This week is Championship Week for 8 high school football teams in our state. The coaches drove to Charlotte Monday morning to hang out at the Panther’s stadium and pick up their hardware.
Tarboro football coach Jeff Craddock has the Vikings in the 1A state title game for the 6th straight year. They will play Mt. Airy on Saturday.
Battle Holley has East Duplin back in the 2A title game for the 2nd time ever. They were there in 2017 when they lost to Hibriten. This year they get perennial power Reidsville.
Torrey Nowell was all dressed up for his 2nd time as a head coach. He has New Bern back in the title game for the first time since 2014.
The undefeated Bears have looked great all year but are they good enough to win a 4A state title. Maybe the person with the best perspective is New Bern’s 3-time state championship winning coach Bobby Curlings. He is now an assistant coach for the Bears helping out Torrey Nowell.
The Bears and Whirlies will play Friday night in Chapel Hill.
East Duplin, Tarboro, and Northern Nash all play Saturday. East Regional champs are the home teams and will wear their home uniforms.
The Panthers have parted ways with Baker Mayfield. Carolina cut the Q.B. who played in 7 games and completed 58% of his passes, including 6 touchdowns, but also had 6 interceptions and a bunch of balls batted down. He can now sign with any team he wants. Sam Darnold will start for the Panthers when they visit the Seahawks on Sunday.
NC State quarterback Devin Leary is leaving the Wolfpack. He has put his name in the transfer portal with hopes of cashing in on his 1 year of eligibility remaining. NC State will move forward with MJ Morris.
The Wolfpack gets ready to play in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte when they play former ACC member Maryland. That will be December 30th. ECU and Coastal Carolina will play in Birmingham on Dec 27th. That is now a 6:45 PM kickoff.
Duke and Central Florida will play in the military bowl on December 28th at 2 PM. UNC will travel to San Diego to take on Oregon. That game will have an 8 PM kickoff on December 28th.
In College Basketball, North Carolina has hit a rough patch. The Tar Heels have lost 4 in a row. The latest setback at Virginia Tech Sunday. Dmarco Dunn is out with a broken left hand, and Armando Bacot didn't play.
The Heels host Georgia Tech Saturday at 3 PM.