Middle Creek survives late Weddington push, wins NCHSAA boys 4A lacrosse championship

For a long time, Saturday’s boys 4A state championship game between Weddington High and Cary’s Middle Creek looked like it might be a blowout.

Middle Creek had a four-goal lead going into the fourth quarter and was dominating play. But Weddington made a huge push in the final quarter.

The Warriors scored four times in the fourth quarter and tied the game with 62 seconds to play.

But after missing two chances in the final 20 seconds, Middle Creek scored the game-winner with 10 seconds to play when Tate Jones scored after a quick restart.

That was enough to give Middle Creek a 9-8 win and its first title in five years as it had to hold off a major Weddington push in the fourth quarter.

Middle Creek won its first state championship in the 4A class since beating Lake Norman 17-8 in 2017. Middle Creek lost 13-11 to Lake Norman in the 2018 4A final.

Weddington, moving up to the 4A class, won three 1A/2A/3A state championships in a row from 2017-19.

Down 8-4 in the fourth quarter, Weddington trimmed the lead to 8-6 with 4:56 to play, taking advantage of a turnover after a Middle Creek goalie save. With 3:18 to play, Weddington scored again to trim the lead to 1 after a spin move and score from Ryan Kazella.

Check back for our updated story from this event.