CHAPEL HILL – The 1A state championship game started off as two teams who were trying to figure out the weakness in their opponent. Both teams made it to the title game by heavily relying on their run games with Mitchell quarterback Ty Turbyfill coming into the game with the fifth-highest rushing total and the vaunted "Tarboro T" offense amassing over four-thousand yards on the season. Stopping these offenses would be a tall task for anyone, but it was Tarboro's day as the Vikings won their eighth state championship, 28-7, over Mitchell on Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.
Tarboro was the first team to break the scoreless tie. After a punt pinned the Mountaineers deep at their own one-yard line, the Tarboro defense stepped up and forced Mitchell to punt from their own end zone. The Vikings, with excellent field position, marched eight plays down the field with Trevon White hitting paydirt from three yards out to give Tarboro a 7-0 lead going into the second quarter.
Mitchell was finally able to find some offense in the second stanza. A pop pass from Turbyfill to Gage Young near the goal line tied the game, showing that neither team was going to back down from the challenge. After trading punts, Tarboro was in business again after a Mitchell punt wobbled out of bounds at the 31-yard line. Eight seemingly long plays later, Trevon White, on a 4th and goal from the one-yard line and with only six seconds left on the clock, punched it in for his second score of the game and gave Tarboro a 14-7 lead going into the half.
Receiving the second-half kickoff, Tarboro went right back to what they do best: run the ball. When Tobias Joyner raced thirty-five yards to extend the Vikings' lead to two scores, Mitchell was on its heels. Forcing the Mountaineers to go to the air to cut the deficit, the Tarboro defense smelled blood and it was junior cornerback Nathan Sherrod who stepped up, intercepting a Mitchell pass and returning the ball across midfield. The Mitchell defense held, though, stopping Tarboro on fourth down and taking possession as the game entered the fourth quarter.
Just as Mitchell was poised to move the chains, Tarboro's Omarion Lewis, the team's starting quarterback on offense and safety on defense, intercepted a pass and returned it to the Mitchell thirty-yard line. From that, it was a race to all zeroes on the clock with the Vikings adding another Joyner touchdown for the final score of the day.
MVP – Tarboro #24 Tobias Joyner
Tarboro MOP Offense - #10 Trevon White
Tarboro MOP Defense - #3 Treheem Daniels
Mitchell MOP Offense - #2 Ty Turbyfill
Mitchell MOP Defense - #32 Enrique Huaroco
