Harding racked up 400 yards of total offense and held on to beat Scotland County 30-22 in the 4A State Championship game at BB&T Field. The Rams claimed the school’s third championship, and first since 1953.

Scotland opened the scoring as Warren Bell cracked the goal line from two yards out just 3 minutes into the game giving the Scots the lead 7-0. It took the Rams a little while, but they were able to respond on the first play of the second quarter as Quavaris Crouch sliced in for a 10-yard score to knot the game at seven. Crouch finished as the game’s M.V.P. with 141 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.

Bell tacked on a 4-yard touchdown run on the ensuing Scotland drive, capping off a 7-play, 85-yard drive and giving the Scots a 14-7 advantage. Bell was named Scotland County’s Most Outstanding Offensive player with 153 yards through the air and a score on 7 of 10 passing. He rolled up 111 more yards on the ground with 2 more touchdowns.

Harding ripped off the next 23 points, scoring on a Crouch 8-yard run with 5:56 to go in the first half, and adding an Alejandro Guevara 39-yard field goal with just two seconds to go in the opening half to give the Rams a 17-14 lead at intermission.

Harding opened the fourth quarter with a score as Braheam Murphy hit Reggie Burns for a 20-yard touchdown pass to push the Harding lead to 24-14 with 11:47 to play. Then with just over two minutes to go, Murphy broke off a 95-yard run to the end zone, lifting Harding to a 30-14 lead. Murphy was named Harding’s Most Outstanding Offensive player rushing for 135 yards on 10 carries and a score. He added another 53 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Scotland drove the ball down the field valiantly in the final minutes, scoring on a 25-yard pass from Bell to Bruce Wall. Syheam McQueen rushed for the two-point conversion to make it a one-score game at 30-22 with 1:28 to play. The Rams recovered the kick and were able to run out the clock for the victory.

Defensively the Rams were paced by Trayvon Corbett who had 11 tackles, three of those for loss, adding one interception which he returned 41 yards and a pass break up. Chris Williams led the Scots on the defensive side of the ball, with 9 tackles, 1.5 of those for a loss and was named Scotland’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

The 4A state championship game features two teams with head coaches that are each seeking their first title. Richard Bailey and the Scotland Fighting Scots are looking for their second title in school history while coach Sam Griner and the Harding Rams are looking for their first title in over 60 years.

BB&T Field

Scotland rushes for an amazing 425 yards per game on average. Most that yardage had come from the nation's top-ranked running back Zamir White, but the five-star, Georgia-bound recruit suffered a torn ACL in the second round of the playoffs and will miss the title game. Stepping up in White's absence has been senior quarterback Warren Bell and junior running back Syheam McQueen who have collectively rushed for over 2000 yards to keep the chains moving for the Fighting Scots.

Scotland won an overtime thriller in the regional final against Hoggard. After Hoggard had rallied from a 25-point deficit to force overtime and scored a touchdown to pull ahead, Scotland scored on a fourth-down on its possession and had a successful 2-point conversion for the win.

Like Scotland, Harding relies on its running game to get its offense moving. Lining up in the backfield is junior Quavaris Crouch, listed by some scouting services as the nation's top junior running back. Blocking for Crouch is Shrine Bowl-bound offensive lineman JoVaughn Gwyn.

Defensively, the Harding Rams have been stingy and have not given up twenty points in a game since September. Also, like their title game counterparts, Harding had to rely on a big play at the end of the game to defeat their opponent in the regional final. An interception with no time remaining in the end zone secured the win against Vance and sent the Harding Rams back to the title game for the first time in thirty years.

One interesting feature in this game is that both teams come into the game with only one loss, but that one loss was for each team was to the same opponent, 4AA state finalist Mallard Creek. Scotland played Mallard Creek in the season opener, falling 28-21 while Harding played a tough game against Mallard Creek in week 5, losing 30-9.

North Carolina High School Athletic Association Basketball Championship Schedule