The 2010 North Carolina high school football season officially came to an end over the weekend with the playing of the 74th annual Shrine Bowl. The game at Wofford College matched 44 all-stars from both North Carolina and South Carolina and has raised almost $70 million for Shrine Hospitals and Burns Institutes across the country.
South Carolina came in with a 41-28-4 edge in the competition, and this year was no different. North Carolina was spotted a 10-0 lead but South Carolina dominated after that, winning 42-10.
The Tar Heel state took advantage of its opponent's mistakes early. A bad punt snap from South Carolina led to a 43-yard field goal from Crest (Boiling Springs) kicker
Trevor Austin.
North Carolina then scored its only touchdown on a 44-yard interception return from Anson (Wadesboro) defensive back
Brandon Ellerbe, who has given a verbal commitment to UNC. Ellerbe picked off 2010 Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year
Justin Worley.
Austin also made the extra point, one week after missing an extra point in the closing seconds of Crest's 21-20 loss to Northern Guilford in the 3-AA title game. Austin was named the state's offensive MVP.
"It was good to come back after last week's game because last week's game was a letdown," Austin told the Shelby Star. "So it was good to get my feet back on the ground."
But there wasn't much good feeling after the first quarter, as South Carolina scored the last 42 points and held the Tar Heels to more penalty yards (132) than total yards (75), according to statistics from the Charlotte Observer.
George Tech-bound
Vad Lee and UNC-bound
Marquise Williams each threw an interception and were a combined 7 of 17 for 68 yards passing, while
Justus Pickett of Ardrey Kell (Charlotte) was the team's leading rusher (six carries for 28 yards) and receiver (two catches for 28 yards).
The loss was an unusual circumstance for the participants from West Rowan (Mt. Ulla), who had won a nation's-best 46 games in a row.
"I'm not used to it at all," Falcons lineman Charles Holloway told the Salisbury Post. "I was getting kind of frustrated, but we were here for a good cause instead of just us. It's for the kids."
South Carolina's
Jadeveon Clowney, regarded as the top recruit in the county, recorded three sacks and drew four holding penalties.
BEST FALL SPORTS PROGRAMSWhile it doesn't have quite as long a history as the Shrine Bowl, the Wachovia Cup has been around for 32 years. The trophy goes to the schools with the best overall athletic performance within each of the state's four competitive classifications.
Charlotte Catholic (290 points) from 3A is the overall leader, earning points in all seven fall sports. The Cougars were state champions in girls dual team tennis, finished third in both girls golf and girls cross country, and were a state semifinalist in both boys soccer and football.
But
Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh) isn't far behind with 272.5 points. The Crusaders won three state championships — in volleyball, girls cross country and boys soccer.
The 4A class is tight between the past two champions,
Myers Park (Charlotte) and defending winner
Green Hope (Cary). Myers Park (180 points) was the runner-up in both girls dual team tennis and boys soccer, while Green Hope (172.5) dominated cross country, winning both the boys and girls titles.
Salisbury won three state titles in 2A — football, girls tennis and girls golf — and leads 225-217.5 over Carrboro, which also swept the cross country titles.
And in 1A,
North Carolina School of Science & Math (Durham) has the biggest lead of all. The Unicorns have 180 points after winning girls dual team tennis and finishing second in boys cross country and boys soccer. Currently in second place with 135 points is 13-time Wachovia Cup champion Hendersonville, which won titles in girls cross country and boys soccer.
Wachovia Cup points are determined by a system based on performance in state-championship events. All schools that finish in the top eight positions (plus ties) earn points.
Harold Gutmann covers the state of North Carolina for MaxPreps.com. He lives in Durham and can be reached at haroldgutman@gmail.com.
