Published November 21, 2009
By Richard Hord
The Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte Latin Hawks broke open a tie game in the third quarter to dominate the Charlotte Christian Knights and win the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association football championship Friday night at Charlotte Christian, 31-10.
The victory avenged the Hawks' only defeat of the season and a loss last season in the state championship game. It was also the Hawks' seventh consecutive state championship game.
"This is always sweet," said Latin coach Larry McNulty. "These kids are fantastic to work with, and the only bad thing is that there are no more games, and we don't have practice tomorrow.
"We don't talk about revenge. That is not what we are about here. But it is nice to get the team that beat you in the regular season. These kids have really worked hard this week, and it showed out there tonight."
The Hawks' defense took control from the start, forcing Christian to punt on its first four possessions, and Colton Walls picked off Knights quarterback John Kincaid on the fifth. Latin kicker Sam Myers put the Hawks on the board first with a 21-yard field goal, and Christian kicker Wes Medeiros ended the first half with a 22-yard field goal. The third quarter belonged to the Hawks, as they scored touchdowns on their three possessions of the period.
Chase Carbone was the first Hawk to find the end zone, as he scored from 2 yards to stretch Latin's lead to 10-3 .
Jalen Ross broke off a 48-yard run late in the third quarter, and then ran 17 more yards for the third and final touchdown of the third quarter, breaking the game open.
"The first thing that I have got to do is thank my fullback, Chase Carbone," said Ross. "We worked on that play in the first half, but in the second half, he really opened up some holes for me. It wasn't working in the first half, but in that second half we popped it for some big runs."
Christian scored its only touchdown late in the fourth quarter, as Kincaid found Matthias Farley from 32 yards out to cut the lead to 24-10.
Latin responded after blocking a Knights punt, as Thomas Armstrong plunged into the end zone from 2 yards out for the 31-10 final score.
"Our defense really did a great job tonight," said McNulty. "They have played well all year, and they really rose to the occasion in this game. To hold that team to only 10 points is something else, and I am really proud of them."
To view the article online, go to www.charlotteobserver.com.