GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — The state title stage is now set.
Friday’s regional finals are complete and we now know which teams will play in next week’s state championships. For the first time in a while, all four of the East Regional teams are from Eastern North Carolina.
The state championships are scheduled for Dec. 9-10 at Kenan Stadium at the University of North Carolina and at Carter-Finley Stadium at N.C. State University.
Tarboro will be seeking its third straight state championship after rolling to a 35-7 win over Rosewood. The Vikings (13-1), whose only loss was to Hertford County in the middle of the season, advance to the state finals for the sixth straight time, winning it all in 2017, 2018 and twice in 2021 (spring and fall seasons due to coronavirus pandemic).
Tarboro has won nine state titles overall in school history (1965, 1984, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2020-21, 2021).
Mount Airy (14-1) is in the state final for the first time since 2017. The Granite Bears lost to Tarboro in the 1-AA title game that year, 32-7.
Mount Airy has won six state titles (1935, 1938, 1942, 1946, 1948 and 2008). In 2008, Mount Airy beat Williamston. The Granite Bears lost in 2009 to Wallace-Rose Hill, 38-37 in overtime.
In the 2-A East final, East Duplin advanced with a win over county rival Wallace-Rose Hill, 28-26. The Panthers are in the state finals for just the second time. East Duplin lost in the 2017 Class 2-AA title game to Hibriten, 16-14.
New Bern is in its seventh state title game in the modern era, dating back to 1972. The Bears held off Millbrook to reach the final for the first time since 2014.
The Bears have won three Class 4-A state titles (2007, 2012, 2014). The Bears lost to Independence in 2002, 2003 and 2005 and also have a title appearance in 1922.
Northern Nash is also in the state final for just the second time ever after beating 71st in a game of unbeatens. The Knights lost 14-7 to A.C. Reynolds in the 2002 Class 4-A title game, the first year the playoffs were subdivided.
Regional Finals
Friday
Class 1-A
EAST
No. 1 Tarboro 35, No. 3 Rosewood 7
WEST
No. 4 Mount Airy 35, No. 6 Draughn 6
State final, Dec. 10
Tarboro (13-1) vs. Mount Airy (14-1), at Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, 3 p.m.
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Class 2-A
EAST
No. 2 East Duplin 28, No. 12 Wallace-Rose Hill 26
WEST
No. 1 Reidsville 32, No. 3 Burns 14
State final, Dec. 10
East Duplin (14-1) vs. Reidsville (14-1), at Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, 11 a.m.
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Class 3-A
EAST
No. 1 Northern Nash 23, No. 3 71st 22
WEST
No. 4 East Lincoln 14, No. 11 South Point 7
State final, Dec. 10
Northern Nash (15-0) vs. No. 4 East Lincoln (15-0), at Carter-Finley Stadium, 7 p.m.
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Class 4-A
EAST
No. 2 New Bern 35, No. 12 Millbrook 27
WEST
No. 1 Grimsley 28, No. 6 Weddington 27
State final, Dec. 9
New Bern (15-0) vs. Grimsley (15-0), at Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, 7 p.m.
