RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Matthews Butler football team was confident coming into its first Class 4-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship game Saturday night against Fayetteville Britt.
The Bulldogs felt their schedule helped their preparation, but coach Mike Newsome was confident if his players played to their potential, Butler would leave with a title.
They did just that. The offense rolled up 443 yards in the victory to help continue the Class 4-AA dominance by Mecklenburg County schools. It was the eighth title in the last 10 years for the county.
"Britt was the biggest team we faced all year but I felt we could be successful," Newsome said. "We have a lot of weapons, played as a team and did what we had to do."
Most Valuable Player Christian LeMay threw three touchdown passes and running back Jahwan Edwards ran for one and caught another for the Bulldogs (15-0). Edwards finished with 154 yards on 18 carries.
A fumble on a kickoff by Britt (15-1) just seconds before halftime and a 27-yard return by Dominique Brewer put Butler up 27-17 and gave it the momentum it needed for the victory.
"That hurt us, but I don't think that changed the outcome of the game," said Britt coach Richard Bailey, whose team lost its second straight Class 4-AA title game and third overall. "At the end of the day, the better team won. I feel like a Buffalo Bills coach but we're willing to keep coming back to try to win it."
Britt had 243 yards of offense in the first half and had touchdown runs of 80 yards by quarterback Greg Bryant (11 carries, 108 yards) and 7 yards by Eric Johnson (23 carries for 139 yards) as the teams were tied 14-14 after one quarter.
The Buccaneers were held to just 46 yards in the third quarter and never threatened. It was the first time all season the Buccaneers scored fewer than 24 points.
Butler got second-quarter field goals from Kyle Searles (27 yards) and Vaughn Bandy (37 yards), while John Rains' 22-yarder tied the game at 17 for Britt.
"This is a great feeling," said LeMay, who will return next year with Edwards and most of the top offensive players. "We all expected to play well. We knew if we played Butler football, no one could beat us."
