High School

Tarboro, Kamerin McDowell-Moore finish it off, wins 10th North Carolina state football title: Live updates recap

Junior running back rushes for 233 yards, four touchdowns as Vikings get over hump after losing two straight championship games with thorough, relentless 1A victory

Mitch Stephens

A pair of high-powered rushing attacks will be on display when the Tarboro Vikings take on Corvian Community for the NCHSAA 1A championship Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.
A pair of high-powered rushing attacks will be on display when the Tarboro Vikings take on Corvian Community for the NCHSAA 1A championship Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. / Anthony Wooten

Corvian Community High School's football team of Charlotte, under Chris Amill, is only in its third season.

Tarboro, under longtime coach Jeff Craddock, is in North Carolina's High School Athletic Association 1A state title game for a state-record tying eighth straight year.

Whether that experience means much will be decided when the two teams collide Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh Saturday. Kickoff is 3 p.m. local time.

The two teams have absolutely dominated opponents all season long with West Regional champion Corvian Community (15-0) outscoring opponents 621-128, scoring at least 40 points in all but one game. The Cardinals are led by a powerful running game led by CamJohnson (1,436 yards, 25 touchdowns), along with Noah Best and quarterback A.J. Jackson Jr., who have combined for nearly 1,700 more rushing yards and 25 touchdowns. It's a remarkable rise to stardom for the Cardinals were were a combined 11-10 the first two seasons combined, very respectable for a start-up. This season they've soared to new heights.

Tarboro, winners of the Eastern Regional, has been dominating in the postseason, outscoring opponents by a 235-12 count. Led by an absolutely stellar defense that has recorded eight shutouts and allowed just 116 points all year. The Vikings also love to run the ball with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Kamerin McDowell-Moore (1,394, 17) and Mason Satterfield (1,006, 18), to go with Caiden Everette (856, 13). As a team the Vikings have piled up close to 4,200 yards and average better than 10 yards per carry.

This is Tarboro's 16th state title appearance and its looking for a 10th crown.

Tarboro vs. Corvian Community, live updates

FIRST QUARTER

Welcome to the final day of the high school football season. The NFHS folk describe Tarboro's offense as a new age wishbone. And on the first play from scrimmage goes for 11 yards, right on par! Amazing that the Vikings average 10.4 yards per carry!

BIG GAIN! Cam'ron Harper busts loose for 40 yards for Tarboro!

TOUCHDOWN TARBORO! Caiden Everette 12-yard touchdown run. Right up the middle. 6-play, 80-yards. Bad snap on XP. Tarboro 6, Corvian Community 0. 10:17 1Q.

IRONMAN FOOTBALL! Announcers say it best! On first play for Corvian Community, Tarboro QUARTERBACK Tyler Powell jumps offside then makes tackle for loss. He starts at DE and has recorded 19 sacks. Amazing.

Corvian converts! The Cardinals go for it on 4th-and-1 from own 29 and get it. They know they need to score on every possession.

SACK TO CONVERSION! Wow, amazing sequence. Powell records his 20th sack to set up a 4th-and-14 from own 43 but the Vikings go for it and get it. Noah Best with remarkable catch between two DBs - looked like interception then an incompletion - but no matter a catch for 40 yards.

FIELD GOAL CORVIAN! A 33-yard field goal by Cooper Peterson. Tarboro 6, Corvian 3. 3:11 1Q.

CORVIAN HOLDS! Which is a major accomplishment. Tarboro won its last three games 71-0, 50-0 and 59-6. So any time they don't score a touchdown is a big deal. Tarboro with a rare punt pins Corvian to its own 8.

END OF 1ST QUARTER: Tarboro 6, Corvian Community 3.

2ND QUARTER

TOUCHDOWN VIKINGS! Kamerin McDowell-Moore with 10-yard touchdown run. 4-play, 48-yard drive. Tarboro 12, Corvian Community 3. 2-point conversion stopped. 10:28 2Q.

OHIO STATE CONNECTION! The NFHS announcers, two of the best I've heard all season (really informative, don't overtalk, tone just right), noted that both coaches, Jeff Craddock (Tarboro) and Chris Amill (Corvian) are both from Ohio State.

TOUCHDOWN TARBORO! Mason Satterfield takes dive right up the middle, 23 yards. XP misses again. Tarboro 18, Corvian Community 3. 2:01 2Q.

HALFTIME SCORE: Tarboro 18, Corvian Community 3

HALFTIME STATS: Rushing yards: Tarboro 238-51. Passing yards: Corvian 101-0. Total yards: Tarboro 238-152.

REMINDER: Watch this game here on NFHS network. Fantastic stream in every regard.

3RD QUARTER

FOUR FIRST DOWNS FOR CORVIAN! Beautiful drive for the Cardinals, who convert third third-down and all the way to the Tarbooro 23. Fourth down.

FOURTH-DOWN CONVERSION! Awesome toss from Jackson to Best for 10 yards, puts ball near 10 -yard line. Great drive for the Cardinals.

TOUCHDOWN CORVIAN COMMUNITY! Amazing 18-play, 88-yard drive! Takes up almost eight minutes. Jackson with 3-yard TD keeper. Tarboro 18, Corvian 10. 4:02 3Q. ONE SCORE GAME!

TOUCHDOWN TARBORO! What an answer. After recovering onside kick - barely — Satterfield finishes off 46-yard drive with an 13-yard TD run. 2-point conversion fails — 0-for-4 for Tarboro — still just a two-score game. Tarboro 24, Corvian Community 10. 0:32 3Q.

END OF 3: Tarboro 24, Corvian Community 10.

4TH QUARTER

GREAT DRIVE. Highlighted by tremendous escape and pass by Jackson and spectacular catch from Best, the Cardinals drive all the way to the Tarboro 1. 4th down. Game in balance here. Early 4Q.

TOUCHDOWN CORVIAN! Best takes pitch from Jackson, just gets into end zone. Another great drive against a great defense. 10-play, 64 yards. Tarboro 24, Corvian 17. 8:49 4Q.

MCDOWELL-MOORE RESPONDS! Takes one play. He sprints 60 yards on quick hitter. What a game. XP is blocked, now 0-for-5 on conversion, only blemish for Tarboro. Tarboro 30, Corvian 17. 8:39 4Q.

TYLER POWELL AGAIN! No, not at QB, at DE. His second sack of game, gives him 21 on the year.

TOUCHDOWN TARBORO! That should do it. After a 4th-down pass just falls throw fingertips, mcDowell-Moore cuts back with 7-yard TD run. His third of game, 24th on season. 2-point conversion is GOOD. First of the day. Tarboro 38, Corvian 17. 6:31 4Q.

TOUCHDOWN CORVIAN! No quit in the Cardinals! Even with starting QB Jackson knocked out of game, backup Carson Nagel completes 38-yard TD to Doug Quarles III. Tarboro 38, Corvian 24. 4:33 4Q.

MCDOWELL-MOORE AGAIN! He finishes things off with his fourth touchdown on 4th down, a 41-yard stprint. Tarboro 45, Corvian Community 24. 1:21 4Q.

RECAP: Vikings win 10th North Carolina state title in 16th try, never trail. McDowell-Moore rushes 20 times for 233 yards and four touchdowns. ... Mason Satterfield two touchdown runs. ... Tarboro finsihes 14-1, Corvian 15-1. ... Really remarkable game, clean, great sportsmanlike game. ... Tarboro coach Jeff Craddock has built a very special program you can tell. ... Really like how that teams plays, executes and handles themselves. ... Special for a senior class which lost two tough title games the last two years and finally get it done, including Craddock's son Cole, a senior linebacker. who entered the game with 132 tackles and four fumble recoveries. ... Don't be surprised if Corvian Community proves to be Tarboro's new rival. The Cardinals kept fighting back, but simply couldn't slow the Vikings' attack. Great game.

Published |Modified
Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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