North Cross beats Atlantic Shores 13-0 to bring home state championship
Willis Field, Roanoke, VA– North Cross had some unfinished business from last year. They came up one victory short in 2021 from a state title. The team holding the championship belt met the Raiders in Roanoke on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, to decide who took the trophy home this year. North Cross Head Coach Stephen Alexander said as much after his Raider team walked away with a hard fought, hard hitting 13-0 win. “I am very relieved. This team deserves it. They’ve gone through it. I am very happy.” Nothing about this game came easy, for either side. The Raiders and the Seahawks battled to a 0-0 tie in the first half. Atlantic Shores had the best chance to dent the scoreboard in the first half but a 31-yard field goal dropped short. At the start of the third quarter, North Cross got things rolling. WR/DB/KR 1 Ian Cann took the second half kickoff and ran around, through, and bounced off just about everybody on the field before he celebrated with his teammates after an 86-yard TD return. Cann also caught an 80-yard pass from QB 8 Conner Lange to set up the Raiders second TD. WR/LB 10 Zach Morgan caught a 19-yard pass in the left corner of the end zone as he was being interfered with on the play. After making the first point after, K 3 Ashton Cornett’s second try sailed wide, but it mattered not in this defensive battle. Cornett’s punting was also key to pinning the Seahawks deep as he booted 5 kicks for a 41.6 yard average. On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Shannon Taylor’s troops were stellar. Led by LB 53 Chase Daniel with 10 solo tackles and a pass breakup, the Raiders needed all hands on deck for the balanced Seahawk attack. In the second half, Freshman LB 6 Tristan Lange stopped one Atlantic Shores drive with a fourth down interception. DL 72 Hannes Hammer, a VT commit, ended another fourth quarter drive with a 10-yard sack of the Seahawk QB. Coach Alexander boiled it down in the aftermath, “I am thankful to get the rematch and thankful to come out on top this time.” – Cap’n Crunch
Check back here for more of this story including game stats
