Salisbury shuts out Northeastern, 30-0, claims 2-AA title

 

Dominique Dismuke scored two touchdowns and Salisbury shut down Northeastern 30-0 on Saturday night to win the Class 2-AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship.

 

Game MVP Romar Morris added 97 yards rushing and a touchdown, Brian Bauk had a touchdown run in the fourth, and David Simons went 3 for 4 on extra points and hit a 20-yard field goal for the Hornets (13-3), who won in their first appearance in a state title game.

"(Northeastern) got after us and played us hard," Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan said. "They were just so hard to figure out. I was really scared that we wouldn't be able to contain them, but our defense really did a great job."

Dismuke scored on a 6-yard run late in the first quarter to put the Hornets in the lead. Salisbury then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to set up Dismuke's next score, a 3-yard TD pass from John Knox 83 seconds later to give the Hornets a 14-0 halftime lead.

Terry Williams threw for 130 yards and Mason James ran for 56 yards for the Eagles (13-3), also making their first appearance in a state title game. But Williams also threw an interception and Northeastern fumbled the ball away three times.

The Eagles had a chance to break the shutout late in the first half, driving to the Hornets' 7-yard line with 2:10 remaining, but Austin Bertrand's 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

"We got in the red zone a couple times, but came away with nothing," Northeastern head coach Antonio Moore said. "We came out a little flat ... and we turned the ball over too many times. In the game of football, you do that, you're not going to win."

Morris, who has committed to North Carolina, tacked on a 7-yard touchdown run with 7:17 left in the third quarter to up Salisbury's lead to 21-0.

Simons nailed his field goal with 9:48 left in the fourth quarter, and Bauk capped the Hornets' scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run with 1:19 remaining.