Why Mount Airy's 2023 squad was as dominant as you'll ever see
Mount Airy completed its defense of last year's 1A state championship title with another 1A championship victory this fall. The Granite Bears outscored Tarboro 21-0 in the second half to win the game 21-3.
No team had repeated as state champions since the 2020-2021 pandemic season, but those repeats were easier than what Mount Airy just did. From 2001 through spring 2021, the N.C. High School Athletic Association split the four classifications into two and thus played eight state championships. Those subclassification fields were much smaller in scope and easier to conquer.
If you look at the years in which only four state championships were played (like how its been since fall 2021), no team has repeated since Independence did it in 4A in 2000-2001. But in 1A, no team had been able to pull off back-to-back titles since Swain County pulled it off in 1989 and 1990. Mount Airy ended that streak with its 2023 team.
"The thing that I'm most proud of this group is the true bond that they formed and the trust that they formed together, player-to-player and coach-to-player," head coach J.K. Adkins said after the game. "These guys never flinched. They never had a reason to because there's nobody in our program that let anyone down over the course of the last two seasons."
Where the 2023 Mount Airy team stands among the all-time great teams in this state's history is up for debate. But it is certainly in the conversation.
Without a doubt, the 2023 version of Mount Airy was superior to the 2022 version. After all, it was essentially the same exact group of players, but a year older, stronger, and more refined.
This Granite Bears team had a ridiculous defense.
Mount Airy shut out nine teams. That is the highest number of shutouts by a single NCHSAA team in the 21st century.
In the seven games in which the Bears didn't win in a shutout, they outscored those teams 305-91. Mount Airy's defense held opponents to under 150 yards of total offense per game. They allowed under six yards per passing attempt and under 2.5 yards per rush.ing attempt.
In the state championship game, Mount Airy held a Tarboro team that put up an average of close to 350 yards of offense each week to just 67 total yards. In Mount Airy's 1A West regional final win over Robbinsville, the Granite Bears limited the Smoky Mountain Conference's all-time leading rusher Cuttler Adams to just 57 yards on 19 carries. Adams surpassed 2,100 rushing yards in back-to-back-to-back seasons.
The offense, of course, is was no slouch either. Mount Airy's 809 total points this season are the fourth most scored in the history of the NCHSAA. The Granite Bears' 115 touchdowns are also fourth all time in a season. The Bears' 5,873 rushing yards this season are, you guessed it, the fourth most recorded by the NCHSAA.
This Mount Airy group had a great mixture of big college prospects and some classic 1A standouts.
3-stars like running back Tyler Mason and defensive end Deric Dandy are Virginia Tech-boound. At the same time, players like Ian Gallimore, Caleb Reid, and Walker Stroup were quintessential players at the 1A level for their ability to dominate as iron men who don't come off the field. Stroup is a particularly great example of a 1A star as he led the team in receiving, was second in tackles, and was an excellent kicker/punter/kickoff specialist throughout his career. The Granite Bars also had some promising young talent mixed into the equation in sophomores D.J. Joyce, Taeshon Martin, and Third Floyd.
The 2023 Granite Bears were a true perfect storm. Fans should appreciate the greatness of this unit, as it doesn't come around too often.
