Powerful Rushing Attack Propels Raptors Past Gryphons

The second round of the NCHSAA 1A West playoff bracket featured two teams from the same conference. The Mountain Island Charter Raptors hosted conference rival, Thomas Jefferson. The Raptors initially beat the Gryphons 31-13 in the third week of the regular season. However, that would be one of the games the Raptors had to forfeit later. Thomas Jefferson was hoping to earn an on-the-field victory tonight. That would be a tall task.

The Raptors struck first. On fourth down, the Raptors went for it and scored with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Holcomb to Eric Gallman II. Carson Pledger’s kick for the extra point gave the home team an early 7-0 lead. The Gryphons would strike back. They too went for it on fourth down and scored on the play. Nomi McMullens hit Maxx Robbins for a 17-yard touchdown pass. The extra point kick by Grant Hernandez tied the game.

The Gryphons forced the Raptors to punt on the ensuing drive. But they, themselves, had their drive stall. Aapri Washington stopped the Thomas Jefferson drive with an interception and the Raptors would capitalize. Freshman Elijah Burris put the Raptors back on top with a two-yard touchdown run. Pledger’s extra point was good. The Gryphons responded again with another McMullens pass to Robbins. This time it was from 15 yards out. The extra point would fail however.

It got worse before it got better for Jefferson as Burris would answer the score on the first play on the ensuing drive. He took it 66 yards for a touchdown. The extra point kick made it 21-13. Thomas Jefferson would not go away. Quarterback McMullens took it in himself for a two-yard touchdown run with just around a minute to go before half-time. The two-point conversion try failed and the score remained 21-19.

Thomas Jefferson got the ball to start the second half and they went to work. The Gryphons took the lead with another Nomi McMullens touchdown pass to Maxx Robbins. The 29-yard touchdown pass and Hernandez’s extra point kick put the Gryphons on top 26-21. But that would be the end of their fun.

It would be a Raptor onslaught from there. Aapri Washinton’s 51-yard touchdown run put Mountain Island Charter back on top 28-26. Thomas Jefferson came up empty on the next drive and had to put. They pinned the Raptors deep but it didn’t seem to matter. Terrell Hager extended the lead with a 95-yard touchdown run. The PAT failed, however. It would still be a one-score game. But not for long. Washington put the Raptors up by two scores with a 23-yard touchdown run. Pledger’s kick made it 41-26.

The Gryphons were not down for the count yet. Early in the fourth quarter, McMullens hit Robbins for a ten-yard touchdown pass. That was their fourth touchdown connection. Hernandez’s kick would cut the lead to eight points. That would be as close as the visiting team would get as the host Raptors shut the door on any comeback hopes.

Touchdown runs by Hager (57 yards) and Washington (72 yards) ended any comeback hopes. The Gryphons did put another touchdown on the board with a four-yard run by Miller Outten with less than five minutes to go. The onside kick was recovered by Mountain Island Charter and they would be able to run out the clock and seal the 54-40 victory.

Terrell Hager led the Raptors rushing attack with 275 yards and two touchdowns. Aapri Washington amassed 213 yards and three touchdowns. Elijah Burris rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Nomi McMullens led the Gryphons with 300 all-purpose yards (179 passing and 121 rushing), four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Running-back Bill Lay amassed 89 yards rushing. Maxx Robbins hauled in all four of McMullens's touchdown passes. He and Tucker Greene combined for 154 of the receiving yardage.

"I think we got a lot of stuff to clean up defensively. I think offensively, we are clicking at the right time. I think if you key on one player on any situation, others will step up." said Raptors head coach Robert Washington "Our motto is next man up. We made it harder than it was supposed to be. Our guys came out with surprisingly low energy so we had to fire the boys up. The biggest thing is that we made adjustments. Our defensive staff was constantly challenging our defense."

"We were working on putting Aapri back at quarterback. It worked so we didn't go away from it. We tried to stay with the hot hand at the time." Washington said of his strategy "It was kind of like chess because we were moving some players around because we had to figure out what was the best matchup because watching film, I thought they would do one thing but they came out and did something totally different. Once we knew they were trying to get (Robbins) in the game, we put Aapri on him and he couldn't do anything else after that."

"Tonight the best team won." said Gryphons head coach Jerry Cash "Don't know if we can change a whole lot. Our kids played hard. We had a really good year. There will be another day. (McMullen) is just a sophomore. He's going to be a good player for us. (Bill Lay) is a junior. We have 20-something kids that are juniors that are coming back next year. We only lose six seniors on this team so we will be looking for a good year next year."

Mountain Island Charter will travel to Murphy next week. The Bulldogs beat Winston-Salem Prep 42-18. Thomas Jefferson finishes with a 10-3 record.

Fourth Quarter Burst Gives Patton First Ever Playoff Win

                The Patton Panthers in their short history have not won a playoff game. But that changed Friday night as they traveled to take on Forestview. The Panthers left Joe Alala Stadium with a 35-17 win, ending the Jaguars’ season. Things looked bleak for the Panthers early on when the center snapped the ball over quarterback Joe Eakin’s head. Forestview recovered inside the 10 and the Jaguars would score two plays later. Chapperal Smith’s two yard touchdown run gave the Jaguars the early 7-0 lead.

                The Panthers tied the game up early in the second quarter with a six-yard run by Ty Causby. The Panthers were primed to take the lead later in the second quarter, but were stopped on 4^th-and-1. The score would remain 7-7 at half-time.

                The Jaguars retook the lead in the third quarter with a 47-yard run by Jayveon Love. Patton would counter that with a long run of their own. Joe Eakin’s 46-yard run tied the game at 14-14. That would be the score going into the fourth quarter.

                After being stopped inside their own 20, the Jaguars settled for a 36-yard field goal by Holt Cloninger. But things would come apart for Forestview after that. William Brawley gave Patton the lead with a 56-yard touchdown run. The Jaguars tried to get something going on their ensuing drive, but a fumble by Jayveon Love gave Patton the ball back. Eakin took it in on the next play for a 50-yard touchdown run.

A fumble by Jalen McCree on the kickoff put the Panthers back in business. Brawley put the exclamation point on the game with a 45-yard touchdown run. An interception thrown by Mac England would allow Patton to just run the clock out.

Brawley led the Panthers offense with 231 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Eakin amassed 226 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jayveon Love led Forestview with 133 yards and a touchdown.

Patton will travel to take on Pisgah, a 20-13 winner over Carson.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Round 1 Playoff Picks

Patton 20 @ Forestview 27

Franklin 31 @ Stuart Cramer 21

West Henderson 7 @ South Point 55

Ashbrook 14 @ Jay M. Robinson 41

Parkwood 13 @ Hunter Huss 37

Ledford 13 @ Kings Mountain 20

North Surry 7 @ Shelby 48

East Rowan 7 @ Crest 28

Burns 34 @ North Forsyth 17

North Moore 13 @ Bessemer City 20

Cherryville 7 @ Whiteville 27

Andrews 7 @ Mountain Island Charter 51

Bishop McGuiness 13 @ Thomas Jefferson 45

 

I’ve Seen You Before: Hunter Huss will be hosting a first round playoff game for the third time in four years. The last time the Huskies hosted a playoff game, they faced Parkwood. The Rebels whipped the Huskies 37-7. The Rebels and the Huskies also met in the third round in the previous year. The Rebels also won that one. The score was 24-14. The Huskies are looking for some payback in this game and with the way they have been playing, they are very likely to get it. Third time is a charm.

Long Travel: The Cherryville Ironmen will probably have the longest travel in the first round of anybody in the area as they travel to Whiteville. The travel time is estimated at around 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Most Favorable Match-up: Nobody could have gotten a more favorable draw than the Mountain Island Charter Raptors (8-3). They draw a 2-9 Andrews squad. The Raptors have scored 49 points or more points the past 7 weeks and should continue to put up numbers against the Wildcats.

Most Challenging Match-up: Ashbrook will have to travel to take on a top-seed in Jay M. Robinson at 9-2. The Green Wave just barely squeezed into the playoffs with a 4-7 record. The Bulldogs have scored 42 or more points in 6 of their games. The Green Wave could keep it close early, but look for Robinson to pull away in the second half.

Forestview Sticks To Ground Game, Grinds East Gaston 48-6

                With it being Senior Night, the Forestview Jaguars wanted to make sure they gave their seniors a strong home finale and they didn’t disappoint. It was junior running-back Jayveon Love that got the night started with a one-yard touchdown run. Love also scored a 39-yard touchdown run to give Forestview the 14-0 advantage in the first quarter.

                In the second quarter, more players got in on the scoring. Senior Nate Whitaker gave Forestview a 21-0 lead with a one-yard touchdown run. Fellow senior Chapperal Smith added to the Jaguars’ lead with a 26-yard touchdown run. The Jaguars were in position to go up 35-0 toward the end of the third quarter, but Love fumbled before going into the end zone. The Warriors got the ball back at the 20. But they wouI didn’ld not capitalize and the score remained 28-0 at half-time.

                Things kept getting better for Forestview and getting worse for East Gaston in the second half. Chapperal Smith’s 22-yard touchdown run put the Jaguars up 35-0. Dylan Disarro was 5-for-5 on extra point kicks on the night. Jayveon Love got back in action midway through the third quarter. One fourth-and-two at their own 34 yard line, he stormed through the Warriors defense with a 66-yard touchdown run. The extra point was missed however.

                The Warriors tried to get something going offensively, but disaster struck. Quarterback Nick Ferens fumbled the ball at the 44-yard line. Jaguars’ outside linebacker Jacob Ashe returned it 44-yards for the touchdown. Dawson Armstrong’s extra point kick made it 48-0. The clock ran continuously from that point forward.

                East Gaston was able to get on the scoreboard at the end of the game with a four-yard run by Nick Ferens. The two-point conversion try was thwarted, though.

                Jayveon Love led the Jaguars rushing attack with 219 yards and three touchdowns. Chapperal Smith Amassed 166 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Ferens led East Gaston with 114 all-purpose yards (55 rushing and 59 passing).

                “Forestview’s not a bad team. They were well coached tonight. Even though we’re still thin, I thought our guys fought hard. I didn’t do a good job making adjustments early. That’s on me. I got to do a better job to put our guys in better situations to make plays.” said East Gaston head coach Sean Joyce “Nick (Ferens) is one of the best, if not the best, players in the conference. He’s got a bright future. He’s definitely played well for us.”

                “There were some big holes. All the backs made some good runs. We come close to shutting them out so our defense played really well. I thought we were aggressive.” said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin “I’m just proud of our seniors ending their regular season on a positive note.”

                “It will be good to have a week off. It gives us some time to get some rest and get back at it. We should be full tilt next week and have everybody back.”

                Forestview finishes regular season play at 7-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play. East Gaston finishes 3-8 overall and 2-5 in the conference.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 12 Best to Last

1.       Shelby (10-0)(7-0)

2.       Lincolnton (10-0)(6-0)

3.       Hunter Huss (7-3)(6-0)

4.       South Point (6-4)(5-1)

5.       East Lincoln (8-2)(4-2)

6.       Crest (8-2)(6-1)

7.       Burns (8-2)(5-2)

8.       Kings Mountain (7-3)(5-2)

9.       Mountain Island Charter (9-1)(4-1)

10.   Forestview (6-4)(4-2)

11.   Stuart Cramer (7-3)(4-2)

12.   Ashbrook (4-6)(3-3)

13.   Thomas Jefferson (7-3)(3-2)

14.   Bessemer City (7-3)(4-1)

15.   West Lincoln (5-5)(2-4)

16.   East Gaston (3-7)(2-4)

17.   Cherryville (3-7)(3-1)

18.   North Lincoln (2-8)(2-4)

19.   North Gaston (1-9)(0-6)

20.   Highland Tech (1-9)(0-5)

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland County Week 12 Picks

Shelby 35 @ Crest 14

South Point 42 @ Stuart Cramer 7

East Gaston 7 @ Forestview 38

Hunter Huss 38 @ Ashbrook 14

North Gaston 24 @ Lake Norman Charter 14

Burns 31 @ R-S Central 14

East Burke 7 @ Kings Mountain 41

West Lincoln 21 @ East Lincoln 52

Lincolnton 45 @ Maiden 21

North Lincoln 14 @ Lake Norman 54

Bessemer City 20 @ Cherryville 14

Thomas Jefferson 63 @ Highland Tech 0

Carolina Pride 7 @ Mountain Island Charter 55

Huskies Slaughter Jaguars, Claim Share of Conference Title

                The message was sent and it was sent early and often. The Hunter Huss Huskies in the driver’s seat for the Big South 3A/2A conference title had no intentions of sharing it. The Huskies did something earlier this year that they have not done in ten years and that is beat South Point. Another thing they haven’t done is beat Forestview at Huss. They decided that also was ten years too many as they blistered the visiting Jaguars 39-6 and it wasn’t even that close.

                The Huskies drove deep into Forestview territory on their first drive, but would stall. That would not be the case on their next drive as Jaquavious Butler put the Huskies on the board with a five-yard touchdown run.  The kick was blocked. But it was only the beginning. Freshman quarterback Zo Wallace extended the Huskies’ lead with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Antwanez Barnett. The run for the two-point conversion failed, however.

                The scoring slowed down for the Huskies until Forestview’s quarterback Mac England was sacked deep in Forestview territory by Devin Harrell. The sack caused a fumble that was recovered by Amari Torrence. Wallace and Barnett would connect for another touchdown pass. This time it was for 13 yards out. The extra point kick by Trevor Hargett was good. With the Jaguars’ offense stuck in neutral and having to punt on fourth down, the special teams went into their bag of tricks as kicker Holt Cloninger faked the punt and hit Tramone Duncan on a short pass route. Duncan took it 35 yards to the Huskies’ 30-yard line. But the Jaguars would fumble any chance to put points on the board.

                The Huskies would fumble it back right before half-time, but it wouldn’t matter. The Huskies got the ball back in the second half. They did not have a hard time moving the ball, but penalties would keep them from putting more points on the board. The third quarter would remain a scoreless stalemate.

                But in the fourth quarter, the onslaught continued. Backup quarterback Crawford Chandler got in on the fun and dashed out for a 54-yard touchdown run. Hargett’s kick was good and the score was 26-0. The Jaguars were able to get on the scoreboard with a 27-yard run by Jayveon Love. The kick was no good, however.

                Xavier Holmes scorched the worn-out Forestview defense with another long touchdown run. This time it was from 53 yards out. Chandler’s 57-yard touchdown run and Hargett’s extra point put the Huskies up 39-6. The Huskies’ offense put on a great show and the defense tormented the Jaguars’ offense all night. Devin Harrell led the Huskies defense with five sacks, including a forced fumble. Amari Torrence recovered two fumbles for the Huskies and Tony Davis intercepted a Mac England pass early in the game. Crawford Chandler led the Huskies offense with 134 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jaquavious Butler amassed 112 yards rushing and a touchdown. Zo Wallace had 146 yards passing and two touchdowns.

                The Huskies win their first conference title since 1996. They can win it outright with a win at Ashbrook next week.

                “It feels good to get us back to the conference title and playing the way we are.” said Hunter Huss head coach Jamar McCoy “The help paved the way. We’ve got a great coaching staff and the kids are buying in to what got going and it’s an extremely fun time to be a Husky.”

                “The kids understood how good they could be.” McCoy said after overcoming an 0-3 start “We lost those games by a combined nine points and we just kept telling them ‘we are better than these one point losses, five point losses’ and it has gotten to the point where they’ve bought totally in and they understand the concepts.”

                “Devin Harrell is a monster out there. He’s a talent on defense and I’m happy I don’t have to play against him.” McCoy said on Harrell’s five sack performance “I’m super proud of him. This is something we will celebrate next week. He had a career type night with five sacks.”

                “We’re blessed here to be able to go two, sometimes three, deep at different positions.” McCoy said of his depth and his backups “We are stocked full with athletes. Xavier Holmes is listed as our third string back but he could be a starter anywhere else. He’s a humble kid and he’s super aggressive when he gets the ball. I’m super proud of him. Even our back quarterback, Crawford Chandler, came in and had two long touchdown runs. He’s a ball player.”

                “The deal is not done yet.” McCoy said on the conference title “Next week is even bigger than this week. Our next opponent is our best opponent. Right now, it’s a one game season. You get in the playoffs and you lose, you go home. You don’t come this far just to come this far. You come this far to win titles.”

                “They’re a good team. They played good. Give them a lot of credit.” Said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin of Hunter Huss “They’ve made a little run. They’ve won seven in a row. They got good speed, good size and they’re physical. It’s a good combination to have. They got a good defense. All you can do is come to work Monday. We got one more left and we’ll see what happens after that.”

                Hunter Huss travels to face traditional cross-town rival, Ashbrook, next week. Forestview will have their home finale against East Gaston.