Thursday’s HS Football Observations: After emotional pregame, No. 9 Davidson Day rolls Hickory Hawks
Before Davidson Day beat the Hickory Hawks 55-6 Thursday night at Hough High School, the teams gathered at midfield to pray for Patriots junior receiver Daekwon Camp, who recently found out he had a form of cancer.
Davidson Day coach Chad Grier said Camp was diagnosed with a tumor in his neck last week, but that tests showed that the cancer had not spread. Doctors plan to remove the tumor next Wednesday, an operation they hope leaves Camp cancer free.
“We laid hands on him and prayed before the game,” Grier said, his voice cracking. “We had done it in practice this week, too. I’m a big believer in that.. I’m praying that he gets out of there clean next week and we get him back before the season is over.”
Once the game got going, Hickory had a quick drive, running the ball right at Davidson Day (2-1), ranked No. 9 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll. Hickory took a surprise 6-0 lead. But after that, Davidson Day got rolling.
The Patriots got two blocked punts, which were covered in the end zone by two defensive lineman -- 6-foot-4, 300-pound Bryan Rogers and 6-4, 250-pound Jack Carter.
Davidson Day junior quarterback Sam Hartman, a Wake Forest recruit who came into the game as the nation’s leading passer, completed 18-of-23 attempts for 270 yards and four touchdowns. For the season, Hartman has 1,331 yards passing and 13 touchdowns in three games.
His top receiver, sophomore Nolan Groulx, caught eight passes for 150 yards and a touchdown Thursday.
“Our goal,” Grier said, “is to play our best game in November (during the playoffs). We’ve gotten better each week. All the skill guys are new except for the quarterback. Nolan was the 9th grade backup last year. He’s terrific, not your normal sophomore, but we’ve got all new parts. Our front seven is pretty good. I think we’re on the right track, and if we stay healthy, we’ve got as good a shot (at a state championship) as anybody.”
Thursday’s Roundup
No. 15 Ardrey Kell 36, Marvin Ridge 34: Nico Crew scored with 86 seconds left to give the Knights the lead and Marvin Ridge fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Ardrey Kell (2-1) recovered. Marvin Ridge (1-2) had taken the lead with a score with 10:44 left. For the night, Crew had three scores for Ardrey Kell, which has a huge game at No. 2 Hough next week.
No. 12 Concord 39, East Rowan 20: Concord (2-1) led 21-7 at halftime and was up 39-7 when a fake field goal led to a touchdown. The Spiders got their second straight win and will play Cabarrus County rival Hickory Ridge at home next week. East Rowan (1-2) will host Cox Mill next week.
Shelby 24, South Point 0: Shelby (3-0), ranked No. 1 in the Carolina Preps 2A power poll, got their second shutout of the season. South Point (1-2), which began the season by ending Crest’s 32-game win streak, has now lost two in a row. The Red Raiders, who had three turnovers in the third quarter, play their next two games on the road: at Clover Sept. 9 and at East Gaston Sept. 23. South Point was shut out for the first time since 1998, a streak that covered 264 games.
Sun Valley 41, Rocky River 24: Sun Valley, a 3A school, improved to 3-0 with the win over the 4A team from Charlotte. The Spartans, who play at Union County rival Porter Ridge next week, led 31-18 at halftime and eventually led 41-18 before Jaylin Wilson’s fourth quarter TD reception gave Rocky River its final points. The Ravens (1-2) play Sweet 16 No. 8 Charlotte Catholic next week.
High School Football Scores/Pairings
Games at 7:30, unless noted.
North Carolina
THURSDAY
Ardrey Kell 36, Marvin Ridge 34
Concord 39, East Rowan 20
Davidson Day 55, Hickory Hawks 6
Central Pageland (SC) 40, Forest Hills 19
Shelby 24, South Point 0
Sun Valley 41, Rocky River 24
FRIDAY
(all kickoffs at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted)
Mecklenburg nonconference
Butler (1-1) at Western Alamance (2-0)
Duncan (SC) Byrnes (1-1) at Mallard Creek (2-0), 7
Asheville Carolina Gladiators (0-1) at Northside Christian (2-0)
Carolina Pride (1-1) at Providence Day (0-2), 7
Community School of Davidson (0-2) at Lake Norman Charter (2-0)
Concord First Assembly (2-0) at Christ the King (0-2), 5
Country Day (0-2) at Charlotte Catholic (1-1)
East Mecklenburg (1-1) at North Mecklenburg (1-1), 7
Grace Crossing (0-0) at Highland Tech (0-2)
Danville (Va.) George Washington (1-0) at Vance (2-0), 7
Lake Norman (2-0) at Hough (2-0), 7
Mooresville (0-2) at Hopewell (1-1), 7
Myers Park (2-0) at Providence (0-2), 7
North Raleigh Christian (0-2) at Hickory Grove Christian (0-2), 7
Olympic (0-1) at Independence (0-2), 7
SouthLake Christian (1-1) at Metrolina Christian (0-2)
South Mecklenburg (2-0) at Rock Hill Northwestern (1-1)
Victory Christian (0-2) at Fayetteville Trinity Christian (1-1), 7
West Charlotte (0-2) at Harding (1-1), 7
West Mecklenburg (1-1) at Garinger (0-2), 7
Southern Piedmont 1A
Thomas Jefferson Academy (0-0, 1-0) at Mountain Island Charter (0-1, 1-1)
Other N.C. nonconference
Albemarle (0-2) at West Stanly (1-1)
Bessemer City (2-0) at Forest City Chase (1-0)
Burns (2-0) at Central Cabarrus (1-1)
Carson (0-1) at Salisbury (1-1)
Central Academy (1-1) at Union Academy (0-2)
East Lincoln (2-0) at North Lincoln (0-2)
Hickory (0-2) at Newton-Conover (2-0)
Kings Mountain (2-0) at Forestview (1-1)
Mount Pleasant (0-2) at Cox Mill (0-1)
North Gaston (0-2) at Lincolnton (2-0)
North Iredell (0-2) at West Stokes (1-1)
Northwest Cabarrus (0-1) at A.L. Brown (2-0)
Pine Lake Prep (1-1) at Statesville Christian (2-0)
Rabun Gap (Ga) Nacoochee (1-0) at Cannon School (1-1)
St. Stephens (1-1) at Bunker Hill (0-2)
South Stanly (0-1) at Anson (1-1)
Statesville (1-0) at North Rowan (2-0)
Stuart Cramer (1-1) at West Iredell (1-1)
Weddington (1-1) vs. Southern Pines Pinecrest (2-0), at Monroe High
West Lincoln (1-1) at Cherryville (0-2)
South Carolina nonconference
Franklin Christian (0-2) at Sumter Crestwood (1-1)
Indian Land (1-1) at Blacksburg (0-1)
Jacksonville (Fla.) University Christian (1-0) at Kershaw Andrew Jackson (1-1)
Rock Hill (1-1) at South Pointe (2-0)
South Mecklenburg (2-0) at Northwestern (1-1)
Union (1-1) at York (0-1)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
N.C. nonconference
Anderson (SC) Cavaliers (2-0) vs. Cabarrus Stallions (0-2), at Kannapolis Middle School, 7
New Covenant Knights (1-1) vs. Carolina Crusaders (1-1), at Rock Hill District 3 Stadium
Union Power Cooperative Gridiron Clash
(at Monroe High)
Hunter Huss (0-2) vs. Porter Ridge (1-0), noon
Charlotte Christian (2-0) vs. Cuthbertson (1-1), 4
Charlotte Latin (2-0) vs. Monroe (1-1), 8
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
Hickory Ridge at Jay M. Robinson, 6:30
Piedmont at Parkwood, 6:30
South Carolina
THURSDAY
Buford at Lewisville
Columbia Keenan at Chester
Fort Mill at Lancaster
FRIDAY
South Carolina nonconference
Franklin Christian (0-2) at Sumter Crestwood (1-1)
Indian Land (1-1) at Blacksburg (0-1)
Jacksonville (Fla.) University Christian (1-0) at Kershaw Andrew Jackson (1-1)
Rock Hill (1-1) at South Pointe (2-0)
South Mecklenburg (2-0) at Northwestern (1-1)
Union (1-1) at York (0-1)
SATURDAY
Rock Hill (1-1) at Rock Hill South Pointe (2-0), noon
This story was originally published September 1, 2016 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Thursday’s HS Football Observations: After emotional pregame, No. 9 Davidson Day rolls Hickory Hawks."