The N.C. High School Athletic Association’s 2A state championship game between 2A West champion Monroe and 2A East champion Northeastern kicked off at 6:36 p.m.

It is being played at UNC’s Kenan Stadium.

This is a live blog that will have regular updates over the course of the night. Make sure to regularly refresh the page to see the latest updates.

Pregame Notes

J. Mike Blake here before Joel Bryant subs me out around halftime. Greetings from Kenan Stadium! These two undefeated teams are almost mirror images of the other, so we should have a great one in store.

1st Quarter

• Northeastern starting off with good field position, near midfield.
• A few quick plays get the Eagles down to the 29.
• Northeastern took a shot at the end zone on 3rd-and-10 from the 29.
• TOUCHDOWN. Northeastern strikes first on a 4th-and-10 with a 29-yard pass from Trevaris Jones to Tyell Saunders. A great move after the catch got him the final 15 yards. PAT no good, it’s 6-0 with 9:38 left in the first quarter.
• Monroe takes over its next drive on its own 28.
• TOUCHDOWN. A two-play drive ends in an amazing 70-yard bomb from Kaegan Chambers to Michigan recruit Jordan Young! Young got the jump ball, fended off a tackler, then weaved his way through the remaining guys who had an angle. XP good. Redhawks up 7-6 with 8:43 to play first quarter.
• Can barely keep up with these big plays, which is about what I figured. Northeastern has a second and short from the 47.
• Saunders again with a big catch-and-run, that time on third-and-2. They’re across midfield.
• BIG TURNOVER. Jeremiah Lindsey picks up a mishandled snap by Jones and Monroe will take over, 5:57 to go in the first quarter, at their own 40. Snap looked good but Jones just didn’t grasp it before trying for the mesh.
• Monroe goes backwards for one yard in two plays but gets a third-and-11 to keep the drive alive.
• Monroe has now marched it to the 24, 1st-and-10.
• 4th-and-8 at the 22 and Monroe goes to the end zone but incomplete! Jordan Young boxed out the defensive back but Ty’jae Simpson somehow made a play. TV timeout with 2:02 left.
• No gain on the first play of that drive as the pocket collapsed.
• On 3rd-and-10 from the 22 it’s a wheel route to Simpson! 50 yards!
• TOUCHDOWN Northeastern! A 23-yard pass from Jones to Unique Blount on a dime. Dropped it in the bucket after Blount beat his man. Eagles are up 12-7 with 1:07 as the two-point run gets stuffed.
• Monroe has a first down at the Northeastern 43 when we pick up the second quarter

2nd Quarter

• Chambers has to try to scramble on a 3rd-and-10 but only gets six. Ball on the 37. Fourth down coming up. Monroe takes a timeout after getting a look at how both sides lined up.
• Oh back-breaking penalty for Northeastern. Chambers had no good options as Monroe’s wideouts were downfield on go routes. Northeastern sacked him for a big loss but there was a facemask and Monroe gets a first down at the 32.
• TOUCHDOWN Monroe! Very next play after the penalty extends the drive on a fourth down sack, Chambers has no one open and takes off, shaking off a tackler in the last five minutes and keeps his balance to leap into the end zone. 32 yards and Monroe leads 14-12 with 10:44 until halftime.
• Northeastern gets a big run on first down are down to the 47 after just one play.
• Down to the 27 now, big “chunk plays” here for the Eagles.
• TOUCHDOWN Northeastern! 27-yard run by Carren Armstrong and he was almost untouched up the gut. The two-point try is picked off, so it’s 18-14, Eagles lead, with 9:13 until halftime.
• Monroe starts this drive at their own 45 thanks to a solid return on an angled pooch kickoff.
• Illegal touching takes away a down and five yards, make it 2nd-and-15.
• Picked off! Northeastern’s Khamani Bennett comes down with a heave from Chambers. Lots of defenders out there. Not the best throw. Eagles take over at their own 48.
• Northeastern gets two yards in two plays, bringing up a 3rd-and-8. Make it 3rd-and-15 after a delay of game.
• Incomplete pass, nearly picked off thanks to being hit while throwing.
• Blocked punt! Jesus Jarquin-Ambrosio blocks it with two hands and it’s picked up by a teammate and taken a few yards to the 32. Monroe with great field position to try to take back the lead.
• Hello! It’s Joel Bryant taking over.
• INTERCEPTION! Khamani Bennett with his second interception of the night. Chambers was looking for Young in the end zone. Northeastern takes over on its own 16-yard line with 6:11 to go in the first half.
  • Monroe forced Northeastern into a 3rd-and-8.
  • On third down, Jones threw a pretty good pass over the middle and it was dropped. Would have converted.
• Monroe took over on the 50-yard line with 4:48 after the punt.
  • Zion Lindsey had an incredible, bruising run to start this drive.
  • Northeastern forced the Redhawks into a 4th-and-9 after a sack by Mekkhei Williams.
  • On fourth down, Northeastern almost made an interception near the goal line but dropped it anyways.
• Northeastern started its next drive on its own 26.
  • On 3rd-and-10, Jones was forced to scrambled out to his right and Monroe hit him late out of bounds to give the Eagles an automatic first with 1:22 to play in the first half. Monroe was also hit with a deadball personal conduct penalty, which moved the ball to the Redhawks’ 42.
  • Sophomore Zak Ishman came onto the field for Jones and immediately hit Tyell Saunders on a 25-yard pass.
  • Bad next set of downs by the Eagles. Northeastern’s first down snap was dropped by Ishman. Then, the Eagles committed a holding to make it a 2nd-and-25.
  • Jones returned and scrambled for some yards, but the clock ran out before Northeastern could attempt a 43-yard field goal.
• At halftime, Northeastern led 18-14.

Halftime

• Trevaris Jones has thrown for 154 yards and two touchdowns so far. Tyell Saunders has 95 receiving yards and a touchdown.

3rd Quarter

• Monroe received the second half kickoff. A penalty on Northeastern allowed the Redhawks to start on their own 42-yard line.
  • Northeastern was called for a personal foul after a run by Monroe and that moved the ball to the 23-yard line of Northeastern.
  • TOUCHDOWN MONROE! Zymir Kendall weaves through the middle of the Northeastern defense for a 23-yard touchdown rush. The PAT was made.
• Monroe took a 21-18 lead with 11:21 left in the third.
• The Eagles returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 42-yard line.
  • On a 2nd-and-7, Jones was sacked for a loss of one.
  • INTERCEPTION MONROE! Zak Ishman came into the game for Jones and he had his third down pass intercepted by Joey Shearin after he got hit on the throw.
• Monroe took over on the Northeastern 19-yard line after the interception return.
  • Zion Lindsey had a bruising 17-yard run down to the Northeastern 7-yard line.
  • TOUCHDOWN MONROE! After Lindsey was taken off with an injury, Kendall was given a carry and he plowed through from four years out.
• Monroe extended its lead to 28-18 with 8:00 left in the third quarter.
• Northeastern started with the ball on its 29-yard line on the next drive.
  • Jones returned to the game, but the Eagles handed it off two times and got nowhere.
  • On third down, Jones threw deep down the middle and was incomplete by a bit.
  • Northeastern elected to punt on 4th-and-10.
• Monroe was set to take over just inside its own territory, but Northeastern was called for a personal foul. That gave the Redhawks a first down on the Eagles’ 38-yard line.
  • Lindsey plowed ahead for a 9-yard game.
  • After a first down, Northeastern forced a 3rd-and-7.
  • On third down, Monroe gave to Kendall for a gain on two.
  • On 4th-and-5, Chambers threw an incomplete pass on an out to give Northeastern the ball back.
• Northesatern took over on its own 16-yard line with 3:06 left in the third quarter.
  • The Eagles completed consecutive first down passes to Bennett and Saunders.
  • Carren Armstrong made a powerful run down to the Monroe 34-yard line. Interior of the Northeastern line has been pancaking guys on this drive,
  • Before a 3rd-and-4, Jeremiah Lindsey went down and there was an injury timeout.
  • On third down, Northeastern called a perfectly timed draw to Ty’Jae Simpson, who rushed down to the Monroe 2-yard line.
  • Northeastern fumbled on 1st-and-goal, but the ball was recovered by Jones for no loss.
  • TOUCHDOWN NORTHEASTERN! Off a play-action fake, Jones hit Zion Demps on a little leak out to the right goal line for a 2-yard score. That was the final play of the third quarter. Northeastern made a PAT for the first time all night.
• Northeastern cut the Monroe lead to 28-25.

4th Quarter

• Monroe started the fourth quarter with the ball on its own 36-yard line following the kickoff.
  • Northeastern made a nice tackle for a loss on first down.
  • On second down, Monroe gained enough to make it 3rd-and-9.
  • On third down, Northeastern had a coverage bust and allowed Jamari Clark to get a first down up to the Northeastern 33.
  • On on 3rd-and-3, Northeastern stood up Lindsey at the line.
  • On fourth down, Chambers scrambled and chose to throw it to the end zone when he could’ve picked it up with his feet easily.
• Northeastern took over on its own 25-yard line with 8:37 to go.
  • The Eagles hit on another draw up to the 37-yard line.
  • On 3rd-and-5, Jones’ pass on a slant was batted at the line by Rydasion Richardson.
  • On 4th-and-4, Northeastern appeared to pick it up on an option pitch to the right, but a late holding was called. That was an unnecessary hold by Northeastern.
  • On 4th-and-6, Jones threw incomplete on an out to Saunders. He missed him wide.
• After the turnover on downs, Monroe took over on the Northeastern 41-yard line with 6:02 left in the game.
  • Monroe picked up eight yards on the first two plays.
  • On 3rd-and-2, Lindsey powered forward for a gain of about four for the first down.
  • Monroe committed a false start, making it a 1st-and-15 with 4:15 left.
  • A hold led to a 2nd-and-16 with 3:48 left.
  • Monroe gave it to Kendall on a guard-tackle counter and he rushed down to the 24-yard line.
  • On 3rd-and-5, Monroe gave it to Lindsey and he rushed for just enough to get the first. The ball was moved up to the 18-yard line.
  • TOUCHDOWN MONROE! Zion Lindsey flew into the end zone with the balance of a ballerina for an 18-yard touchdown to put this thing away.
• Monroe expanded its lead to 35-25 with 2:18 left.
• Northeastern started its next drive on its own 15 after a nice bouncing kickoff.
  • Jones was sacked on first down.
  • Ishman was put into the game after that and the Eagles moved the ball a little bit. But ultimately, they were unable to score again.