By David Rogers. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. —On 2025’s 12th day of the 12th month, surely there were 12 Watauga players wearing “No. 12” in the Pioneers’ 47-25 win over Middle Creek in the NCHSAA 6A State Championship Game played at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Evan Burroughs, the real (and only) No. 12 playing for Watauga, was seemingly everywhere in the 6A title game against the Mustangs: on offense, on defense and on special teams. Not to overlook quarterback Cade Keller’s top tier performance in completing 22 of 26 passes for 277 yards and two TDs, with no INTs, Burroughs may have set state championship game records for a performance by a single individual player: 7 carries for 46 yards, including 3 TDs; 14 catches for 149 yards and 1 Td; On defense, two pass interceptions for 54 return yards, including one “Pick 6” TD.
And most of that was in the first half as the Pioneers took a 33-10 lead into intermission. From there on out, much of Watauga’s strategy seemed intent on protecting the lead and using up the clock — at least until the Pioneers’ last offensive series when, on 1st-and-15 after an “illegal shift” penalty, Keller hurled a 51-yard, TD-scoring dagger to wide receiver Nyle Peays with just 43 seconds remaining.
While Burroughs deservedly received all kinds of post-game adulation, including “MVP” recognition, the Pioneers’ journey to and including the championship game was a team statement. Throughout the season, the Pioneer playmakers took turns being featured in the individual games on their journey to Chapel Hill for the state championship — undefeated. Keller, Burroughs, Peays, Matthew Leon, Everett Gryder and Bowen Mayo alternated in being the key figures on any given Friday night.
Fittingly, on Dec. 12, it was No. 12’s turn once again to shine behind the steady contributions of the guys in the trenches, the offensive and defensive lines, those guys opening holes in the line of scrimmage or protecting the QB long enough to make a pass possible; those guys pressuring the opposing QBs and forcing them to make mistakes.
Besides the significance of the No. 12 on this night, another number emerged as significant by the end of the post-game press conference: “47.”
Many in the stadium might have thought head coach Ryan Habich was being merciful after the Keller-to-Peays TD pass all but prompted the Mustangs to surrender. He later told the media that when he looked at the scoreboard and saw that his Pioneers had taken the 47-25 lead, it hit him that it has been 47 years since Watauga last won a state football championship, in 1978. So he immediately called out to Keller not to kick the PAT, to instead take a knee and preserve the 47-25 score. Those 47 points were a symbolic gesture to the alumni of Watauga who had come before — and many of those Pioneers of 47 years ago were in the grandstands, including the head coach of that 1978 team, Bill Mauldin and his family.
That an estimated 2,000+ Boone fans were in the grandstands for this game demonstrates just how important a connection to the community is to the 2025 Watauga Pioneers.
