WAKE FOREST -- John Conyers knew he had done his job. With the entire fourth quarter still to be played, he stood at the sideline and tried to control his excitement. Conyers, the quarterback for Wake Forest-Rolesville, knew he wasn’t going to throw the ball again.

That’s because he didn’t need to. The Cougars’ celebrating had begun after Conyers’ 31-yard touchdown throw. And after a 28-7 victory over Panther Creek on Friday in the 4-AA east regional, Conyers and the rest of the Cougars had made school history: they advanced to their first state championship game in football.

RALEIGH -- The home crowd at Millbrook yelled. The Wildcats on defense waved their arms up and down to implore the fans for more noise. With the clock ticking in the fourth quarter, Millbrook needed one stop against seventh-ranked Wake Forest-Rolesville to complete its comeback.

WF-R coach Reggie Lucas never sent the punt unit onto the field. Instead, the Cougars scored their third touchdown to beat Millbrook 21-12 on Friday night.

WAKE FOREST – His frustration had finally taken over. James Harris was mad. His fists were flying. A few screams came out, too. As a running back, Harris takes pride in ending games on long runs. It’s what third-ranked Wake Forest-Rolesville has done all season.

Late in the fourth quarter, Harris thought he watched teammate Marcus Jones, also a running back, put the game away with a 75-yard touchdown run. But the run was called back on a holding penalty. Now, in order for the Cougars to remain undefeated, it took Harris’ run on the next play to secure the 13-7 victory over Broughton on Friday night.