Catholic cruises past Weddington in 3A playoffs

The Charlotte Catholic Cougars took another big step Friday night in their quest for a second straight state football title. Catholic scored early and often in a 42-7 rout of the Weddington Warriors to advance to the fourth round of the N.C. state 3A playoffs.

Catholic will play the winner of the King’s Mountain-J.M. Robinson game next Friday night at home at 7:30 p.m.

The Cougars scored on their first five possessions while racking up 240 yards. Meanwhile, a smothering Catholic defense limited Weddington to 4 yards in the first half and one first down.

Catholic got two rushing touchdowns each from its two-headed backfield of Milan Howard and Lamagea McDowell, with running back Michael Neel also adding a rushing touchdown.

The Cougars beat the Warriors 42-6 in the regular season.

How did Catholic coach Mike Broadowicz prepare his team for the rematch?

“We told our kids that if you want to be a champion you are going to have to win games like this,” said Broadowicz.

Records: Weddington (10-4); Catholic (14-0)

Three who mattered

Garrett McKernan (Catholic): Scored the Cougars’ first touchdown on a 21-yard pass on Catholic’s opening drive.

Catholic’s defense: Until pulling many of its starters after building a 42-0 lead midway through the third quarter, Catholic held Weddington to 4 yards of total offense.

Max Brimigion (Weddington): Accounted for the lone Warriors’ score with a 69-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Observation

▪ Catholic won the turnover battle 2-0 with Billy Brewer snagging an interception and Devyn Turner recovering a fumble.

Quoting

“The guys were all ready to go. There was a lot of family in town; and a lot of alumni members back, and it’s a tradition to win, and we didn’t want to let anyone down.” -- Cougars quarterback Christopher Walton

This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Catholic cruises past Weddington in 3A playoffs."