Several local high schools in North Carolina are competing for the state championship this Saturday.
In the 1A Division, Charlotte’s Corvian Community High School will play Tarboro on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium on N.C. State’s campus.
In the 2A Division, Monroe High School will take on Northeastern High School of Elizabeth City at Kenan Stadium at UNC.
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In the 3A championship, West Charlotte High School will play Seventy-First High School of Fayetteville at N.C. State.
The games will air live on TV64.
‘These kids have earned it’
It’s been nearly three decades since the West Charlotte High School Lions won a football state championship and now the team is one win away from snapping that streak.
West Charlotte was hard at work at practice this week preparing for Saturday’s state title game against Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville.
They are undefeated and averaging 50 points per game.
Lions head coach Sam Greiner has led stirring upsets before.
He was the head coach at Harding University High School in 2017 and won the school’s first state championship in over 60 years.
However, Greiner will be the first to say this isn’t about him.
“These kids have earned it,” Greiner said. “I’ve always said a good team is led by the coaches and we’ve been a good team for a while. It’s time for us to be great and that’s led within the players. And I just got a special group of players that it’s about them.”
You can watch the Lions try to take the title at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
‘Go out with a bang’
There is one goal left for the first-ever two-time Big 22 Player of the Year and he can check it off the list this weekend.
On Saturday, Jordan Young has a chance to lead the Monroe Redhawks to their first state title since 2015.
Monroe has been dominant this season and rolled through the playoffs winning each game by double digits going to a 2A Division championship matchup with the top-seeded Northeastern Eagles out of Elizabeth City.
Young, who is bound for Michigan next season, and his Redhawk teammates can finish out their undefeated season with the ultimate exclamation point: Delivering the school and city a much-deserved state title.
“Trying to finish this thing off and go out with a bang before I go off to Ann Arbor, this city has been through a lot of ups and downs just trying to bring one back for the city,” Young said.
You can watch the Monroe-Northeastern game at 6:30 p.m.
‘It’s a big step’
When the program started, nearly half the team never played football before. Three years later, Corvian Community School is playing for a state championship.
Head Coach Chris Amill, who started the program, had previously won four titles as an assistant coach in Ohio.
Corvian Community School is now the first charter school to reach the title game. At 15-0, they remain undefeated.
“It’s a big step. We’ve been a mediocre team until now. We finally got all the tools we need and everybody has gotten better and better,” said Doug Quarles, a senior wide receiver and defense end.
“It means a lot to us, getting the respect we worked hard for. A lot of people were just at the school next door to Mallard Creek. To make a name for ourselves and get our own respect is a big deal,” said Hudson Valdetero, a senior offensive tackle.
Kickoff for the Corvian Community-Tarboro is at 3 p.m.