RALEIGH -- When the good folks around Angier and Lillington mutter "wait till next year" over the coming weeks and months, it might be a smart idea to take their words seriously.
Harnett Central football, once the doormat of North Carolina high school programs far and near, missed winning the state 4-A championship Saturday by two points, 14-13, in Carter-Finley Stadium.
Thanks to a gritty defense and versatile quarterback Caleb Pressley, Asheville Reynolds (14-2) withstood a furious rally during the final 10 minutes to deny the Trojans.
This time.
But with eight juniors and seven sophomores among Saturday's starters, Harnett coach Marc Morris and the Trojans (15-1) could easily begin the 2010 season as a prevailing favorite to claim the trophy they so narrowly missed Saturday.
Among those returnees will be quarterback Brian Taylor, running back Jarrod Spears, wideout Torin Walker, linebackers Ethan Gardner and Dylan Kinton and a host of others.
And oh yes, the Trojan junior varsity team finished the season with a 10-0 record.
"The program is on a solid foundation," Morris said. "These younger guys should improve a lot as we go along."
None of that rich promise was of much consolation Saturday, of course.
After falling behind 14-0 at halftime, the Trojans faced the challenge of playing from behind for one of the few times during the past several seasons. But after senior receiver Brian Baker hauled in scoring passes of 22 and 49 yards from Taylor, Harnett twice had opportunities to win it late.
During the final minute, Reynolds first stopped a 2-point conversion run by Spears and then blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Taylor on the game's final play to escape.
The game actually unfolded as Morris had predicted earlier in the week.
"It'll probably be a defensive kind of game, and it's unavoidable there'll be some butterflies and nervousness," he said. "The key for both teams will be battling through that part of it in time to settle down."
Harnett battled relentlessly.
Down by the two scores and kicking off to start the second half, the Trojans got their first touchdown after a marathon march of 16 plays, none of which was for more than eight yards until Taylor hit Baker from 22 yards out on fourth-and-6 with 5:44 left in the third quarter.
Then early in the fourth, the Trojans defenders held on third-and-1 and fourth-and-5 inside their 20 to set the stage for the eventful final minutes.
Morris and his players were quick to salute Reynolds, which had advanced with wins by 9-8 and 9-7 scores over Greensboro Dudley and Winston-Salem Mount Tabor during the previous two rounds.
And like Harnett, Rockets coach Shane Laws also has the makings of a 2010 power. Pressley is a junior. He'll be joined next season by prolific returning runners Joey Papay and A.J. Marion, plus speedy linebacker Courtland Clavette.
But even as a rookie member at the 4-A level, no team in the state made a more dramatic splash with so many first- and second-year varsity players than Harnett.
In preseason drills, the Trojans got into the habit of shouting "State Champs" when they broke from huddles. It was a self-imposed challenge that's likely to be repeated early and often in 2010.
