For the first time in N.C. High School Athletic Association history, a charter school will play for a football state championship, and it comes as the NCHSAA Board of Directors was asked to consider separating charter and parochial schools from traditional public schools in the state playoffs.

In the 1A western regional championship game, Corvian Community defeated Mountain Heritage 28-19 on the road on Friday night. That win sends Corvian to the 1A state championship game where it will face Tarboro, who beat Wilson Prep in the 1A eastern regional championship.

Corvian and Mountain Heritage were tied 7-7, but the Cardinals scored in the first two minutes of the game to take their first lead of the game. The two teams traded scores in the second half, but Corvian eventually built a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals joined Wilson Prep on Friday night as the first charter schools to play for football regional titles this season. Wilson Prep was defeated by Tarboro in the 1A East regional final, 59-6.

Earlier this month, the NCHSAA Board of Directors was presented a proposal that would separate charter and non-boarding parochial schools from traditional public schools in the state playoffs beginning next year. The board opted not to take action on the proposal, citing work that needed to be done for the upcoming realignment.

However, Dr. Stephen Gainey, the president of the board and superintendent of Randolph County Schools, said it was a topic that he was hearing about more often as charter schools have more success in sports that get more attention, such as football.

“The board will explore this in future months, however our number one priority right now is to move forward, we are deep into the reclassification into eight classes, we’re deep into that process and we have to get that completed so our member schools know what to do in terms of planning for next year, the 2025-2026 school year,” Gainey said during the board meeting.

Gainey said the board will consider the proposal in the future.

This is not the first time a non-traditional school has played for a football state championship though. Non-boarding parochial schools have played for and won football state championships in the past.

Charlotte Catholic has played for 12 state championships, including winning four straight in 2017, 2018, 2019, and the spring pandemic season in 2021. Charlotte Catholic has won eight football state titles dating back to 1977.

Cardinal Gibbons appeared in three straight state championships beginning in 2019, winning the 4A title over Chambers in 2021.

The other two parochial schools in the NCHSAA — Bishop McGuinness and Christ the King — have not played for a state championship in football.

Most charter schools compete in the 1A or 2A classifications. According to the NCHSAA, such schools have won about 18.5% of the state championships in the last two years. At the 1A level, the NCHSAA says charter and parochial schools have won about half of the state titles in that time period, but points out about half of the 1A classification are charter and parochial schools.