RALEIGH, N.C. — For a team that has overcome so much adversity this season, nationally-ranked
Butler (Matthews, N.C.) made sure there wasn't any drama in the championship game.
The Bulldogs (16-0) forced six turnovers and MVP
Jahwan Edwards ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns in the second half as Butler crushed Wake Forest-Rolesville 44-0 in the 4-AA title game at N.C. State.
Butler, ranked 23rd in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, won its second straight 4-AA championship.
"It's been a wild ride for us the whole season, and this just tops it off," Bulldogs coach Mike Newsome said. "It's so much sweeter to watch these kids go through the adversity we had to go through, and have those guys in our hearts that aren't with us today."
The team was ranked second in the MaxPreps preseason poll. But MaxPreps National Junior of the Year Christian LeMay, a Georgia-bound quarterback who threw for 3,291 yards, 44 TDs and just two INTs last year, decided to sit out the 2010 season — as did 1,500-yard rusher Ron Howard.
Then during the season, star running back
Deion Walker (23 TDs) left the team after being involved in a fatal accident, and a standout linebacker was forced to miss a month after being charged with a serious crime (he has since been cleared).
"A lot of people could have folded the tent a long time ago, and these guys stuck with it and stepped up when they needed to step up," Newsome said. "They're just resilient. They're going to learn important life lessons having to go through all this stuff, and I hope that's what we're teaching them more than just winning championships."
That resiliency wasn't needed against WF-R (14-2), who was making its first state final appearance.
LeMay's replacement, sophomore
Riley Ferguson, completed all five of his passes on Butler's first possession, including a 19-yard screen pass to Edwards on 3rd-and-14 and a perfectly placed fade pass into the corner of the end zone. That ball was caught by older brother
Zach Ferguson, a junior, for a 15-yard touchdown that put Butler up 6-0.
"I saw the corner pressed up, and I looked at (my brother) and saw him shake his head, and I knew he was running the fade. That's his favorite route," the quarterback said.
Later in the first quarter, Ferguson hit
Channing Stribbling on a crossing pattern underneath for a 16-yard TD, and Joey Kloc's extra point made it 13-0.
Ferguson was named offensive MVP after completing 11 of 18 passes for 129 yards. He also threw three interceptions, but on a year when he didn't expect to play, he would up with 2,899 yards passing, 24 TDs and 6 INTs.
"Being a sophomore isn't an excuse, you have to play like a senior if you're playing for a program like this. That was my mentality the whole year," Ferguson said.
The Cougars finally got into Butler territory to open the second quarter, but on fourth down Austin Stewart caught a jump ball at the Bulldogs 7, then broke toward the visitors sideline and didn't stop until he was in the end zone.
At that point, Stewart had caught more WF-R passes (two) than the Cougars (zero).
"When I first got here, I was like, ‘Oh man, it's a tackling game,' trying to get my tackles up. But when I saw them throwing it, I said, ‘Let me take advantage of it,' and I took it to the crib," said Stewart, who later had a punt return TD called back because of a penalty. "I'm mad they took away my punt return, but that's OK, the refs trying to be a little fair I guess."
The second half belonged to Edwards, who finished with 170 yards on 31 carries after running for 154 yards on 18 carries in last year's final.
"I envisioned my partner (Walker) being here," Edwards said. "I've been with him since freshman year, I thought we were going to make it here together. Unfortunately stuff happens, and I just came out here and played for me and him tonight."
Edwards dropped a sure touchdown pass with a minute left in the second quarter, fueling his dominant performance in the second half.
"(WF-R) got the end of the stick," Edwards said. "Before halftime I dropped a big play and that just made me angry, so I had to show them I could do something. I had to bounce back because that's what good players do."
All that was left was to see if the Bulldogs could complete the shutout. WF-R got to the Butler 18 in the final minutes, but sophomore Corwin White recovered a Cougars fumble to end the threat.
Senior linebacker
Stephen Amoah had a game-high 15 tackles and sophomore linebacker
Peter Kalambayi had 12 tackles and a sack as Butler held the Cougars' Wing-T offense to 150 total yards.
The Bulldogs had never won the title before 2009 but have now won 31 straight games, leading to thoughts of a dynasty — especially with just two senior starters on offense.
But after what happened this season, Newsome knows not take anything for granted.
"Who would have thought we'd be back here this year?" Newsome said. "We did in our locker room but a lot of people doubted us."
Butler 44, Wake Forest-Rolesville 0Butler 13 10 14 7 – 44
WFR 0 0 0 0 – 0
First quarter
B — Zach Ferguson 15 pass from Riley Ferguson (kick blocked), 6:23
B — Channing Stribbling 16 pass from R. Ferguson (Joey Kloc kick), 1:21
Second quarter
B — Austin Stewart 93 interception return (Kloc kick), 10:35
B — Kloc 31 field goal, 0:44
Third quarter
B — Jahwan Edwards 1 run (Kloc kick), 10:21
B — Edwards 2 run (James Estes kick), 1:10
Fourth quarter
B — Edwards 29 run (Estes kick), 10:32
