WINSTON-SALEM -- Senior quarterback Vad Lee happily danced while waving a towel. Coach Antonio King was drenched in Gatorade. Running back Jamaal Williams had a huge grin on his face. The defense had just stopped the opponent inside the 5-yard line as all the time slowly ticked off the fourth-quarter clock.

Durham Hillside had just won the state championship in dominating fashion.

Lee capped off his high school career by throwing 264 yards and three touchdowns, while Williams ran for 83 yards and two scores as the Hornets left no questions about who was the best 4-A team, blanking Davie County 40-0 and completing their mission of a perfect 16-0 season.

DURHAM -- Something had to give.

In a clash of 4-A titans, undefeated Durham Hillside hosted undefeated and equally impressive New Bern on Friday night at Russell Blunt stadium.

After the Bears' No. 2 -- quarterback Josh Taylor -- dazzled in the first half, it was the Hornets' No. 2 -- Vad Lee -- that ultimately stole the show. Lee threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Aquez Willis and darted for a 62-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, leading Hillside to a 12-7 victory and a spot in next Saturday's 4-A championship game.

DURHAM -- Vad Lee and Jamal Williams made sure that Durham Hillside advanced to the regional finals of the 4-A state football tournament.

Lee threw for 320 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, while Williams ran for 169 yards and scored four times, as the Hornets pulled away from Lee County on Friday night for a 42-22 victory.

DURHAM - Running back Jamal Williams ran for 164 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns, as Durham Hillside, No. 1 in the N&O rankings, continued its quest for a 4-A title in convincing fashion Friday night, disposing of Pembroke Swett 53-13 to advance to the third round of the state tournament.

DURHAM -- Durham Hillside quarterback Vad Lee again made Georgia Tech look like geniuses.

The Yellow Jackets recruit rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and threw for 165 yards and three TDs to lead the Hornets to a 46-0 shutout of Southeast Guilford Friday night.

No teams from the Tri-Nine, Cap Eight or Greater Neuse 4-A conferences are in The Associated Press' final regular-season rankings.

Durham Hillside is the only Triangle area team to crack the rankings in any classification. The undefeated Hornets are No. 4 behind Matthews Butler, Mallard Creek and Richmond County.

Fayetteville Seventy-First, which plays Durham Jordan in the first round of the playoffs on Friday night, is ranked No. 9.

DURHAM -- In his final regular season game, Durham Hillside senior quarterback Vad Lee treated the crowd at Durham County Stadium to a show.

The 6-foot-2 quarterback -- and Georgia Tech recruit -- ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another 161 yards and two more scores, as the Hornets -- the No. 1 team in the N&O rankings -- completed a perfect regular season and captured the outright Piedmont Athletic Conference title with a 38-6 victory over Northern Durham.

DURHAM – If anyone thought Durham Hillside (5-0, 10-0) would look past East Chapel Hill (0-5, 1-9) toward its final regular season matchup against Northern Durham, they were dead wrong.

Once again, the Hornets were unstoppable, cruising past the Wildcats 47-8 on senior night at Russell E. Blunt Stadium. The victory sets up a showdown with the Knights for the PAC-Six regular season title.

By TERRY HILL
Correspondent

DURHAM – Durham Hillside started the game by fumbling away the opening kickoff and sputtering on its first offensive possession.

That's about all that went wrong for the Hornets on Friday night.

The No.1 team in the N&O rankings stayed undefeated, cruising to an easy 43-0 road victory over Durham Riverside at Linny Wrenn Stadium.

DURHAM – Durham Hillside, ranked No. 1 in the latest N&O poll, started slow against city and Piedmont Athletic Conference rival Durham Jordan, but the homestanding Hornets eventually treated the homecoming crowd to the show it was waiting for.

The Hillside ground game controlled the clock, running for 310 yards, and stayed undefeated with a 34-14 victory Friday night.