Yahoo Sports Corvian football surges into 1A championship game with victory over Mountain Heritage
Corvian Community’s big-play offense has carried the Cardinals into the 1A state football championship game — and made some Mecklenburg County football history.
The Cardinals came from behind twice, scoring three times from 35 yards or more, and knocked off Mountain Heritage 28-19 in the West Regional finals in Burnsville.
The victory sent Corvian Community (15-0), in just its third season of varsity football, into next Saturday’s championship game against iconic N.C. small-school power Tarboro, at N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
According to the N.C. High School Athletic Association record book, Corvian Community is the first Mecklenburg County team ever to reach the state championship football game from the state’s smallest size classification.
Just nine months ago, Corvian also reached the 1A boys’ basketball title game, losing to Wilson Prep.
Friday’s game pitted fifth-seeded Corvian Community’s explosive offense against the powerful ground game of No. 2 seed Mountain Heritage.
Mountain Heritage (12-1), which overcame the tragedy of severe flooding during Hurricane Helene to put together a successful football season, grabbed the early lead when Cason Jones scored from 49 yards on a reverse play two minutes into the game.
That 7-0 lead held until the closing seconds of the first half.
A Mountain Heritage punt had pinned the Cardinals at their 2-yard line with 1 minute, 22 seconds left in the half. But the Cardinals drove 98 yards in 76 seconds and scored on a 35-yard pass from A.J. Jackson Jr. to Noah Best. Cooper Peterson’s conversion kick tied the game at halftime, 7-7.
The Cardinals struck quickly in the third quarter, going 80 yards in three plays and scoring on an 18-yard run by Cam Johnson.
The Cougars answered, though, with a 24-yard halfback pass from Jones to Sawyer Atkins. But the conversion kick was blocked, and Corvian held a 14-13 lead.
Mountain Heritage then took the lead again, this time on Brandon Quinn’s 71-yard run.
But Corvian Community answered with a 65-yard touchdown run by Johnson, who was tackled at the line of scrimmage but broke free. The score gave the Cardinals a 20-19 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Corvian Community got its final score with nine minutes left on a 34-yard run by Best. Jackson’s two-point conversion pass to Johnson made it 28-19.
Mountain Heritage drove into Cardinal territory after that, but the Corvian Community defense stopped Quinn on a fourth-and-1 play.
The Cougars were effective on the ground, totaling 355 rushing yards — 234 of those by Quinn, on 27 carries. Jones rushed for 89 yards. Mountain Heritage threw the ball only four times.
Jackson completed 10 of 11 passes for 131 yards, and Johnson carried 17 times for 78 yards.
Friday’s game marked the second straight week that the Cardinals won a battle of unbeatens. Corvian Community downed top-seeded Mount Airy last Friday.
Box score
Corvian Community 0 7 13 8 — 28
Mountain Heritage 7 0 12 0 — 19
MH — Cason Jones 49 run (Gabe Onchi kick)
CC — Noah Best 35 pass from A.J. Jackson jr. (Cooper Peterson kick)
CC — Cam Johnson 18 run (Peterson kick)
MH — Sawyer Atkins 24 pass from Jones (kick blocked)
MH — Brandon Quinn 71 run (pass failed)
CC — Johnson 65 run (run failed)
CC — Best 34 run (Johnson pass from Jackson)
