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East Lincoln battled-tested for facing fellow unbeaten Northern Nash in title game



East Lincoln head coach David Lubowicz at the NCHSAA press conference Monday with Director Que Tucker, left. /Doug Coats

East Lincoln is one step away from claiming its third football state championship in school history.

After going through the powerful one-two punch of Kings Mountain and South Point in the last two rounds, the Mustangs will face fellow undefeated team Northern Nash out of Rocky Mount. With both teams at 15-0 there’s not necessarily a favorite or underdog story; both are conference champions with blowouts at the beginning of the season, culminating with a nail-biter to win their regional championships.

“For them to be 15-0, for us to be 15-0, one of us gets to end the season 16-0,” East Lincoln head coach David Lubowicz said. “As great as 15-1 is, or 14-2 is, 16-0 has a really good ring to it. It looks good on a T-shirt.”

This is East’s first unbeaten record at this point in the year since the state championship team in 2014. Two years later was Lubowicz’s best record as head coach, going 11-3 in his first season at the helm.

The Mustangs faced doubters even a few months into their unbeaten run, with Kings Mountain being the consensus top-ranked 3A West team. But by taking down the Mountaineers in dominant fashion in the fourth round, then South Point last week, there is no doubt East is the best from the West. Add in third-round foe Ledford, and its final three playoff opponents entered with a combined 37-2 record.

Lubowicz said facing vastly different playing styles will have the team prepared for any scheme that comes their way.

3A Football State Championship

East Lincoln vs. Northern Nash
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10
Where: Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh 
Tickets: $15 through GoFan, $10 parking fee
TV info: Game will be broadcast locally on WCCB/MeTV 18.3

“The kids should not be nervous,” Lubowicz said. “We’ve seen just about everything. Beating those well-known programs would help us on Saturday.”

The two offensive backfields in the matchup in Raleigh will enter with similar production. East’s Tyler Mizzell has thrown for 2,368 yards and 35 touchdowns through the air, while running for 666 more. Northern’s signal-caller Keno Jones has thrown for 2,514 and 37 touchdowns, while running for 756.

Northern Nash head coach Andrew Farriss said having a running quarterback himself helps prepare for the elusive Mizzell. 

“If you have somebody who can emulate what the other quarterback does, that helps,” Farriss said. “We try not to let him do it too much so he doesn’t get hurt in practice. Hopefully it will be something that will help us. If everything else breaks down, he can give us something. They’re just so good defensively.”

East has an edge with its top rusher, however. Chris Daley has amassed 1,558 yards to the 829 from Knights running back Dywhaun Mitchell.

Northern Nash head coach Andrew Farriss said his goal at the beginning of the year was to win a state championship.

About Northern Nash

Farriss knew he had a good team in the summer, he just didn’t expect to run the table. The Knights breezed through most of their schedule with many running-clock games but on the final day of the regular season faced their biggest challenge at that point. They fell behind rival Rocky Mount 14-0 before storming back to win 27-17 and enter the playoffs as the top seed in the East. 

“This group has just been a core the whole time they’ve been here,” he said. “I knew they’d have a good year. It’s hard to predict to have this kind of year. This was our goal, to make the state championship. In the back of your mind you know hard hard that is. You have to have things go your way. And they did. Other times guys just gutted it out, and they came back from adversity, overcame adversity.”

PHOTOS: East Lincoln defeats South Point to reach 3A championship

Through the Knights’ first five games, they rushed for less than 120 yards each time with three different leading rushers. But Mitchell finished the year especially strong, leading the team the final four games, when the team averaged 211 in that stretch.

“Early on, all we could do was throw the ball,” Farriss said. “But all of a sudden, we had to grind out some of those games and forced us into that. That has been very helpful for us. For a surprise, that’s probably it. If we had to run the ball, can we at all? We were finally able to do that down the stretch.”

Despite the evolution of his ground attack, Farris knows picking up big chunks of yardage will be a tall task on Saturday. Led by linebacker Ben Cutter and defensive lineman Marcel Johnson, East has held all but two opponents to under 8 points. 

“They have the physical attributes,” he said. “Lord knows, they’re big enough, long and tall. They tackle so well. You’ve got to have to block them really well if you want to gain yards. You’re not going to count on making anybody miss. They’re so sound, and look to be really well-coached. When you have that combination with the physical attributes they have, it’s really tough.”

Tyler Mizzell has been efficient both running and throwing the ball this season. Northern Nash’s quarterback Keno Jones has similar dual-threat abilities. /Joseph Brymer

Game preparation

The coaches will have to balance facing a top-tier opponent with the excitement of playing in a unique environment. The teams have combined to play nine of their 10 playoff games at home.

“You have to balance it the best you can,” Lubowicz said. “You want the kids to be excited about going and playing, and want to be awestruck by N.C. State at the same time, but want to be in that same routine in what they normally do on a Friday night but on Saturday night.”

With rain forecast for a few days in the week leading up to the matchup, Lubowicz believes it’s beneficial to have the game a day later than usual.

“I think it’s going to allow us on Tuesday to do film room and formation (work).” he said. “This week having the extra day allows for that kind of stuff, with the rain.”

East Lincoln will depart the school at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, and the school is inviting the community to give a festive send-off. There also will be a fan bus to the game for $40.  Email fundraising@elhsboosters.org to reserve your seats.

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