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J.A. Tarpley Stadium, Greensboro

Why the Spartans won

Mount Tabor rushed for 167 yards in the first half and played great defense all night to win with old-school football. The Spartans were held to 18 yards of offense in the second half, but a defense led by West Point-bound LB Josiah Banks made enough big plays to secure a road victory.

“This football team, we win on our defense,” Coach Tiesuan Brown said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors on that side of the ball. Our offense didn’t turn the ball over in the second half, and that was the big part.”

Why the Panthers lost

Dudley’s offense sputtered all night. The Panthers were held to 2 net yards on 14 rushes in the first half and finished with 97 yards on the ground for the game as their line failed to get any consistent push. They were even worse through the air, with junior QB Jahmier Slade completing just five of 22 passes for 78 yards and throwing three interceptions in the second half, all of them inside Mount Tabor territory.

“That was the game,” Coach Steven Davis said. “The defense did the job, and other than the (63-yard TD run by B.J. McIntyre) they balled out all night.”

Dudley started six possessions at its 40-yard line or better, but the Panthers’ only score came two plays after they recovered a fumble at the Mount Tabor 7 in the second quarter.

“We had great field position,” Davis said. “We just couldn’t do anything with it. We have to find a way to generate some offense.

Stars

Mount Tabor — RB C.J. McIntyre 17 carries 122 yards, TD; Elliott Trinh game-winning FG.

Dudley — RB Milan Summers 17 carries, 47 yards, TD.

The big plays

Senior RB B.J. McIntyre ran 63 yards for a TD on Mount Tabor’s first possession of the game and broke loose for a 33-yard run to set up the Spartans’ field goal late in the first half. “He’s our workhorse,” Brown said. “We depend on B.J. McIntyre and he showed up for us and gave us what he had and it was enough.”

Three things we learned

1. Mount Tabor has Dudley’s number. The Spartans have won five straight in the rivalry, including a NCHSAA Class 3-AA playoff victory in 2019. As tight as the games have been, this was the last one for a while unless the teams meet in this year’s playoffs. Mount Tabor moves up to Class 4-A in the next realignment cycle, and the teams couldn’t find mutually agreeable non-conference dates in the fall and 2022. “Once again it came down to the fourth quarter with a few minutes left on the clock,” Brown said of Saturday night's win, “and we were able to come out on top again.”

2. Dudley missed TE Johncarlos Miller. The Elon signee injured his right shoulder on the Panthers’ second possession and sat out the rest of the first half for treatment. Miller started the second half, but aggravated the injury diving for a pass that fell incomplete in the end zone on the first series and finished the night in street clothes.

3. Mount Tabor controls the Piedmont Triad 3-A race. The Spartans’ next two opponents, Smith and Parkland, are winless. A home game against Southwest Guilford on April 9 is the only real test left for Tabor.

What they said

“We have to go to the film, look at it and come up with a better game plan, because when we play teams like this it’s how it’s going to be. We have to be able to generate some offense. Tonight was unacceptable.” — Steven Davis, Dudley coach

“Hats off to Coach Davis and his staff. When you beat them you’re beating a really good program. I want to get where that man has gone. It’s an honor to play against them, and we could see this team again in the playoffs.” — Tiesuan Brown, Mount Tabor coach

Records

Mount Tabor: 2-0 Piedmont Triad 3-A, 4-0 overall.

Dudley: 1-1, 3-1.

Up next

Mount Tabor: At Smith, March 26.

Dudley: At Parkland, March 26.

Scoring summary

Mount Tabor;6;3;0;0;—;9

Dudley;0;6;0;0;—;6

MT – B.J. McIntyre 63 run (kick failed), 1st, 9:53

Dudley – Milan Summers 1 run (kick failed), 2nd, 9:07

MT – FG Elliott Trinh 32, 2nd, :28