The Crown Fits, and the Dudley Panthers are wearing it:Dudley claims 3-A Football State Championship on Friday night, in Chapel Hill

An old radio broadcaster used to ask me back in the day, if I was headed to Chapel Hill….And you know, I should have said, “I think I will, head to Chapel Hill”…And I did, and it was a good trip fellas…

Good seeing the Dudley Panthers win the 3-A High School Football Championship on a Friday night, in Chapel Hill…Dudley topped Greenville Rose, 69-40, to claim the Title, and it is like we were saying a little while ago, “The Crown Fits, and the Dudley Panthers are wearing it”…And they might not be taking it off for a while…

You take turns wearing the crown around, like they do when the pass the Stanley Cup around….Dudley wins it, and the Panthers are wearing that crown…Not sure if they will be sharing that crown, and you can’t blame them if they don’t share the crown…They earned it and it is theirs to keep…Championship T-shirts, Championship Sweatshirts, Championship ball caps, you can wear all of those around, but who gets to wear the Championship Crown around??? Only the victors, and like it has always been said, “To the Victor, goes the spoils”….

Dudley has earned that crown, and they won it all on a Friday night in Chapel Hill…But to win the game, 69-40, that is unreal…Sixty-nine points??? That is more than any single team had scored before in a high school State Championship football game…Dudley went out and got the title,(accompanied by the crown), and Dudley broke the record for most points scored too…

That was a busy night, for the Dudley Panthers in Chapel Hill….And it still has many of us shaking our heads, with Dudley winning this game, 69-40…Not shaking our heads over the fact that Dudley won the game, we felt certain that Greensboro Dudley was going to win this Championship Football Game, but to win it, 69-40, that is a different matter all-together …

The Dudley offense was taking no prisoners on this Friday night…There wasn’t time to be taking any prisoners hostage, Dudley was too busy running as fast as they could, into the end zone…Dudley’s offense has been strong all season long, but tonight, tonight that Dudley offense was running on Turbo Charge….

And let’s all join the Dudley Panthers, from James B. Dudley High School, on Lincoln Street in Greensboro, in ringing the Victory Bell…Dudley needs to erect a Victory Bell over there on Lincoln Street, and it is time to start ringing that Victory Bell, and we all need to go ahead and get off of our duffs and Congratulate Dudley, on this outstanding victory/win…Let me be the first to say right here and now, CONGRATULATIONS DUDLEY PANTHERS ON WINNING YOUR 3-A FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP……

There you go, and let’s do get some others adding in to our decree, CONGRATULATIONS DUDLEY PANTHERS ON WINNING YOUR 3-A FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Gary Hahn, with the N.C. State football radio broadcasts tells his listeners to “Light Up the Bell Tower Red”, when State wins a football game…Once the game is complete and it is about time to wrap everything up, Gary Hahn says, “Light Up the Bell Tower Red”, it’s another N.C. State Wolfpack football victory…Jones Angell makes a similar statement on the North Carolina Tar Heels football radio broadcasts, but I think Jones is just copying Gary….

No copying here, let’s just get that Victory Bell in place, and start ringing it down there at James B. Dudley High School…

Let’s toss out some names of those who really got the volume reved up on Friday night, down in Chapel Hill, at Keenan Stadium…Defensive Tackle Logan Wright was named the Defensive Player of the Game for the Dudley Panthers….Michael Shaw was named the Offensive Player of the Game for Dudley…And senior Jahmier Slade, playing his last game ever in a Dudley Panthers uniform, Slade was named the Player of the Game…..

Klavon Brown on defense, and Jayden Grimes on offense, were named the Players of the Game, for Greenville Rose…

Greensboro over Greenville, Greensboro Dudley over Greenville Rose, and this how she goes…Jahmier Slade was 7-12 passing for Dudley, for 115 yards with 2 TD’s/1 INT…Slade ran the football 11 times for 98 yards and 3 TD’s…Slade with 213 total yards and 4 TD’s…Three TD’s on the ground for Slade, and one through the air…Not a bad night at all, for the MVP/Most Valuable Player…
Dudley RB Michael Shaw carried the ball 12 times for 191 yards and one touchdown…Shaw’s TD came on a long 76-yard run…RJ/Rory Baker had 8 carries for 43 yards for Dudley, and Baker ran for one TD…Baker with 2 receptions for 29 yards and another TD…Baker with a 46-yard Punt Return for yet another touchdown, and you could call this kid, RJ Baker, the Touchdown Maker…Baker had three(3) TD’s for the game….Baker with 118 all-purpose yards for the game…Mehki Wall had one carry for a five-yard TD run…Wall caught 3 passes for 79 yards and one TD receiving…Wall’s TD pass reception covered 43 yards and it was a perfect strike from Slade that allowed Wall to catch the ball, and it got Wall into the end zone…

Brothers and sisters, it was a very BIG night for the Dudley offense, as they gained 447 total yards for the game…Dudley with 332 yards rushing and 115 yards passing…

**********Let’s now lay out the Touchdown Tally….**********
Dudley:8:43 First Quarter RJ Baker with a three-yard touchdown run…Abdoul Bayor’s kick was good, and the score:Dudley 7, Rose 0
Dudley:7:40 First Quarter Jaylan Richmond with a 56-yard interception return for a TD…Bayor’s kick is good and the score:Dudley 14, Rose 0
Dudley:6:10 First Quarter Michael Shaw on a 76-yard TD run…Bayor’s kick is good, and the score:Dudley 21, Rose 0
Rose:2:40 First Quarter Jayden Grimes with a 13-yard TD pass from Will Taylor…Will D’Alonzo kick is good, and the score:Dudley 21, Rose 7
Rose:00:54 seconds left in the First Quarter Jameer Roach on a 59-yard interception return for a TD…D’Alonzo kick is good, and the score:Dudley 21, Rose 14
Dudley:9:55 Second Quarter Jahmier Slade on 24-yard TD run…Two-point conversion run fails, and the score:Dudley 27, Rose 14
Rose:5:17 Second Quarter Klavon Brown on a 6-yard touchdown run…PAT kick is no good, and the score:Dudley 27, Rose 20
Dudley:00:43 seconds left in the Second Quarter Mehki Wall on a 5-yard TD run…Michael Shaw with the two-point conversion run, and the score:Dudley 35, Rose 20
Dudley:00:02 seconds left in the Second Quarter Baker with a TD on a 14-yard pass from Slade…Bayor’s kick is good, and the score:Dudley 42, Rose 20, as we hit Halftime….
Dudley:10:30 Third Quarter Slade on an 18-yard TD run…Bayor’s kick is good, and the score:Dudley 49, Rose 20
Rose:8:34 Third Quarter Grimes on a 42-yard pass reception from Taylor for the TD…D’Alonzo kick is good, and the score:Dudley 49, Rose 27
Dudley:6:58 Third Quarter Wall with a 43-yard pass from Slade for the TD…Bayor’s kick is good, and the score:Dudley 56, Rose 27
Rose:3:54 Third Quarter Montez Green with a 34-yard TD pass reception for Taylor…D’Alonzo kick is good….Dudley 56, Rose 34
Dudley:2:09 Third Quarter Slade 6-yard touchdown run…PAT kick is blocked…Dudley 62, Rose 34
Dudley:00:25 seconds left in the Third Quarter R.J. Baker on a 46-yard Punt Return for a touchdown…Bayor kick is good…Dudley 69, Rose 34
Rose:2:36 Fourth Quarter Klavon Brown on a 3-yard TD run…D’Alonzo kick is no good…Dudley 69, Rose 40
Final Score:Greensboro Dudley 69, Greenville Rose 40

**********Dudley Panthers 2021 NCHSAA 3-A Football Champions**********

++++++++++And there you go, that is our last chapter in the book on the Dudley Panthers winning the State Championship++++++++++

Game Report from the NCHSAA and James Alverson:
CHAPEL HILL, NC – In the highest scoring neutral site State Championship Game in history, the Dudley Panthers blasted J.H. Rose 69-40 to win the school’s seventh Football State Championship and fifth title in NCHSAA play. The Panthers were led by quarterback Jahmier Slade who rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns and throwing for two more with 115 yards passing on his way to winning MVP honors for the game.

Dudley scored the most points of any single team in a neutral site State Championship Game (most since 1989). The Panthers 69 points clipped the mark of 68 set by Reidsville in the 2003 2AA State Championship Game against Bandys. The two teams combined for the most points in a neutral site state championship game, eclipsing the record of 98 set by Western Alamance and North Gaston in the 2007 3A State Title Game. Dudley’s 42 first-half points tied the most points in a single half, a record held by three other teams: 2003 Reidsville, 2012 Butler, & 2015 Mallard Creek.

The Panthers rushed out to a 21-0 lead just 5:41 into the game. R.J. Baker opened the scoring running for a three-yard touchdown to capitalize on a short field for Dudley. The defense got into the act on the next series when heavy pressure forced an errant throw that found its way into the hands of Jaylan Richmond who returned it 56 yards for a touchdown to go up 14-0. Logan Wright was a force on the defensive line for the Panthers all night, generating pressure in the Rampant backfield and making 8 tackles in the game. He was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player for Dudley.

After stopping Rose quickly, Michael Shaw took the first play of the next Dudley possession and ripped off a 76-yard score to go up 21-0. Shaw finished the game with 12 carries for 191 yards and a score as he was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Performer for the Panthers.

Just when things looked the worst for the Rampants, the Rose offense came to life as quarterback Will Taylor engineered an 8-play, 67-yard drive and found Jayden Grimes on a 13-yard crossing route to put the Rampants on the scoreboard. Grimes finished the night with Most Outstanding Offensive Performer honors for the Rampants, hauling in 9 passes for 150 yards and two scores. On the ensuing Panther possession, Jameer Roach picked off Slade and took it 59 yards to the house to trim the Dudley lead to 21-14 with less than a minute to go in the opening quarter.

Dudley answered on their next possession to stop the momentum, marching 7 plays and 65 yards to score. Slade eluded multiple defenders and scrambled 24 yards to the endzone to cap the drive. After the Rampants cashed in a special teams miscue by Dudley on a 6-yard run by Klavon Brown, Dudley rolled off the next 22 points to seal the victory.

For J.H. Rose, Brown was selected as the Most Outstanding Defensive Performer for J.H. Rose, massing 7 tackles and four for loss while forcing a fumble. He also rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries with a pair of scores in the game.

After starting the season 0-3, J.H. Rose finished the year 11-5. They were 5-1 in the Big Carolina 3A/4A Conference and won the Eastern Regional Championship for the eighth time in program history. They reached the State Championship for the first time since 2015.

Dudley wrapped up the season 15-1. The Panthers were 7-0 as the Champions of the Mid-State 3A. Dudley reached the NCHSAA State Championship Game for the seventh time in program history and won their 5th NCHSAA State Title to bring their program’s State Championship total to seven including the two NCHSAC Championships the Panthers won prior to integration.

The NCHSAA is committed to promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize two individuals from each state championship who have demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship throughout the year. The NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winners for the 3A Football Championships were Owen Boyd from J.H. Rose and Jonathan Neal from Dudley.

9 thoughts on “The Crown Fits, and the Dudley Panthers are wearing it:Dudley claims 3-A Football State Championship on Friday night, in Chapel Hill

  1. The only downer was that most of the State didn’t get to see the game. Spectrum, Sinclear, NFHS had issues showing the game in a ton of markets around the state. People are complaining on NC PREPS about it. Glad I was down at Kenan to see it live. Special night for Coach Davis and his Staff, Players, Families, Friends and Community. The local and state wide support and praise on NC Preps from Fans from Charlotte Catholic, North Davidson, Forsyth Co and Others. Even a ton of praise from the Charlotte Observer Langston Wertz Jr, Chris Hughes and Others on their HS Football Program. Just glad Dudley was able to finish was that couldn’t back in the spring over at Mt. Tabor…….Job Finished!

  2. I gotta say it too
    “HOW BOUT Them Panthers “ !!
    Coach Davis been saying all week , we had to win one for deuce-Steven Davis 11 , Coach said this one was special.
    A big shout out to for # 4 Jaylan Richmond, young man been bringing the pain from his linebacker position all year. That pick 6 had me pulling for him but he turned on that turbo charger speed and hit ‘em with the stiff arm. Impressive.

  3. If they didn’t get to see it , hopefully they got to hear it on GreensboroSports Radio…Not trying to heap too many coals on our back, but we have been with the Dudley Panthers in every Championship Game since back when Coach Davis and Coach Floyd took them to Raleigh to face Gastonia Ashbrook back around 2004…Long ride, but we have never missed one of the Dudley Title games in football or basketball, with basketball going back to Chapel Hill, back in 1996…Dudley faced Richmond County in Chapel Hill back in ’96…It has been a good ride, and hopefully the ride will roll on….Again, Congrats to the Dudley Panthers and their strong and supportive fan base….

  4. From the comments at NCPreps.com, it sounds like there were some pretty bad issues with the video stream from Friday night’s Dudley-Rose game on NFHS…Some pretty mad high school football fans out there today…And if you are paying for the service and you can’t get the game, you have a right to be mad….

  5. Unfortunately, the NFHS streaming site has been a problem since the spring games. I am so happy that My48 played the game. I thought it was going to be on the Spectrum channels, but it was not. Go Panthers!!!
    #pantherpride

  6. Outstanding job turned by the Dudley Panthers football program. State Champs again, and congratulations are in order for the Panthers from the 336.

  7. Thanks Andy for doing what you do. You been there since 1996 in Basketball and those 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013 & 2016 Football Championships. Radio isn’t dead in the age of Streaming Services. Need more of it.

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