Led by Georgia Tech-bound quarterback
Vad Lee, top-seeded
Hillside (Durham) had been dominant all season, winning by an average of 32 points a game and outscoring opponents 141-35 in the playoffs.
Meanwhile,
Davie (Mocksville) lost its first three games, entered the playoffs with a losing record and a No. 10 seed and trailed by 10 points at halftime of its first two playoff games.
While they took different routes, Hillside and Davie will end up in the same spot Saturday, facing off for the Class 4A state championship.
Lee threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Aquez Willis and ran for a 62-yard touchdown, both in the third quarter, as the Hornets (15-0) beat New Bern 12-7 in the only one of the eight state semifinals to feature two unbeaten teams.
Bears quarterback Josh Taylor gave
New Bern the lead with a 6-yard touchdown pass to John Wheatley in the second quarter, but he was stopped on a sneak from the 1-yard line on the final play of the first half, keeping the score 7-0.
The overlooked Hornets defense held again late in the fourth quarter — with New Bern inside the 15, Lee Williams forced a 24-yard loss on an end around.
"Offense gets all the glory, but the cliche defense wins championships is true," Hillside coach Antonio King told the Durham Herald-Sun.
While Hillside's defense made its stand, Davie held on for a 21-14 win over Porter Ridge (Indian Ridge). The Pirates (13-2) — whose only previous loss came on a forfeit — didn't score a point from three second-half chances inside the Davie red zone.
The final drive ended on a sack by Jared Barber, a West Virginia-bound linebacker who had been out since October with an injured knee.
"He told me he didn't want to miss out on playing in a game like this one," Davie coach Doug Illing told the Winston-Salem Journal. "What a great lift he gave us tonight with just his presence."
Barber's comeback seemed symbolic of the whole team. Davie entered the playoffs 5-6 and then trailed in all three of its playoff games before coming back. It had lost to Mount Tabor (Winston-Salem) 34-0 and North Davidson (Lexington) 51-28 before knocking those teams out in the playoffs.
"Heck, we have been behind all year," Illing said in the Journal. "When you start 0-3, you are behind from the giddy-up. That's when your true character comes out. We have grown a lot of character throughout the year."
MaxPreps' North Carolina football playoff bracketsCHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAYThe Durham-Davie 4A final Saturday at 11 a.m. will lead off a triple-header on Wake Forest's BB&T Field, followed at 3 p.m. by
Tarboro-
Carver (Winston-Salem) in 2A and at 7 p.m. by
Northeastern (Elizabeth City)-
Salisbury in 2AA at 7 p.m.
There will be another tripleheader at N.C. State's Carter-Finley Stadium — 4AA
Butler (Matthews) vs.
Wake Forest-Rolesville at 11 a.m., 3A
Eastern Alamance (Mebane)-
West Rowan (Mt. Ulla) at 3 p.m. and 3AA Northern Guilford (Greensboro)-Crest (Shelby) at 7 p.m.
The smallest classes will be at Kenan Stadium on the UNC campus, with 1AA Pender (Burgaw)-
Albemarle having Friday to itself with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, and 1A
Wallace-Rose Hill (Teachey) and
Murphy playing Saturday at noon.
TWO MORE TEAMS NO LONGER UNBEATENNew Bern wasn't the only team to lose its first game in the state semifinals. Charlotte Catholic (14-1) was beaten by
Crest (Shelby) 31-10 in 3AA, and Lincolnton (13-1) fell to Carver (Winston-Salem) 41-27 in 2A.
Crest (11-3) used some big plays in the first half to take a 24-3 lead into the break, including a 94-yard kickoff return and 54-yard run by Kendall Kee and a 63-yard interception return by Keenan Smith.
The Shelby Star reported that Crest was actually outgained 284-158, but took advantage of four Catholic turnovers.
Rhaheim Ledbetter then finished the scoring with a 68-yard interception return. This will be the Chargers' first state final appearance since the program won back-to-back titles in 2003-04.
Over in Lincolnton, Carver (12-2) avenged a home defeat in the second round of last year's playoffs, and will now get to play the championship game five minutes from its school in Winston-Salem.
The game was tied 27-27 when Channon Crawford scored twice in the final three minutes on runs of 6 and 27 yards. Carver will now be back in the final for the first time since winning it all in 2002.
BIG COMEBACK FOR SALISBURYShelby dared Salisbury quarterback
John Knox to beat it. So he did.
Knox threw for three touchdowns in the final 7:45 as Salisbury knocked out Shelby 21-14 in a 2AA semifinal.
"They had so many people up in the box we knew we had to throw it some to win the game," Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan told the Shelby Star.
Salisbury High's John Knox.
File photo by Ron McCann
Knox threw scoring passes of 61 yards to
Keion Adams, 21 yards to
Romar Morris and 49 yards to Dominique Dismuke. According to the Charlotte Observer, Salisbury (12-3) — which set a school record for wins — won its last state title in 1957 when it was known as Boyden High.
EXTRA POINTSCaleb Driver ran for 263 yards on 31 carries, but it wasn't enough as Hunt (Wilson) lost to
Northern Guilford (Greensboro) 28-20.
T.J. Logan ran for a 70-yard touchdown on the first play of the game and later scored on a 76-yard screen pass in the win. ... Seth Curtis and quarterback Chris Edwards have both reached the 2,000-yard mark for
Murphy. Edwards had 2,139 yards passing and Curtis has 2,008 yards rushing. ...
Pender (Burgaw) went on the road to defeat Southwest Onslow (Jacksonville) 28-17 and reach the state final for the first time in program history.
Harold Gutmann covers the state of North Carolina for MaxPreps.com. He lives in Durham and can be reached at haroldgutmann@gmail.com.
