Mount Airy Middle repeats as football conference champion
The Mount Airy Middle School football team put together another dominant season in 2026. The Granite Bears went 7-0 to complete their second consecutive undefeated season, including a 5-0 record in the Foothills Middle School Athletic Conference. Mount Airy finished first in the conference standings, followed by Pilot Mountain at 4-1, Chestnut Grove at 3-2, Southeastern Stokes at 2-3, North District at 1-4 and Central Middle at 0-5. The Granite Bears outscored opponents 230-50. Despite their undefeated season, the Granite Bears faced their share of obstacles, namely injuries. Head coach Choppy Cawley applauded his team’s “next man up” mentality. “We had at least one starter out with an injury in every game this season, which gave lots of guys on our team the chance to step into starting roles and they rose to the occasion,” Cawley said. “They were a great team to coach all around. They play hard, are receptive to coaching and most importantly enjoyed being around each other every day. “This team will be fun to watch in high school as they will surely make some deep playoff runs when they get to varsity.” Cawley is assisted by coaches Jimmy Selba, Andre Nance, Andrew Boles, Bobby Moore,
