Associated Press
The prep championship roundup …
CHAPEL HILL ó Aaron Crumbley rushed for 122 yards and five touchdowns on 38 carries Saturday to lead Belmont South Point to a 42-28 win over South Johnston in the Class 3-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
South Point (14-2) won its third state title in as many championship game appearances. South Johnston (14-2), which had a 12-game winning streak snapped, was playing in a state final for the first time.
The Red Raiders scored four second half touchdowns after trailing 28-14 at the break.
South Point finished with 27 first downs to nine for South Johnston, controlling the ball for 33:47 and gaining 446 yards total offense to the Trojans’ 258.
Quarterback Josh Justice added 107 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries for South Point, completing five of his eight passes for 111 yards and an interception.
“That was nothing new for these kids,” South Point coach John Devine said. “Being behind really didn’t scare them. It did scare us.”
The Red Raiders knew their best chance to win was to give Crumbley the ball, Devine said.
“Aaron is about as good as they get, as far as the type of kid he is. He’s a great character guy,” Devine said. “And he never fumbles. You’ve just got to give him opportunities, and he certainly made the most of them today.”
2AA WINNER: REIDSVILLE
CHAPEL HILL ó Tyrell Houghton completed 16 of 24 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns to lead Reidsville to a 28-6 win Saturday over Newton-Conover in the Class 2-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
It was the 15th NCHSAA state championship for Reidsville (16-0), which has won three straight 2-AA titles and 48 straight games.
Newton-Conover, which won the 2-A title last season, finished 14-2 after having a nine-game winning streak snapped.
The Rams, now under first-year head coach Doug Robertson, have played in 20 state title games since 1930.
1A WINNER: W. ROSE HILL
WINSTON-SALEM ó Omar Carr’s 2-point conversion run in overtime Saturday lifted Wallace-Rose Hill to a 38-37 win over Mt. Airy in the Class 1-A North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
Carr finished with 117 yards rushing for the Bulldogs (14-2), who won their first title in Class 1-A. Wallace-Rose Hill won the 2-A title in 1994, but lost 1-AA title games in 2001, 2004 and 2005.
“Before the ball was snapped, I just told the guys to block for me,” said Carr, who was named the game’s most valuable player. “They’re the ones that put me in the end zone. I just kept moving my feet, because I wasn’t going to go down a loser.”
Carr’s game-winning conversion was set up by quarterback Dawan McKenzie’s 1-yard keeper on fourth down during the Bulldogs’ OT possession. It capped a second half that saw the Granite Bears (15-1) rally from an 11-point deficit to take a 30-27 lead with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter.
Devonta Herring also ran for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns for Wallace-Rose Hill, including a 24-yard run with 9:57 left in the third quarter that gave the Bulldogs a 27-16 lead.
However, Luke Wheeler had a 4-yard touchdown run and Andy Temoney added a 3-yard TD run for Mt. Airy, which also got a safety off a bad punt snap to regain the lead. But Wallace-Rose Hill forced overtime on Jose Flores’ 38-yard field goal with 2:08 left.
4A WINNER: A.C. REY.
RALEIGHó Ben Councell blocked a field goal attempt on the last play of the game to propel Asheville Reynolds (14-2) to a 14-12 victory over Harnett Central in the Class 4-A North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship Saturday.
Harnett Central (15-1) scored with 52 seconds left in the game on a 49-yard pass from Brian Taylor to wide receiver Brian Baker. But running back Jarrod Spears was stopped by Reynolds’ Cassidy Topa on the two-point conversion.
The Trojans then recovered an onside kick. However, Taylor’s 42-yard attempt was blocked on the last play of the game.
4AA WINNER: BUTLER
RALEIGH ó Christian LeMay threw three touchdown passes and the Matthews Butler defense shut down Fayetteville Britt in the second half in its 48-17 Class 4-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship game on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs won their first state title and the eighth in the past 10 years for Mecklenburg County schools.
Butler (15-0) led 27-17 at the half and put the game away in the third quarter on a 14-yard touchdown from LeMay, the game’s Most Valuable Player, to wide receiver Nate Charest to make it 41-17. LeMay went 17-for-26 passing for 189 yards. Running back Jahwan Edwards, who had 18 carries for 154 yards, added a late score for the Bulldogs.
Britt finished 15-1.