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Independence High football coach Tom Knotts says defenses in North Carolina are getting better.
Apparently, the defenses took Friday night off.
"Some of the scores surprised me," Knotts said Saturday morning .
Six teams in the Sweet 16 scored 45 or more points in wins Friday. No. 4 Albemarle, Knotts' alma mater, scored 86 in a shutout of North Moore. No. 1 Butler beat South Mecklenburg 59-14, No. 9 Monroe beat Berry 62-28, No. 3 Rock Hill beat Blythewood 50-21 and Knotts' No. 2 Patriots scored four touchdowns in the third quarter of a 76-35 win against Myers Park.
Twenty-two N.C. teams scored 50 or more, including Marshville Forest Hills' 70-0 win against Cuthbertson, Richmond Senior's 69-35 win against Pinecrest, South Johnston's 84-6 win against North Lenoir and South Rowan's 76-22 win against Statesville.
In South Carolina, nationally ranked Duncan Byrnes beat Mauldin 72-27, Central Danel beat Pickens 70-7 and Dillon Christian beat Byrnes School 66-30
Olympic won its first conference championship in 10 years with Friday's 49-20 win against Garinger. Olympic (8-2, 5-0 ME-GA 7) has won seven straight after a 1-2 start for coach Barry Shuford, and finishes its regular season at West Mecklenburg (1-9, 1-4) Friday.
Olympic has scored 153 points the past three weeks.
Valdese Draughn, a first-year 2A school in the Catawba Valley conference, won for the first time Friday. The Wildcats (1-9, 1-5) beat West Caldwell (1-9, 0-6) 47-34.
Draughn scored 54 points in its first nine games.
The Wildcats rushed for 373 yards in Friday's win. Sophomore Jordan Moore rushed for 109 yards and four touchdowns.
Biggest stat of the week: Gastonia Forestview (8-2, 4-1 Big South 3A) was upset by 3-7 Gastonia Ashbrook last week, managing 11 yards offense. The Jaguars bounced back with a 42-12 win against Gastonia Huss (6-3, 3-2) Friday, amassing 410 yards. Darion Hancock had 130 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Forestview can win the league title next week at Kings Mountain (4-6, 2-3).
Concord freshman quarterback B.J. Beecher, brother of former Spiders star Tommy Beecher, got his first start Oct. 9 in a 47-27 win against Central Cabarrus when senior quarterbacks Sean Willix and Jordan Havinga were injured. Beecher completed 15 of 27 passes for two touchdowns.
Concord (4-6, 4-2) has won four in a row, including Friday's 33-20 win against Hickory Ridge. Beecher threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns against Hickory Ridge.
Tommy Beecher led the Spiders to the 2004 N.C. 3A championship and finished his career with a 31-6 record as a starting quarterback. He threw for 3,600 yards and 40 touchdowns as a senior, before signing with South Carolina . Tommy Beecher transferred to Liberty this season and has thrown for 860 yards and one touchdown in six games for the Flames (5-2), who played Presbyterian Saturday.
Boiling Springs Crest's secondary had four interceptions in Friday's 17-0 win against Kings Mountain.
Staying in Cleveand County, one of the more interesting storylines this season is at Lawndale Burns. Coach Matt Beam 's team started the season with five straight losses. After Friday's 33-28 win against R-S Central, the Bulldogs (5-5, 5-0 South Mountain Athletic 3A/2A) have five straight conference wins.
Burns will play Shelby (9-1, 5-0) Friday for the conference championship. Burns sophomore Brandon Littlejohn threw for 168 yards and four touchdowns Friday. He has 27 touchdowns this season.
