Mount Airy came out fighting from the beginning and Tarboro’s defense couldn’t stop them. They scored on their first possession in 6 plays. From there, it was Mt. Airy’s defense that put on a clinic the rest of the game.
During Tarboro’s first possession, they were forced to punt, but were able to pin it on their own one-yard line. While Mt. Airy was unable to overcome that for a score, they still ended the first quarter with a 7-0 lead.
But the second quarter wasn’t meant to be for Tarboro either, as they turned the ball over early. Later in the second, Tarboro’s long pass was intercepted by Mt. Airy. While that play didn’t convert into a scoring opportunity for Mt. Airy, after a lot of back and forth between the teams, Mt. Airy eventually took a solid lead with 2:29 left to go in the quarter and ended the half with that unexpected lead.
After halftime, Tarboro went three and out on their first possession of the second half. Mt. Airy continued to dominate and put another six on the board, but missed the extra point.
But the Vikings finally showed signs of life and ended up getting on the board with just under 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter, but it was too little too late as Mt. Airy quickly shut down any other attempted drives by Tarboro and continued their dominant performance until the end.
In the end, Mt. Airy defeated Tarboro 20-7 to win the state 1A championship. While the outcome wasn’t what Coach Craddock and his team hoped for, he said he couldn’t be more proud of his guys for their effort.
This was the sixth time the Vikings have appeared in the championship game in recent years, and only the second loss they’ve had.
Craddock and crew are already looking ahead to next season and are hoping to find their way back to the championship game and come home with the trophy next time.
Congratulations to Mount Airy on a well-deserved championship.
ENC Sports Review 