RALEIGH - North Duplin coach Hugh Martin needed only one look at the final statistics of Saturday's N.C. 1-A state final against Plymouth at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Vikings held on to the football nearly twice as long (31:49 to 16:11) as the Rebels, had nearly twice as many first downs (15 to 8) and ran 56 plays from scrimmage to North Duplin's 35.

The loss snapped a 14-game winning streak for North Duplin (14-1), as Plymouth (16-0) claimed its first state title 20-13.

The Vikings jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead thanks to the arm of Dasheen Perry and the do -it-all play of Angelo Sharpless. Perry's 23-yard pass to Sharpless 1 minute, 58 seconds into the game put the Plymouth ahead for good.

"He's a fullback/linebacker playing quarterback there," Plymouth coach Robert Cody said. "Today, he hit the first one out there and Angelo turned it into a touchdown."

Perry passed to Sharpless, the game's MVP, for a second score with 4:36 remaining in the opening period. Perry was 5-for-5 for 131 passing yards, with Sharpless corralling four of his five completions.

"He's probably one of the better athletes in North Carolina," Cody said of Sharpless. "Those are the kinds of people that step up, and he did that today."

Sharpless was equally as impressive on special teams.

Along with three punt returns for 120 yards, Sharpless booted a 49-yard punt, which pinned North Duplin (14-1) at its own 1-yard line with 3:38 remaining.

On the third play of the next drive, Rebels quarterback Alan Schilling (2-9, 17 yards) had his pass picked by Kelly Chesson.

"We've been able to control the ball in most of our games this year," Martin said. "It makes it that much more difficult offensively when you have that few possessions."

North Duplin first scratched the scoreboard on Billy Mello's blocked punt in the end zone, which Schilling recovered for a touchdown four minutes after halftime. Mello's 2-yard scamper at the third quarter's 2:20 mark made the score 20-13.

However, Plymouth's defense came up big on the Rebels' next two possessions. The Vikings forced a three-and-out on the first possession, and Kelly Chesson came up with an interception on the next series.

"We didn't give up in the second half," Martin said. "A lot of teams would've given up, but we kept on fighting and gave ourselves a chance. But (Plymouth) did a great job of controlling the ball."