemen: Amare Adams, South Florence; Jalynn Coard, Manning; Mycheal Edwards-Wallace, Kingstree; Andre Pickett, Northwestern; Sterling Sanders, Blythewood

Linebackers: Anthony Addison, Sumter; Jaquavious Dodd, Eastside; Jordan Lowery, Sumter; Dylan Polansky, Ashley Ridge; Cam Smith, Spartanburg; Josh Smith, Dutch Fork; Torrance Wilson, Lake City

Defensive backs: Ramani Bruton, JL Mann; Damarion Coe, Hartsville; Omarion Davis, Indian Land; Devin Geronomi, White Knoll; Demarcus Leach, Abbeville; Elgin Sessions, Dutch Fork; Cam Strong, TL Hanna

Kicker: Grady Dangerfield, James Island

Head coach: Reggie Kennedy, Manning

Assistants: Brian Smith, Kingstree; Jeff Tate, Ashley Ridge; Dann Holland, Pelion; Perry Woolbright, Clover; Marco Thompson, Manning; Jimmy Woods, Lamar

Lou Bezjak of The State contributed to this report.

This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 5:30 AM.

Langston Wertz Jr.

The Charlotte Observer

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Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription