South Charlotte football previews and predictions: State championships

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Each week, South Charlotte News prep sports writer Corey Inscoe breaks down the biggest south Charlotte football games and gives predictions for every area contest. 

Last week: 2-0 
Overall: 81-18 

It's hard to believe we are already at the end. Two south Charlotte teams will play for state championships this weekend.

I'll be covering Charlotte Catholic's game in Winston Salem, so be sure to follow me on Twitter (@CoreyInscoe) for scores and information about the game.

Langston Wertz will be covering Butler, so follow him at @langstonwertzjr for updates on that game.

Butler vs. Fayetteville Britt, 11 a.m. Dec. 1, UNC Chapel Hill -- These two teams played in the 2009 state championship when Butler won its first state title. Now the Bulldogs are trying to win their fourth. My pick: Butler.

Read more detailed previews of this game at www.charlotteobserver.com/preps.

Charlotte Catholic vs. Northern Guilford: 7 p.m. Dec. 1, Wake Forest University -- Since I'm covering this game, I will go more in depth.

Northern Guilford (14-0) comes into this game undefeated and as the two-time defending state champions. The school, which opened in 2007, has only lost five games in the last four seasons. The Knighthawks, like Catholic, rely on a star running back, senior North Carolina-commit T.J. Logan.

Logan has rushed for 2,760 and 40 touchdowns. Northern Guilford averages more than 297 yards per game on the ground this season.

The Knighthawks are very quick on defense. Aptly named junior linebacker T.J. Ruff leads the team in tackles and senior defensive end Tre Purcell has 10 sacks on the year. The defense has only given up 14 points in the playoffs.

The key for the Charlotte Catholic offense all year has been junior running back Elijah Hood, who comes into the championship game with 3,169 yards and 46 touchdowns. But the semifinal game against Statesville showed that defenses have to be wary of paying too much attention to Hood. Senior Alex Sabates had several long rushes, as did quarterback Ryan Miller. Five different backs scored for the Cougars in that game.

Oddo said after the game that he runs a four-back offense and -- when it works like it's supposed to -- it's hard to stop.

The Cougars' offensive line deserves a lot of credit for getting the team to this point. They pushed around Statesville's defensive line and linebackers all game.

The Catholic defense has impressed me in the last two playoffs games. Linebackers Kevin Kirchmer and Ryan Manion, defensive linemen Karrington King and Jamie Choulas and defensive back Tafon Mainsah lead a squad that held a high powered Statesville offense that averaged 41.7 points this season to 19 points last week.

Charlotte Catholic is in the championship for the first time since 2007. The Cougars haven't won a title since 2005.

My pick: Charlotte Catholic.

Check out the rest of my state championship game picks here.