It was a game of missed opportunities for Starmount as Mount Airy was able to hold on for a 17-14 win.

The game was played on Saturday night at Starmount High School as a result of Hurricane Helene’s impacts on North Carolina.

The victory, which is the Granite Bears’ 36th consecutive dating back to 2022, should put Mount Airy in the driver’s seat to win the Northwest 1A Conference again. It is the longest active winning streak in North Carolina.

Over Mount Airy’s 35 previous wins, the Granite Bears never came within 11 points of losing. Mount Airy beat Robbinsville 27-16 in last year’s 1A West final. Tonight’s 3-point win the by far the closest the Bears have come to losing.

Mount Airy entered as the projected No. 1 overall seed in the 1A West. They will likely stay in that spot in the HighSchoolOT playoff projections after this win.

Starmount had a number of chances to put itself in position to end the Mount Airy streak. The Rams advanced the ball past the 50 on their first three possessions, but only scored on one of them. The score happened on the first play from scrimmage. It was a 52-yard touchdown pass from Luke Collins to LT Adams.

Mount Airy, on the other hand, was able to score on its best possessions. Senior quarterback Landon Gallimore hit senior Zach Goins on a nice 31-yard connection and junior back Taeshon Martin made an impressive 35-yard touchdown rush that saw him break multiple tackles. Kicker Ethan Clabo made it a two-possesion game with a 27-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

In the second half, an interception by Cody Hernandez put the Rams in great position to cut into a 10-point Mount Airy lead. After returning the ball to the 13, Starmount used a Kinston Crater run to get down to the 2-yard line on the first play. However, Mount Airy’s defensive front held strong and forced the Rams into a field goal attempt from the 6-yard line, which they missed. The defensive effort was led by 340-pound junior defensive tackle Third Floyd, who made two of the stops on his own and disrupted the third down play as well.

The Rams’ defense did put forth a much better effort against Mount Airy’s offense than most are able to. That was especially true in the second half as Starmount shut the Granite Bears out. Starmount utilized multiple heavy fronts on its defensive line, which caused some miscommunications for Mount Airy. A strategy to monitor against the bears in the future.

When Starmount’s offense was finally able to cut into the Mount Airy lead, there was only 2:20 left in regulation and the Rams had no remaining timeouts to use.

Mount Airy (6-0 overall, 2-0 Northwest 1A) will host East Wilkes next week. A win against the Cardinals would effectively wrap up the conference. Starmount (4-1 overall, 1-1 Northwest 1A Conference) will try to get back on track at home against North Stokes on Oct. 4.

Scoring

First Quarter

• 11:40 – Luke Collins 52-yard touchdown pass to LT Adams. Rams 7, Granite Bears 0
• 3:24 – Landon Gallimore 31-yard touchdown pass to Zach Goins. Granite Bears 7, Rams 7
• 0:00 – Taeshon Martin 35-yard touchdown rush. Granite Bears 14, Rams 7

Second Quarter

• 1:30 – Ethan Calbo 27-yard field goal. Granite Bears 17, Rams 7

Fourth Quarter

• 2:20 – Luke Collins 2-yard touchdown pass to KJ Allen. Granite Bears 17, Rams 14

Source: highschoolot.com