The Charlotte Tigers and Charlotte Catholic claimed state titles in North Carolina this past weekend.

The Tigers took the HS club title 15-13 over Raleigh, while NC State Final, while Charlotte Catholic won 45-19 in the single-school final over the West Meck Hawks.

The Tigers defeated  Raleigh Rattlesnakes on Saturday led by captain Zander van Schalkwyk and vice captain Anthony Santelle.

This was the second state title in a row for the Tigers (previously known as South Mecklenburg).

The Tigers scored first with Anthoney Santelle diving over early. Michael Saunders capped off excellent work by the forwards to give the Tigers a 10-0 lead.

Raleigh came back in the first half with a try just before the break.

The second halve was a real battle with teams fighting for position, and sometimes making some silly handling errors.

The Tigers scored a well-deserved try through Smiley Malloy diving over the line after an impressive run.

Raleigh were given a penalty in the last seven minutes and took points to make it 15-8. That put the Rattlesnakes within a converted try.

After holding off the Tigers in their 22, the Rattlesnakes came back with a try from a kick and chase. The try was in the corner, however, and they couldn't get the difficult conversion over. The Tigers held on 15-13.
 
Charlotte Catholic won their game more convincingly, downing West Meck 45-19.

CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC WINS 4TH STRAIGHT NCHSRA HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP. The cougars defeated the West Meck Hawks 45-19 to retain the NC State High School Championship Cup.

“We tried to build our game structure this year to where we can adjust to what the other team is doing,” Cougars coach Brendan Keane told the Charlotte Observer.  “But we talked this week about needing a team effort to beat West Meck, because they have a few incredible individual players. If we play as a team, we can be successful. If we try to play as individuals, we were never going to win.”