Hough aims to finish the job vs. Millbrook in Thursday’s 8A state final
Heading into Thursday’s N.C. 8A state championship game, Hough High School’s football players are pretty upbeat about their chances against Millbrook High from Raleigh.
Both teams are 13-0, and both teams are in the state finals for the first time, playing at UNC’s Kenan Stadium. Millbrook opened in 1922 and started playing football in 1959. Hough opened just 15 years ago. It will the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Somebody is going to make some history.
On Tuesday afternoon, Hough’s football players seemed pretty sure which school that would be.
“They’re a pretty good team,” Hough linebacker LJ Porter said of Millbrook, “but everybody’s a pretty good team until they face us. They’ve got athletes. They’ve got talent. But we’ve got something for all that.”
And Porter said he’s not being cocky.
“There’s no worries,” he said. “There’s a difference between being confident and cocky. We’re going to stay confident.”
Hough’s players make no secret of the fact that they must establish the run against a Millbrook defense that’s given up 72 points all season, including five shutouts . Three of those have come in the past six games.
“They’ve got some boys,” Hough offensive lineman Jarvis Potts. “But we’re going to lock those boys down and run the ball, and we’re going to dominate. It’s been a long journey for me and it’s been a blessing to make it to the last round, and we’re going to finish it.”
Hough, ranked in the top 50 nationally in several polls, has played a tough schedule.
In the regular-season, the Huskies have beaten S.C. state champion South Pointe, N.C. quarterfinalists Myers Park and Independence as well as Virginia Class 5 state finalist Highland Springs. And in the regional finals, two weeks ago, the Huskies shut out nationally ranked West Charlotte, the reigning N.C. 3A state champion.
Hough has traditionally faced that type of competition, while making 13 straight playoff appearances, and reaching two semifinal games and several quarterfinal rounds.
But until this season, Hough had always come up oneor two games short of the final week. Sophomore defensive back Ryan Peterson said his team is determined to finish the job in its first state finals appearance.
“I wasn’t here for some of those years when we couldn’t get over the hump,” Peterson said. “But I look at this team as one that can get over the hump. It’s a great team full of great guys, great teams leaders. Millbrook is a good team. A team not to be slept on. They’re 13-0 for a reason. But you can’t make this game bigger than what it is, even though it’s a state championship game. It’s still just another game, but it just means more.”
Hough coach DeShawn Baker said he loves where his team is mentally right now.
Baker is 36-4 in three seasons and his Huskies have never lost a conference game during his tenure.
Baker said his team’s confidence was always a strength in those previous wins. He was happy to hear that it was still there now.
“I like that mentality for my guys,” Baker said. “Like, ‘You know what? We can go in and win this game.’ And they’ve got to have that confidence to know we can do it. I see nothing wrong with that. We’re not going to say we’re going to blow the doors of them, blah, blah, blah, or we’re better than them. But I think to have that mentality going into the game — that mentality that we should win every game — that’s the mentality every kid on our team should have.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 6:15 AM.
