Hough High football soaks in moment of first state final 

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Hough High junior quarterback Ethan Royal has led the Huskies to a 13-0 record and a berth in the North Carolina 8A final in his first season as a starter. Hough plays Raleigh Millbrook in the state title game Thursday.

GREENSBORO – The Hough High Huskies are ready to play for the school’s first football state championship.

Two weeks removed from beating West Charlotte in the 8A Western Regional final, it is finally game week. Coach DeShawn Baker said the time off was productive, and the Huskies (13-0) are hungry and ready to compete Thursday at 8 p.m.

“The week has been good,” Baker said. “It’s crazy having a week off in between because it's tough trying to find ways to keep the kids enthused. Not lack of enthusiasm for playing in a state championship but because it’s cold outside, so we found ways to make sure they had fun at practice while still doing the things we needed to do to get better.”

Hough defensive coordinator Chachi Sullivan said it is gratifying to finally get to a spot coveted by every team in the state when the season starts. To be one of 16 teams competing for a title is special.

“For me, it’s awesome,” Sullivan said. “To see all the other coaches that have put in the same type of caliber of work, and to see them kind of enjoying the moment too. Also, seeing how their behavior is. You can kind of tell the guys that haven’t been here versus the guys who are here all the time, so it’s great.”

Teams like Tarboro, Murphy, Shelby and Crest – all playing in finals this week – are familiar with title games. They are historic programs that have won multiple championships. Baker wants Hough to get to that level.

“Now our kids know what it takes,” he said. “We’ve handled ourselves well all year and the way the seniors have led this team, I think it will be second nature come next year. We know the process, we know how it feels to get here now. There are teams that have been here 19 times here today. Their culture is different. We have been expected to get here a few times and didn’t. Now, we are over that hump.”
It is one thing to make a state championship game; it is another to win. 

The Millbrook Wildcats are also in their first championship appearance and 13-0 like the Huskies. Their offense is explosive, scoring 37.8 points per game. 

“Firs off, they do have a lot of explosive players,” Sullivan said. “They have a good quarterback and a lot of good guys up front. Obviously, they’re 13-0, so the first thing we have to make sure we are prepared to do is to be fundamentally sound and locked in on what we do. We can’t change what we do now. We can kind of anticipate what they are going to try to do based on what they’ve done, but our main thing is to prepare like we always prepare.”

On the flip side, Millbrook’s defense has been stingy as of late, giving up just 7 points to Hoggard in the 8A East regional final. Hoggard was a team averaging over 35 points per game too before running into the Wildcats. Baker is confident in his offense, led by junior quarterback Ethan Royal.

“Our offense kind of gets overshadowed because our defense is so good,” Baker said. “That is fine with me ‘cause everybody knows defense wins championships. But our offense has seen defenses like [Rock Hill] South Pointe, Mooresville, Highland Springs (Va.), West Forsyth, West Charlotte and Myers Park, so our offense has been challenged all year. But, they are going to go out there and prepare like they always do.”

Royal is a first-year starter who knows how to win. Baker said one thing that impresses him most is Royal’s process and work ethic.

“With Ethan, offensively we trust him to get it done,” Baker said. “All he has done since he’s been here is win. He’s not turning the ball over, knock on wood. When we do have to punt, it isn’t from crazy far back, so he is leaving our defense in good spots when we aren’t scoring on offense. We have full trust in Ethan, and he is going to be ready to go come Thursday.”

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