Charlotte Christian Holds Off Charlotte Catholic

                Charlotte Catholic and Charlotte Christian closed out the night on the High School Kickoff at Memorial Stadium. Many were hoping the game between the two would be more competitive than the previous two. The Cougars and the Knights did not disappoint.

                The Knights of Christian raced out to an early lead. Quarterback Garrett Schrader connected with Josh Eboboko for a ten-yard touchdown pass. Christian Vansickle’s kick for the extra point gave the Knights the 7-0 lead. The Cougars would threaten when Angel Marrero would bust through the Knights’ defense for a 30-yard run, but he fumbled near the Christian 30. The Knights took over.

                Christian went up 14-0 with a one-yard touchdown run by Justus Woods and Vansickle’s extra point. Vansickle would put three more points on the board with a 36-yard field goal. Catholic moved the ball well at times, but could not seem to get out of their own way. Penalties seem to plague the Cougars for most of the first half. But one penalty that could have been the turning point of the game was following a chop block that put Catholic at 1^st-and-25, a Christian defender committed a late hit out of bounds. That resulted in the Cougars having a 2^nd-and-1.

                The Cougars would make the Knights pay for that mistake. Jack Brigham put Catholic on the board with a one-yard touchdown run. The extra point, however, bounced off the upright.

                The second half was more of a defensive battle. The only score in the third quarter was a 19-yard field goal by Knights’ kicker Christian Vansickle. Catholic would continue to shoot themselves in the foot. The Cougars would lose two more fumbles and quarterback Brady Berger was intercepted by Christian’s Obi Egbuna in the end-zone.

                The Catholic defense would continue to do their job and keep the Knights out of the end zone. With less than four minutes to go in the final quarter, Catholic finally reached the end zone once again. Berger connected with tight-end John Newman on a slant route. Newman took it 82 yards for a touchdown. Connor Demaine’s extra point put the Cougars within seven.

                With three timeouts remaining, Catholic opted to not go for the onside kick. They did stop Christian on the ensuing drive and got the ball back, but back-to-back sacks by Christian’s Carter Bugg and Carter McLennan would seal the deal for the Knights. Christian won the night cap game 20-13.

                Catholic will host Providence Day next Friday. Christian will host Carolina Pride.