RALEIGH – The 4A state championship is routinely the highlight of state championship weekend in North Carolina. The largest schools in the state, battling it out for football supremacy, meet on the gridiron to decide who has bragging rights to claim themselves as the state's top team. On Saturday night, it was reigning two-time champion Julius Chambers taking on two-time state finalist Cardinal Gibbons. At the end of the night, Cardinal Gibbons was bridesmaid no more, celebrating a 4A state championship with its 14-2 win over Chambers in a rain-soaked matchup.

The Cougars and Crusaders had met earlier in the season, a 35-27 opening week win for Chambers, and the Crusaders were eager for revenge. Mother Nature made herself known during the game, bringing monsoon-like conditions throughout the first half.

In what would seem to be the absolute best timing of the evening, Gibbons got on the board first after a seven-play, seventy-yard drive ended with a thirty-four-yard pass from Connor Clark to Maverick Shotwell. Between the PAT and ensuing kickoff, a wave of heavy rain began to pour from the sky over Raleigh's Carter-Finley Stadium.

The rain caused each team to have trouble with ball-handling and offense the rest of the first half. A punt attempt by Gibbons was botched by a bad snap that went through the end zone to give Chambers their only points of the first half. By the half, it was clear that the team's game plans were going to have to be reworked. The two teams combined for 125 total yards and nine punts during the first half and hoped for better weather in the second half.

Both teams were a bit slow coming out of the half, trading punts, and playing for field position. Gibbons would be the only team to score in the third period as Connor Clark and Maverick Shotwell linked up for the second time of the evening, this one a seventy-three-yard strike to extend the Crusaders' lead to 14-2 going into the final stanza, a lead the team would take to the final whistle.

CHAPEL HILL –
The Grimsley Whirlies defense came to play, forcing four turnovers and limiting
Cardinal Gibbons to 250 yards of total offense on their way to a 28-8 victory
in the 4A State Championship Game. The Whirlies collected the program’s first
State Championship since the name of the school changed from Greensboro High to
Grimsley in 1962.

In what appeared to
settle into a defensive struggle in the early going, the game’s Most Valuable
Player, as selected by the media, was Grimsley QB Alonza Barnett who opened the
scoring on a five-yard touchdown run with 1:27 to go in the opening quarter.
Barnett’s run helped the Whirlies capitalize on the first of the Crusaders’
turnovers, plunging into the endzone to cap a four-play, 26-yard drive.

Gibbons was able to
win the field position battle with an outstanding punt by Carter Gray that
pinned the Whirlies down inside their own one yard line to start the second
quarter. The Crusader defense managed to put some pressure on Barnett who was
called for intentional grounding on a throw from the endzone, forcing a safety
and putting the Crusaders on the board in the early minutes of the second
quarter.

After the safety,
the two teams traded possessions until Connor Clark was intercepted by Nate
Crawford with less than a minute to play in the half. Crawford returned the
pick all the way to the Gibbons 24. On the second play of the late first-half
drive, Barnett found Lawson Albright in the back of the endzone for an 11-yard
touchdown to stretch Grimsley’s lead to 14-2.

Barnett finished
the game with 87 yards through the air and one touchdown pass, netting 30 yards
on the ground to go with his ice-breaking touchdown run. He took great care of
the football, not throwing an interception on his 17 pass attempts.

Jeiel Melton
powered the Grimsley ground game, racking up 116 yards and a touchdown in the
game on his way to being named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player for the
Whirlies.   Tamoryer Thompson led the way for the Whirlies defense,
picking up 3.5 tackles in the game including a pair of sacks, and recording two
additional quarterback pressures. Thompson was selected as the Most Outstanding
Defensive Player for Grimsley.

Donovan Shepard was
the bell cow for the Crusader offense, named the Most Outstanding Offensive
Player for Gibbons as he led the team with 124 rushing yards and added a 15
yard reception out of the backfield. Shepard did not find the endzone but made
several key runs to keep Crusader drives alive and help move the offense forward
against a stingy Grimsley front. Jake Ladd was selected as the Crusaders Most
Outstanding Defensive Player, tallying three tackles and two fumble recoveries
in the game.

Cardinal Gibbons
wrapped up the season 9-1. The Crusaders were 6-0 in CAP-7 4A play. Gibbons
secured the program’s second straight Regional Title.

Grimsley finished
the season 10-0. The Whirlies were 4-0 in Metro 4A play. They won the program’s
second regional title and appeared in the State Championship Game for the first
time since 2005. Grimsley won the school’s first State Football Championships
since winning the 4A Championship in 1960 when the school was then named
Greensboro High.

The NCHSAA is
committed to recognizing and promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with
the NC Farm Bureau to highlight individuals from each State Championship event
who exemplify the ideals of outstanding sportsmanship. The 2020-2021 4A
Sportsmanship Award recipients were Brendan Charnot from Cardinal Gibbons and
Clifton Buckrham from Grimsley.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

1:27 – GRIM – A.
Barnett 5 yard run (J. Henry kick good) – GRIM 7-0 (4 plays, 26 yards, 2:21)

Second Quarter

10:43 – CG – Team Safety
(Intentional Grounding in the Endzone) – GRIM 7-2

0:17 – GRIM – L.
Albright 11 yard pass from A. Barnett (J. Henry kick good) – GRIM 14-2 (2
plays, 24 yards, 0:27)

Third Quarter

No Scoring

Fourth Quarter

8:03 – GRIM – J.
Melton 9 yard run (J. Henry kick good) – GRIM 21-2 (11 plays, 92 yards, 4:45)

7:24 – CG – M.
Shotwell 41 yard pass from C. Clark (B. Biestek pass failed) – GRIM 21-8 (2
plays, 54 yards, 0:30)

4:37 – GRIM – C.
Curtain 38 yard interception return (J. Henry kick good) – GRIM 28-8

Story courtesy of the NCHSAA