High School

Virginia signee Hamrick leads Shelby Crest to its 7th North Carolina high school football title by beating Hunt

The Chargers score 20 unanswered points to take lead, hold on for a 31-14 win Saturday night in Durham

Cody Thorn

Crest football quarterback Ely Hamrick guided his team to a 31-14 win on Dec. 13 in the 5A championship game.
Crest football quarterback Ely Hamrick guided his team to a 31-14 win on Dec. 13 in the 5A championship game. / Joe L. Hughes II / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wilson J.B. Hunt and Shelby Crest will battle for the Class 5A North Carolina High School Athletic Association title at 8 p.m. at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham. 

Both teams enter with 12-2 records in this contest. 

Crest has won 6 state titles, the most recent came in 2015 in Class 3AA. 

What to know?

The Crest Chargers have won five in a row since a 21-14 loss to Ashbrook on Oct. 24. During the playoff run, the Chargers have knocked off Concord, 69-6; East Lincoln, 31-14; South Point, 28-14 and Hickory, 39-21.

East Lincoln and Hickory were both ranked ahead of the Chargers in the state.

The Hunt Warriors carry a 6-game winning streak into the finals. One of the two losses came against fellow finalist Tarboro, which is in the 2A finals. 

The postseason run has included a pair of close wins for the Warriors, 30-28 against Eastern Alamance in the first round and then 32-29 over Croatan in the quarterfinals. Last week, Hunt beat Northside-Jacksonville, 20-7, to punch the ticket to the finals.

The series

According to MaxPreps, dating back to 2004, these teams have not played. 

Who to know? 

Crest

QB Ely Hamrick, sr. — 2,686 yards passing and 29 TDs; 706 yards rushing and 17 TDs; signed with Virginia; once played at IMG Academy

RB Malachi Gamble, jr. — 501 yards rushing and 9 TDs

WR Michael Edwards, sr. — 48 catches for 801 yards and 8 TDs; 24 carries for 248 yards and 10 TDs 

WR Namjay Thompson, jr. — Has 47 catches for 804 yards and 13 TDs

LB Chris Gunter, sr. — Leads team with 81 tackles; has 10 TFL 

S D’Various Surratt, sr. — Team-high 4 interceptions; signed with North Carolina State 

S Lyrick Pettis, sr. — 3 interceptions; Duke signee 

Hunt

LB Judah Harris, jr. — 184 tackles, 49 TFL, 6 sacks, 56 QB hurries, 2 FF, 2 FR

DT CJ Dickerson, jr. — 174 tackles, 46 TFL, 15 sacks, 40 QB hurries

WR/CB Isaiah Chadwick, sr. — 6 interceptions; 23 catches, 361 yards, 2 TDs

WR/CB Jamauris Howard, sr. — 16 catches for 307 yards, 3 TDs; 8 interceptions 

LB Trevorous Cooper, fr. — 127 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 FR

QB Mez Harris, jr. — 1,435 yards passing and 8 TDs; 122 carries for 1,271 yards and 16 TDs rushing

RB Doryan Jones, so. — 243 carries for 1,754 yards and 21 TDS

Pick 'Em Challenge

Tell us who you think will win the game with High School On SI's Pick 'Em Challenge

How to watch

Watch on NFHS

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1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Hunt

7

7

0

0

14

Crest

7

17

7

0

31

Hunt gets the all first

Nehemiah Rayquan Parker nearly gets a pick for Crest. Bobbled it twice but it fell to the ground

Crest gets the ball

Hamrick to Edwards for a first down and the ball is near midfield

Big play! Cooper with a blocked punt with 8:02 left. The Warriors will have good field position

Jones with a first-down run. Ball at the 30-yard line; Pettis is hurt on the play

Jones with another big run off tackle. This time, going to the right; Ball at the 5-yard line

Jones with another carry and taken down at the 2 The ball pops out but he is ruled down by contact

TOUCHDOWN! Harris with a 2-yard run at 5:42. PAT is good. Hunt 7, Crest 0

Crest has to punt again. Hunt ball with 4:46 left but ball at the Crest 43-yard line

TURNVOER! Hunt goes deep and Javion Hopper hauls it in. Ball at the 5-yard line. 4:32 left

Ball at the 1-yard line after a TFL

Hamrick to Thompson for a 49-yard completion 2:58 left

Big play! Jason Black runs down to the 3-yard line but a horse collar tackle will make it closer. Crest ball at the 2

Flags on the play

Offsides on Crest

1st and goal at the 7

TOUCHDOWN! Edwards with TD no. 11 on the season. Hamrick ran ahead of Edwards toward the goal line. 1:29 left. Crest 7, Hunt 7

End of 1st: Tied at 7

2nd quarter

4th and 1 at the 35 now for Crest; Hunt jumped off sides to make it a little bit shorter

TOUCHDOWN! Edwards with 35-yard run and Hamrick is one of the lead blockers. Crest 14, Hunt 7, 9:17 left in 2nd

Hunt punts; Crest taking over with 5:57 left

TV timeout

Black with a 9-yard run on the first play for the Chargers

Hamrick keeps it and runs for a first down. Ball into Hunt territory; 6-foot-5 TE Romeo Sanders with a big block for the Chargers

Hunt calls a timeout with 3:52 left. Chargers are driving

Edwards in a QB in a Wildcat formation and gets down to the 5 but flags on the play

Holding on Chargers will move the ball back

On a draw, Jason Black runs up the middle and the ball is at the 6.

TOUCHDOWN! Hamrick on a tush-push play. 2:06 left. Crest 20, Hunt 7

Offsides on Hunt; offense coming out for 2 points now

A lineman jumps offsides and Crest is sending kicking unit out for the second time

PAT is good. Crest 21, Hunt 7

Television replay just saw the flag thrown on Crest prior to the game; don't see that often

TOUCHDOWN! Harris tries to pass; finds no one and goes through a entire Crest defense for an 80-yard score. 1:42 left. Crest 21, Hunt 14

Crest calls timeout with 18 seconds left

Hamrick to Surratt -- usually a defensive player -- for a big gain. Ball at 10

Another timeout with 8 seconds left

incomplete pass; 4 seconds left

FIELD GOAL Carson Grier with a 27-yard FG. 0:00; Crest 24, Hunt 14

HALFTIME: Crest 24, Hunt 14

3rd quarter

Crest gets the ball first

Hamrick to Brock Melton for a first down. WR got an extra 7 yards after initial tackle

Unsporstmanlike call against Crest; guessing for Melton's celebration after catch, but no mic on ref that time to know who call was against and I can't read lips that well

TOUCHDOWN! Hamrick with another TD run from the 24. 9:56 left Crest 31, Hunt 14

Jones gets the ball near midfield with a long run. He's up to nearly 100 yards on the night. Ball is at the 48

Harris drops back and finds nothing. He runs for a first down and the ball is at the 32

Bad snap -- high -- turns into a TFL for Christian Stowe. 4th down coming up for Hunt with 5:37 left and rolling

TURNOVER! 38-yard FG goes wide right; 5:10 left

Crest ball coming out of Media timeout

Hamrick and Black with back-to-back first down runs. Ball at a midfield for the Chargers

Cooper is hurt for Hunt with 2:03 left. He looks to be favoring a shoulder injury

TURNVOER! Harris with an interception with 7 seconds left in third quarter

Incomplete pass; Hunt still doesn't have any passing yards; Incomplete pass celebration gets a flag on Crest. 1 second left in the 3rd

End of 3rd: Crest 31, Hunt 14

Hunt calls a timeout with 11:53 left

Hunt punts the ball again; Crest ball with 10:45 left

Big play from Hamrick to Edwards and the ball is at the 13-yard line now.

Crest facing a 4th and 31

TOUCHDOWN! Hamrick to Thompson for a TD at 4:16.

Thompson did a backflip after TD and a flag followed, so ... connect the dot

Unsportsmanlike call on Crest; so touchdown is off the board

TURNOVER! Harris fumbles and Gunter recovers with 3:22

FINAL! Crest 31, Hunt 14

Published |Modified
Cody Thorn
CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.

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