Red Raiders Pull Away From Ashbrook In Emotional Game

                This is one of those games that had a lot of twists to it. Ashbrook head coach Brian Andrews returns to play a team he has helped coach for many years. His son, Zane, still plays for South Point. On staff is John Devine, who was the head coach of two of the Red Raiders last three state titles (2003 and 2009). South Point head coach Adam Hodge faces two of his former head coach.

                All those emotions would have to be put to the side as the two teams kicked off. The Red Raiders won the toss and deferred. A holding penalty on the kickoff pushed Ashbrook deeper into their own territory. Forcing the Green Wave to punt, the Red Raiders were set up in great field position. Jake Alexander put South Point on the board with a two-yard touchdown run. Cade Ratliff’s extra point made it 7-0.

                Ashbrook would counter punch that with a touchdown drive of their own. British Brooks would put Ashbrook on the board with a four-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good however so South Point maintained a 7-6 lead. Each team would be stopped on their ensuing drives.

                Midway through the second quarter, the Red Raiders broke that stalemate with a 14-yard touchdown run by Scottie Lee. The extra point kick by Ratliff made it 14-6. Ashbrook would manage to put a drive together before halftime. But with less than a minute to go, the Green Wave had to go to the air but South Point shut it down.

                South Point got the ball back in the second half and went right back to work. Lee extended the Red Raiders’ lead with a 29-yard touchdown run. Ashbrook was down but not out. A two-yard run by Antwon McClee and the extra point by Korbin Proctor cut the Red Raiders’s lead to 21-13. But that would be as close as the Green Wave would get. Jake Alexander added another touchdown for South Point late in the third quarter (37 yards out).

                The Green Wave appeared to have some hope in the fourth quarter when the Red Raiders muffed a punt and were flagged for defensive pass interference. But they were unable to capitalize. Alexander’s 25-yard touchdown run put the nail in the coffin. Cade Ratliff was 5-for-5 on extra point kicks.

                Jake Alexander led South Point’s rushing attack with 268 yards and three touchdowns. British Brooks led Ashbrook with 135 yards rushing and a touchdown.

                Ashbrook resumes conference play next week as they host Crest, a 40-13 winner over Stuart Cramer. South Point will begin conference play at home against East Gaston. The Warriors lost 56-31 to Blacksburg, SC.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 7 Picks

Ashbrook 7 @ South Point 35

Burns 21 @ Hunter Huss 42

North Gaston 14 @ Kings Mountain 31

Stuart Cramer 7 @ Crest 35

East Gaston 14 @ Blacksburg, SC 34

Lincolnton 14 @ East Lincoln 21

Maiden 42 @ West Lincoln 14

North Lincoln 28 @ Lake Norman Charter 14

Bessemer City 42 @ Highland Tech 14

Cherryville 14 @ Community School of Davidson 31

Union Academy 14 @ Mountain Island Charter 28

Pine Lake Prep 20 @ Thomas Jefferson 34

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 6 Best to Last

1. South Point (5-0) bye
2. Shelby (5-1) lost 25-0 to South Pointe, SC
3. Kings Mountain (4-1)(1-0) won 48-14 over Stuart Cramer
4. Crest (3-2)(1-0) won 35-6 over Forestview
5. Hunter Huss (3-2)(1-0) won 20-17 (OT) over North Gaston
6. Ashbrook (3-2)(2-0) won 55-35 over Burns
7. Stuart Cramer (3-2)(0-1) lost 48-14 to Kings Mountain
8. Bessemer City (5-0)(1-0) won 22-21 over Mountain Island Charter
9. Mountain Island Charter (3-2)(0-1) lost 22-21 to Bessemer City
10. Thomas Jefferson (5-0)(1-0) won 26-7 over Cherryville
11. North Gaston (2-3)(0-1) lost 20-17 (OT) to Hunter Huss
12. West Lincoln (3-2)(1-0) won 56-49 over North Lincoln
13. Burns (1-4)(0-1) lost 55-35 to Ashbrook
14. North Lincoln (1-4)(0-1) lost 56-49 to West Lincoln
15. East Lincoln (2-3)(1-0) won 28-7 over Lake Norman Charter
16. Lincolnton (1-4)(0-1) lost 35-14 to Newton-Conover
17. Forestview (1-5)(0-2) lost 35-6 to Crest
18. East Gaston (1-4) bye
19. Cherryville (2-3)(0-1) lost 26-7 to Thomas Jefferson
20. Highland Tech (2-3) lost 42-20 to Community School of Davidson

This week's match-ups

　
Ashbrook @ South Point

Burns @ Hunter Huss

North Gaston @ Kings Mountain

Stuart Cramer @ Crest

Lincolnton @ East Lincoln

Maiden @ West Lincoln

North Lincoln @ Lake Norman Charter

East Gaston @ Blacksburg, SC

Bessemer City @ Highland Tech

Cherryville @ Community School of Davidson

Union Academy @ Mountain Island Charter

Pine Lake Prep @ Thomas Jefferson

Byes: Forestview, Shelby

Chargers Open Conference Play With Crushing Defeat of Forestview

                It took the Chargers a quarter and a half to get going. But once they did, it was hard to stop them. Crest would take the ball deep into Forestview territory on their first drive of the game, but would fumble inside the Forestview five-yard line. The Jaguars would recover at the one-yard line, but would not be able to advance the ball.

                Crest tailback Davion Pryor got the Chargers on the board with a six-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Peyton Kemmerlin added to that with a five-yard run of his own. Evan Davis was 2-for-2 on extra point kicks in the first half.

                Forestview did stop Crest on their first drive and sustained a drive that took about five minutes off the clock, but a mishandled snap on fourth down near the Crest 30-yard line left the Jaguars coming away empty. That gave Kemmerlin enough time put another rushing touchdown on the board for Crest before the end of the third quarter. That one was from four yards out.

                It was more of the same in the fourth quarter. Jalin Graham got in on the action with a 14-yard touchdown run. Davis’s extra point made it 28-0. Elijah McCaskill got Forestview on the board with a 14-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed however.

                Crest’s Quenten Zanders scored the final touchdown with a 47-yard run. Davis was 5-for-5 on extra point kicks. That made the final score 35-6. The Chargers amassed 434 of total offense. The Charger defense held Forestview to 128 total yards offense and came up with two interceptions. Damean Spikes and Quenten Zanders each had interceptions.

                 “It’s always great to get the first win in conference play, 1-0. That’s our goal every week to go 1-0 and stay in first place.” said Crest head coach Nick Eddins.

                 In previous games, the Chargers have been unable to score more than 20 points. They scored 35 in their conference opener. Eddins said “I thought we left some points out there but the kids did a good job. We played some good teams the first four weeks. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot sometimes. Thought we could have scored more but we’ll take however many it takes to win. It's not about how many points we score, I'm just worried about the win.”

 

                Eddins said regarding his defense’s performance “That’s been every week with our defense. Crest has always been known for defense, always will be known for defense and our guys do a great job. Coach Radford prepares his kids and his staff.”

                “They’re a good team. We battled with them. I thought we competed.” said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin “It was 14-0 late in the third quarter. We had it down at about the 30, had a turnover. That kind of took the air out of us. We gotta make plays. But I’m proud of my guys. They fought hard.”

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 6 Picks

Kings Mountain 20 @ Stuart Cramer 14

Crest 35 @ Forestview 14

Hunter Huss 41 @ North Gaston 21

Ashbrook 35 @ Burns 20

Lincolnton 14 @ Newton-Conover 41

Shelby 20 @ South Pointe (SC) 35

North Lincoln 27 @ West Lincoln 17

Lake Norman Charter 14 @ East Lincoln 27

Mountain Island Charter 21 @ Bessemer City 31

Thomas Jefferson 41 @ Cherryville 14

Highland Tech 14 @ Community School of Davidson 34

Midseason Area Conference Predictions

Big South 3A

1. Crest
2. Kings Mountain
3. Hunter Huss
4. Stuart Cramer
5. Ashbrook
6. Burns
7. North Gaston
8. Forestview

Southwestern 2A

1. South Point
2. Shelby
3. East Rutherford
4. R-S Central
5. Chase
6. East Gaston

South Fork 2A

1. Newton Conover
2. Maiden
3. North Lincoln
4. Bandys
5. East Lincoln
6. Lincolnton
7. West Lincoln
8. Lake Norman Charter

Southern Piedmont 1A

1. Bessemer City
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Mountain Island Charter
4. Union Academy
5. Community School of Davidson
6. Pine Lake Prep
7. Cherryville
8. Highland Tech

 

Chargers Rally In Second Half To Top Previously Unbeaten Warriors

                Talk about a game of big plays, momentum swings, turnovers, some sloppy plays and a few controversial calls. This game had it all. Early on, the Chargers would go for it on fourth down in their own territory but a high snap caused Charger quarterback Peyton Kemmerlin to take a sack. That set Weddington up in great field position. But Demorreay Surratt would intercept a pass from Weddington quarterback Whitner Litton on the next play.

                Crest would drive down deep into Warrior territory but would commit their first of three turnovers with a fumble. Weddingto would get on the board first when Litton would connect with Max Brimigion for a 42-yard touchdown pass. Ian Williams’s extra point made it 7-0. A muffed punt by the Warriors would set up Crest’s first score in the second quarter. Davion Pryor got the Chargers on the board with a three-yard touchdown run. Evan Davis’s extra point tied it up.

                The Chargers were not done turning the ball over. Max Brimigion came up with an interception that bounced off a Crest receiver’s hand. Brimington would make Crest pay when he hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Litton. The extra point failed however and that was huge. The Warriors would extend their lead midway through the third quarter with another Litton to Brimigion connection. That one was from ten yards out. The two-point conversion pass failed, however.

                The Chargers would answer that score with a one-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown by Kemmerlin. The extra point kick by Evan Davis cut Weddington’s lead to 19-14. The Warriors would muff the kickoff and the Chargers would be back in business. That was Weddington's second muff in the game. Each team had three turnovers. The Chargers would not capitalize as they would be stopped on fourth-and-short on the eight-yard line. It looked like they initially had the first down but officials ruled it short.

                Things would not get better for Weddington nevertheless. Crest stopped them on their next drive. A bad punt by the Warriors would set the Chargers up around the 30-yard line. Crest took advantage as they would take the lead for the first time with a Kemmerlin 25-yard touchdown pass to Gage Long. The two-point conversion run was stopped just short so the score remained 20-19. The Warriors tried to march down the field but Litton was sacked at the one-yard line by B.J. Ramseur. Litton’s pass on the next play fell incomplete and the Chargers were able to run out the clock.

               "What a great football game. It came down to the last play just like I've been telling my kids all week long." said Crest head coach Nick Eddins "Weddington is ranked #4 in the state and they are the defending state champs. Coach Carson does an unbelievable job. I knew it was going to come down to that and I'm just glad we come out on top. Our kids made enough plays to win the game. I'm very proud of the kids and our staff."

              "I'd like to wrestle anybody that says we didn't have a tough schedule because I believe ours was the toughest in the state." Eddins said of their nonconference schedule that included three defending state champions Shelby (2AA), South Point (3A) and Weddington (3AA) "It's just going to get us ready for the end of the season and tough conference games down the road. We'd love to be 4-0, but we'll take 2-2 and move on."

              "We play a great football team. Crest is always good. We're a good football team also." said Weddington head coach Tim Carson "But we made a little too many mistakes. Crest made some mistakes also but they just came out on top tonight. We forced some turnovers early that kept the score down and gave us some momentum. We got 13 points in the first half. But it's a game of momentum. They just came out in the second half and started running the ball really well and got some scores. Defense has got to stand up and make a stand."

               Crest improves to 2-2 while Weddington falls to 3-1. The Warriors will host Sun Valley next Friday. The Chargers will travel to Forestview to begin conference play.