HobbsDailyReport.com
DURHAM – Charlotte Catholic High dominated the time of possession and the ground game on Saturday en route to its fifth state championship victory, beating Havelock 28-14 at Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium for a state 3A football title.
The Cougars (16-0, West No. 1 seed) rolled up 272 yards on 58 running plays and had the ball for more than 31 of the game’s 48 minutes.
Milan Howard carried 29 times for the Cougars – gaining 160 yards — and was named the game’s MVP.
Catholic opened the scoring early when Paul Neel hauled in a 5-yard pass from Christopher Walton to cap a 14-play, 70-yard drive that chewed up 6:17 to open the game.
Havelock (14-2, East No. 2 seed) answered the bell, ripping off a 15-play, 79-yard drive that took 5:34. The Rams tied it at 7 with a 2-yard TD by Khalil Barrett with just eight seconds left in the first quarter.
The teams made much quicker work of their next possessions.
Charlotte Catholic cashed in a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Walton for a 13-7 lead after the PAT failed. Just 48 seconds later, Zach Sabdo hit Welton Spottsville for a 27-yard TD as Havelock took the lead for the first time with 8:06 left in the half.
Spottsville took home Defensive Most Outstanding Player awards for the Rams with five tackles while Sabdo won Havelock’s team honors on offense with 207 yards and a TD. He completed 16 of 21 passes.
Catholic got two fourth-quarter TD runs — a 5-yarder and 2-yarder by Lamagea McDowell — to build a 28-14 lead.
McDowell was named Catholic’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player with 63 yards on 18 carries while Chase Foley led the Cougars defensively with seven tackles and was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the Cougars.
NCHSAA OFFICIAL GAME SUMMARY: http://nchsaa.org/sites/default/files/2017%203AHSFB-FINALBOOK.pdf