Which teams will compete in the 1A state championship: Robbinsville vs. Tarboro, Mount Airy vs. West Columbus, Robbinsville vs. West Columbus, or Mount Airy vs. Tarboro?

A potential rematch for the 1A title between Mount Airy and Tarboro would be a repeat of last year’s game, which ended in a 20-7 victory for Mount Airy.

This is a reference for the plotlines and important numerical values to be aware of in the Eastern and Western finals.

East Final for Division 1A: (2) West Columbus at (1) Tarboro

A clash between Vikings!

The Tarboro team, which holds the record for most appearances in 1A regional finals, will go up against West Columbus, a team that has never reached this stage before. Tarboro is considered formidable by other teams in 1A East, but there may be cause for hope for the West Columbus team.

Tarboro narrowly won against East Bladen with a final score of 20-13 last week. West Columbus had previously beaten East Bladen by a larger margin of 24-8 one month earlier.

West Columbus is a more willing passing team than Tarboro. Senior quarterback Unique Kelly has thrown for an impressive 19 touchdowns to six interceptions. Kelly is also the team’s leading rusher with 826 yards and 12 touchdowns. While Kelly has been able to pass it efficiently this season, he’ll have to be careful against a Tarboro defense that is exceptionally productive against the pass despite not seeing it often.

Unfortunately, the Vikings of Columbus County have an impressive track record when it comes to defending against passes. Their opponents have a pass completion rate of less than 38% and the Vikings have successfully sacked quarterbacks 40 times. However, their upcoming game against Tarboro will not give them the opportunity to showcase their strong pass defense.

	West Columbus	Tarboro
Record	The overall record is 12 wins and 1 loss, with a conference record of 6 wins and 0 losses.	12 wins and 0 losses overall, with 5 wins and 0 losses in conference play.
Common Opp.	1-0	1-0
MaxPreps Rating	3.9	16.3
MaxPreps SoS	-23.5	-16.4
Points Scored/Game	38.0	43.8
Yards Gained/Game	316.8	347.2
Turnovers/Game	0.6	0.9
Passing Yards/Game	107.4	29.2
Completion %	61.8%	59.3%
Passing Yards/Att	10.3	12.9
Passing TDs	19	5
Passing INTs	6	2
Rushing Yards/Game	209.4	318.0
Rushing Yards/Att	8.1	8.9
Fumbles	4	12
Points Allowed/Game	8.9	6.6
Shutouts	4	5
Yards Allowed/Game	214.6	185.3
Takeaways/Game	1.4	1.7
Pass Yards Allowed/Game	103.2	90.3
Completion % Allowed	37.7%	50.0%
Allowed Passing Yards per Attempt	5.4	6.0
Interceptions	10	15
Sacks	40	17
Average Number of Yards Allowed Per Game	111.4	95.0
Yards per Rush Attempt Allowed	3.3	3.7
Forced Fumbles	7	6

The West Final for 1A is between (2) Mount Airy and (1) Robbinsville.

Two highly productive running backs from North Carolina will face off in the final match of the 1A West division.

Tyler Mason, a Virginia Tech commit from Mount Airy, has had a highly successful career. Last season, he rushed for more than 2,000 yards and scored over 40 touchdowns. This year, he is on track to nearly match those numbers with 1,892 yards and 37 touchdowns. Cuttler Adams of Robbinsville has already surpassed the 2,000-yard mark this season. In addition, Adams holds the record for the most career rushing yards in the renowned Smoky Mountain Conference with 6,737 yards.

Mount Airy’s defense, known for its impressive strength, faced a tough challenge last week when playing against Eastern Randolph. Despite falling behind 21-14 to the Wildcats, the Granite Bears were able to bounce back in the second half and hold their opponents scoreless. This is a testament to their defense, which has managed to shut out their opponents nine times this season.

Robbinsville had a commanding 44-14 victory over a formidable North Rowan squad in their game last week.

Can Robbinsville put an end to Mount Airy’s impressive 28-game winning streak? Or will the Granite Bears be able to withstand their journey to the western mountains and possibly defend their state championship next week?

	Mount Airy	Robbinsville
Record	The team has a record of 14 wins and 0 losses overall, with 6 wins and 0 losses in conference play.	Thirteen wins and one loss in total, with five wins and zero losses in the conference.
Common Opp.	3-0	3-0
MaxPreps Rating	25.8	21.1
MaxPreps SoS	-14.8	-4.8
Points Scored/Game	54.4	31.9
Yards Gained/Game	436.1	361.7
Turnovers/Game	N/A	0.9
Passing Yards/Game	57.9	92.4
Completion %	53.5%	59.0%
Passing Yards/Att	11.4	8.9
Passing TDs	12	10
Passing INTs	0	8
Rushing Yards/Game	378.1	269.4
Rushing Yards/Att	12.9	6.8
Fumbles	N/A	4
Points Allowed/Game	5.1	13.7
Shutouts	9	1
Yards Allowed/Game	140.3	228.7
Takeaways/Game	1.8	1.9
“This statistic measures the average number of passing yards that a team’s defense allows per game.”	72.3	105.3
Completion % Allowed	38.8%	48.0%
= Allowed Passing Yards per Attempt	5.4	5.6
Interceptions	11	21
Sacks	35	27
“Average rushing yards allowed per game”	68.0	123.4
Rushing yards per attempt allowed	2.2	4.1
Forced Fumbles	14	6

Source: highschoolot.com