NEW BERN - New Bern's speedy defense shut down Leesville Road in the first half, and it was enough for a 20-10 victory Friday night in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-AA semifinals at Caruso-Coates Stadium.

New Bern will face Charlotte Independence in the state championship football game next Saturday in Winston-Salem. Charlotte Independence defeated West Charlotte 10-8 on Friday.

In the first quarter, Leesville Road quarterback Thomas Wilson was intercepted twice by New Bern cornerback Rod Sawyer. Both interceptions led to New Bern touchdowns.

"It helped that our line was getting so much pressure," Sawyer said.

The first interception led to a 17-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Brett Williams, who ended the night with 54 yards on 17 carries. Williams also completed 11 of 21 passes for 207 yards.

Wilson's second interception gave the Bears (13-2) the ball on the Pride 46-yard line. Three plays later, Williams hit Demarcus Howell with a 41-yard touchdown pass.

Wilson took a while to get Leesville's passing game going. In the meantime, he ran the ball. For the night, he completed 12 of 26 passes for 143 yards, modest numbers by Wilson's standards, though he rushed for 49 yards on 20 carries, many of those carries moving the chains.

"Defensive coaches knew we had to get pressure because we knew he's a great quarterback," New Bern coach Bobby Curlings said of Wilson. "We knew if we gave him time, we were going to be in for a long night."

Whether it was the speed of New Bern's pass rush or the speed of its secondary, both gave Leesville Road a long night.

"We knew they'd be quick and they'd be all over us," Leesville Road coach David Green said. "They're quicker than we are, and their defensive front pushed us around a bit."

But Green refused to put the loss on any one factor.

"We didn't play well in the first half," Green said. "For whatever reason, we dug ourselves a hole we couldn't get out of."

Leesville Road's lone score in the first half came when Drew Selisker kicked a 28-yard field goal with more than eight minutes left in the second quarter.

The Pride came out in the second half with more defensive intensity.

It not only hit harder but also came up with some big plays, starting with the opening kickoff of the half, when Leesville Road stuck New Bern back at its own 11-yard line.

That led to good field position on Leesville Road's opening drive of the second half, and Wilson drove to the 18-yard line before throwing his third interception.

"We gave ourselves a chance," Green said.

Though Leesville Road's defense improved, some hefty penalties hurt the team's chances of scoring in the third and clawing back into the game.

The Pride's first touchdown didn't come until well into the fourth quarter, when Wilson connected with Taylor Gentry for a 12-yard TD pass.

Maybe Leesville Road's last real chance to close the gap came on its second possession of the fourth.

The Pride, on second-and-10 from near midfield, executed some offensive trickery as Zach Greene wound up with the ball and found Wilson for what probably would have been a first-down pass.

But offensive pass interference was called on the play, and instead of a first down, it was second-and-long, and the Pride wound up having to punt.

"We just didn't play enough Leesville football," Green said.

After the game, the Leesville Road players reflected on their 13-2 season as Green gave them a speech.

"I know what you did to get here," Green said. "It's probably going to hurt for a while.

"I'm proud of your accomplishments, not just because you won football games. For the way you did it."