3-time NC 4AA champ Mallard Creek falls to fourth in N.C. AP Poll
After being upset in Rock Hill Friday, three-time N.C. 4AA state champion Mallard Creek has fallen from the top of the N.C. Associated Press high school football poll.
A statewide panel of media voters dropped the Mavericks from first to fourth, behind Greensboro Dudley, Scotland County and East Forsyth. The Mavericks did get two of the 13 possible votes for first place.
Mallard Creek, which was ranked as high as No. 10 nationally last week, lost 17-6 at Rock Hill South Pointe Friday. The Mavericks suffered through three interceptions, two lost fumbles and 16 penalties for 163 yards.
Mallard Creek (3-1) plays West Charlotte (0-5) at home Friday, looking to kick-start an offense that scored only four touchdowns in three of its first four games. The Mavericks scored seven points in a win at S.C. state power Dillon, and scored six Friday. That’s the lowest output for a Mallard Creek team since losing 27-6 in August 2012 to an all-time great Butler team.
By contrast, the three-time N.C. 4AA champion Mavericks averaged 39.7 points in 2015, 42.3 in 2014 and 54.6 in 2013.
This season, Mallard Creek is averaging 17.2 points. And even with a defense that mostly bottled up South Pointe Friday and is allowing just 13 points per game against some of the best competition in the Carolinas, a fourth straight state championship will come down to whether the Mavericks can score enough.
The Mavericks have lost two outstanding offensive coordinators in recent years. Aaron Brand, who left after the 2013 season, is the coach at unbeaten Vance, which is regularly topping 50 points, and former Independence High All-America quarterback Joe Cox left after the 2014 season to become an assistant coach at Colorado State.
▪ Several other Observer-area teams are ranked this week. Butler is No. 6 in 4A; Vance is No. 8 and Charlotte Catholic is No. 10. In 2A, Lincolnton is No. 2, East Lincoln fifth and Monroe is No. 8.
N.C. Associated Press High School Football Poll
^Class 4A=
† 1. Greensboro Dudley (8) (5-0) 123 2
† 2. Scotland County (2) (5-0) 102 4
† 3. East Forsyth (5-0) 101 3
† 4. Charlotte Mallard Creek (2) (3-1) 94 1
† 5. Apex Middle Creek (1) (4-0) 67 5
† 6. Matthews Butler (4-1) 66 6
† 7. Wake Forest (4-0) 56 7
† 8. Charlotte Vance (5-0) 44 9
† 9. Richmond County (4-1) 22 8
†10. Charlotte Catholic (3-1) 15 10
¶
¶ Others receiving 10 or more points: none.<
^Class 3A=
† 1. Havelock (11) (5-0) 128 1
† 2. Lenoir Hibriten (1) (4-0) 103 2
† 3. Shelby Crest (3-1) 88 4
† 4. Rocky Mount (1) (4-1) 84 3
† 5. Eastern Alamance (5-0) 70 5
† 6. Fayetteville Sanford (4-1) 41 7
†(tie) Orange County (5-0) 41 9
† 8. Southern Nash (5-0) 39 10
† 9. Western Alamance (4-1) 33 8
†10. Lawndale Burns (5-0) 21 NR
¶
¶ Others receiving 10 or more points: West Craven (4-0) 17, Monroe Sun Valley (4-1) 12.<
^Class 2A=
† 1. Shelby (13) (5-0) 130 1
† 2. Lincolnton (5-0) 110 2
† 3. Clinton (4-0) 101 3
† 4. Reidsville (5-0) 88 4
† 5. East Lincoln (4-0) 79 5
† 6. Burnsville Mountain Heritage (5-0) 56 6
† 7. Newton-Conover (4-0) 46 9
† 8. Monroe (3-2) 36 8
† 9. Edenton Holmes (4-1) 21 10
†10. Elizabeth City Northeastern (3-1) 15 7
¶
¶ Others receiving 10 or more points: East Duplin (4-1) 11.<
^Class 1A=
† 1. Wallace-Rose Hill (13) (4-0) 130 1
† 2. Mitchell County (5-0) 107 3
† 3. Mt. Airy (5-0) 98 4
† 4. West Montgomery (5-0) 89 5
† 5. East Montgomery (5-0) 75 6
† 6. Tarboro (3-2) 61 2
† 7. North Edgecombe (4-0) 40 7
† 8. East Carteret (4-1) 30 8
† 9. Murphy (4-1) 27 9
†10. Riverside Martin (4-0) 24 NR
¶
¶ Others receiving 10 or more points: Rocky Point Trask (4-0) 14.<
¶
¶ ___
This story was originally published September 20, 2016 at 5:29 PM with the headline "3-time NC 4AA champ Mallard Creek falls to fourth in N.C. AP Poll."