Associated Press
The state championship roundup …
RALEIGH ó Todd Gurley II rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns to help Tarboro beat Lincolnton 39-36 for the Class 2-A North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
The Vikings (13-2) won their third consecutive state title Saturday.
Gurley was named the game’s most valuable player. He rushed for 197 yards in the second half, including a go-ahead 12-yard touchdown with 3:12 remaining. Larry Jones scored on a 65-yard run.
Dee Littlejohn ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns for the Wolves (14-2). The loss ended their 13-game winning streak. Michael Cunningham scored on a 1-yard run and an 88-yard kickoff return for Lincolnton.
The teams were tied at 14 at halftime.
The Vikings clinched the win when Patrick Rendleman’s fourth-down pass from the Tarboro 43 fell incomplete with 1:43 remaining.
2AA
RALEIGH ó Austin Fleming rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns to help West Stokes beat Kinston 21-14 for the Wildcats’ first Class 2-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
Fleming scored the winning touchdown Saturday on a 1-yard plunge with 3:44 remaining for the Wildcats (16-0), who rallied from a 14-0 deficit. Fleming also threw for 84 yards and intercepted a pass. He was the game’s most valuable player.
C.J. Bradshaw passed for 157 yards and ran for 90 yards and a score for the Vikings (13-2). They had four turnovers as their 10-game winning streak ended.
Kinston moved the ball to its own 48 in the final minute, but Bradshaw threw incomplete on fourth and 10.
The Vikings twice failed to score in goal-to-go situations in the second half.
4AA
WINSTON-SALEM ó James Summers threw for two touchdowns and ran for 116 yards to lead Greensboro Page to a 35-21 victory over Garner for their fifth Class 4-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
Summers was named the game’s most valuable player. He had 131 yards passing Saturday, with touchdown catches of 6 yards by Brian Spain and 13 yards by Orlando Hatfield as the Pirates (16-0) capped an undefeated season.
Shaun Workinger added TD runs of 6 and 2 yards for Page, and Drew Rogers capped the Pirates’ scoring with his 18-yard run.
The Trojans (15-1) fought back from a 21-0 deficit to pull within a touchdown in the third quarter. Juwan Moye ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Tucker caught a 31-yard flanker option pass.
4A
WINSTON-SALEM ó Kwashaun Quick threw for three touchdowns as Scotland County rallied to beat Indian Trail Porter Ridge 42-16 on Saturday for its first Class 4-A North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
Quick, the game’s most valuable player, overcame two first-half interceptions and a 13-point deficit to throw for 228 yards for the Fighting Scots (15-0). He had scoring passes of 5 and 82 yards to Travis Wall, and 16 yards to Seyyon Moody.
Lee McNeill threw for 161 yards and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Zach Scarboro for the Pirates (14-1). That and Jordan Oakley’s 82-yard interception return put Porter Ridge up 13-0 in the first quarter.
The Pirates’ only second-half score was a 35-yard field goal by Stephen Muscarello in the third quarter.
1AA
WINSTON-SALEM ó Austin Shuler’s 5-yard touchdown run with 2:20 left helped Swain County beat Ayden-Grifton 20-14 for the Class 1-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.
Shuler finished with two TD runs for the Maroon Devils (15-1), who won their eighth state championship Saturday in 10 appearances. It was their first since 2004.
Kariym Gent ran for 120 yards for the Chargers (13-2). They had a chance to regain the lead, only to fumble on their final possession.