49ers football closes season with 26-21 win against Louisiana Tech
Saturday marked the end of an era for Charlotte football.
For what was such a tough season for the 49ers, ending it in victory formation in front of their home crowd was a picture-perfect way to close things out.
Charlotte scored its third and final victory of the season on senior day, downing Louisiana Tech, 26-21. Senior Calvin Camp led the way for the 49ers, rushing for 112 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries.
“It meant everything,” Camp said about getting the victory in his final game as a 49er.
The past month has been a whirlwind for the 49ers, with the firing of Will Healy and the announcement of Biff Poggi as the program’s third head coach, all while scoring victories in two of their final four games.
“It definitely does feel like the end of an era,” senior defensive end Markees Watts said. “It feels like a door just closed, but it also feels like a window just opened up. As for what it means for Charlotte, we’ve got some new dogs coming. They’re going to beat our records. I do not doubt that Charlotte will be great after us.”
The on-field results have been far from ideal during the past season and a half, but many in the 49ers’ locker room have been instrumental in the young program’s growth and upward trajectory in the past five years. And getting to open Club Lit — the Healy-inspired postgame victory party — one final time was a fitting end, breaking the streak of 378 straight days without a home victory.
49ers’ senior class
It was an emotional scene at Richardson Stadium prior to kickoff, with 21 seniors being honored in front of their friends and family.
Camp, Watts, Kendric Blake Jr., Geo Howard, Chase Monroe, Amir Siddiq, Antonio Zita, Trey Blount, John Jacobs, T.J. Moore, Victor Tucker, Trey Creamer, Cameron Lyons, Chris Reynolds, BJ Turner, Lance McMillan, Tank Robinson, Ashton Gist, Eugene Minter Jr., Solomon Rogers and Kofi Wardlow made up Charlotte’s senior class.
Reynolds, the program’s leading passer, set yet another record in the victory, completing a 9-yard pass to Minter to eclipse the 10,000-career passing yard mark in the first quarter. Reynolds claimed that the four-yard completion to his brother, Jack, broke the record. Jack immediately took the game ball to the sideline following the reception.
Reynolds reflected on the final game at Richardson Stadium.
“I can only be grateful for an extra opportunity to still be here because this wasn’t supposed to happen at the beginning,” Reynolds said. “The only thing promised was a locker spot, and it was kind of a promise because I was in the visitor’s locker room. I got an opportunity to play Division I football, so when I look back and see the things that we’ve accomplished, I can only be grateful.”
Charlotte selected just two team captains for the 2022 season, with Reynolds and Watts both electing to return for one final ride.
Watts made the play of the game for the 49ers, recording a one-handed interception to keep Louisiana Tech out of the end zone. He also recently broke the program’s sack record, previously held by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith.
“I was expecting to break the sack record (in) the first game. And here I am, just now breaking it in the last two or three games,” Watts said after the 49ers’ loss against Western Kentucky. “At the beginning of the season, I just expected it to happen. I forgot that being a good football player is really hard. I honestly think I left a better player this season than I would have if I got the record earlier. ... It’s kind of a bittersweet moment.”
Many seniors in this class played integral parts in the 49ers’ first winning season, bowl appearance and Power Five victory. And Charlotte will have plenty more opportunities to take the program to new heights by joining the American Athletic Conference.
Conference change
Saturday’s contest marked the 49ers’ final game in Conference USA, ending an eight-season tenure with the jump to the American Athletic Conference starting in July.
Just three seasons ago, Charlotte had never posted a winning season or appeared in a bowl game.
The 49ers started Healy’s first season with a 2-5 record before the 49ers rattled off five wins to make their first bowl game.
Charlotte athletic director Mike Hill has compared the program to Central Florida, which is leaving the American for the Big 12 following six consecutive winning seasons and an undefeated 2017 campaign. The blueprint is there for the 49ers, and the increased resources, budgets and visibility in the American should help.
Charlotte’s recruiting must make strides to be competitive with the remaining schools in the American as well as the five C-USA schools — Alabama-Birmingham, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice and Texas-El Paso — joining the 49ers.
Charlotte ranked 108th in the nation this season in recruiting.
From Healy to Poggi
Healy’s four-year tenure came to a close on Oct. 23, following a blowout homecoming loss against Florida International. Despite a 15-24 record, his time in Charlotte wasn’t a failure.
“I love him. When he came in, he changed a lot of things for me,” Watts, the senior captain, said of Healy. “He reignited my passion for football after I felt like I lost it. ... The results weren’t always what we wanted it to be, but it was still a great time.”
Hill made the much-anticipated decision to move on from Healy and recently announced the addition of Biff Poggi as the program’s third head coach. Poggi will be introduced Monday.
A hedge fund investor, Poggi is known for his success at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, and his recent two-year stint with the undefeated Michigan Wolverines. Although he will remain in Michigan through the end of the season, Poggi has already started offering scholarships, including two to standouts from St. Frances.