Friday observations: Myers Park QB has a-Maye-zing debut against Olympic

Myers Park High football coach Scott Chadwick said there were times when first-year quarterback Drake Maye played Friday about how you would expect from a sophomore making his first varsity start.

But Chadwick said there were times when Maye looked every bit like the wunderkind who received college scholarship offers from Tennessee and West Virginia before he threw his first varsity pass.

In a 35-0 win over Olympic, Maye — the younger brother of North Carolina basketball All-American Luke Maye — completed 14-of-25 passes for 186 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-0 win over Olympic.

“He missed some things early,” Chadwick said, “but he kind of gained his composure and was really good from midway through the first quarter.”

Maye spread the ball around. He found his Division I-recruited receivers, Muhsin Muhammad and Virginia Tech recruit Elijah Bowick. He also found Andre Francois five times for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

And Maye had plenty of help. The Mustangs’ defense pitched its sixth shutout in its past 15 games. Freshman Jacob Newman, Chadwick said, “kind of put the game away” with his fourth-quarter running. And senior tailback Jatoine Fields had a coming-out party.

Fields suffered a severe knee injury during the final scrimmage game of his sophomore year. He needed three surgeries and missed all of his sophomore and junior seasons.

Playing his first game in what must have felt like forever, Fields ran 15 times for 105 yards and a touchdown. For a team that has few question marks, Fields may be able to fill the one obvious need the Mustangs appeared to have in preseason.

Of course, Chadwick thought that Maye would be the answer at quarterback. He comes from a long line of athletes.

His brother, Cole, won a national baseball championship at Florida. Luke, as you probably know, won a national basketball championship at UNC. A third brother, Beau, is a promising 6-9 junior basketball player at Hough. And Drake’s parents — Aimee (West Charlotte girls’ basketball) and Mark (Independence football, basketball, baseball) — are among the best in Mecklenburg County history in their sports.

“There were definitely some things we need to fix,” Chadwick said, “but, man, the kid threw four touchdowns. We were sloppy and missed some things, but I thought he and the entire offense showed glimpses of being a really, really good football team.

“Twice, we got interceptions in their territory and he threw TDs on the first play after that. That’s really demoralizing for an opponent.”

And really encouraging for his coach.

Elevator

↑SouthLake Christian defense: Luke Binkley had 19 tackles in a 21-17 win over Lake Norman Charter. Teammate Donovan Lewis had an 82-yard interception return.

↑Rock Hill South Pointe: The Stallions graduated a lot of talent after winning their fourth straight state championship last December. But a 49-14 win over Rock Hill Northwestern proved that No. 5 is a definite possibility. South Pointe held Northwestern’s powerhouse offense to 168 yards, and Stallions star Joe Ervin ran 13 times for 158 yards and two scores.

↑Dane Horton, Concord Cox Mill: Threw for four touchdowns in a 40-0 win over Mount Pleasant.

Observations

▪ I wasn’t surprised that Charlotte Christian upset Charlotte Catholic Friday night. Both teams were ranked top five in the Observer’s preseason Sweet 16. I was just surprised at how the Knights did it. Christian’s 6-0 win represented the first time Catholic had been shut out since losing to West Wilkes 52-0 in the first round of the 2001 playoffs. The Cougars’ shutout-less streak? It was 237 games.

Christian forced four turnovers and had several fourth-down stops on its side of the field. Christian’s Blake Long had three tackles for a loss. Caleb Stephens had a fumble recovery and a sack.

▪ When the Observer named Hough High No. 1 in the Sweet 16, I knew the pick would be controversial. I just didn’t know how much. My emails, texts and social media channels were full of chatter, but the Huskies definitely made a statement Friday, beating No. 13 Harding 56-6. That’s the same Harding team that won a 4A state title last season, returned 10 starters, eight Division I recruits and Quavaris Crouch, perhaps the nation’s best high school football player.

Looking at Hough’s schedule, I think the Huskies have a very good chance of rolling through their schedule unbeaten until they line up with archrival Mallard Creek Oct. 26 in what could be the game of the year, matching two Mecklenburg County teams.

▪ Richmond Senior whipped Pfafftown Reagan 54-18 Friday to set up a delicious Week 2 game against two-time reigning state champion Wake Forest. On Friday, Raiders sophomore quarterback Caleb Hood, son of former Richmond and UNC player Errol Hood, threw for 181 yards and two scores and ran for 49 yards and another.

▪ West Charlotte beat Garinger 27-6 Friday, winning its season opener for the second straight year. Josh Harris improved to 8-11 as Lions coach. Since going 8-5 in 2010, the Lions have not had a winning season. They were averaging fewer than two wins per year before Harris took over.

Quick Links

Butler-Scotland readying for Saturday showdown

Defense leads No. 5 Charlotte Christian to upset win over No. 3 Catholic

No. 1 Hough rolls to easy win over No. 13 Harding

Myers Park strikes quickly in Olympic shutout

Friday’s high school summaries

How the Sweet 16 fared, statewide scores, next week’s schedule

Friday’s Roundup

Columbia Hammond (SC) 15, Charlotte Country Day 12: Hammond got a 65-yard pass from Jackson Muschamp, son of South Carolina coach Will Muschamp, to Cleo Canty in the fourth quarter for the win. Country Day had taken the lead on a 91-yard interception return from all-state defensive back Rylan McLaurin.

Alexander Central 40, Lawndale Burns 7: Alexander rushed for 356 yards in an easy win. AJ Miller (12 carries, 99 yards), Easton Rhoney (5-86) and Tevin Clark (20-78) led the Cougars.

Concord Cannon 38, North Raleigh Christian 0: Gabe Ortiz rushed 10 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Patrick Carlson had a 60-yard interception return for a score and a 60-yard punt return for a score.

High Point Christian 41, Covenant Day 16: Ahead by 10 at halftime, High Point busted the game open in the second half. John Saunders threw for 146 yards and a score for Covenant Day.

Mooresville 21, West Rowan 7: Bobby Davis ran for 140 yards and a score and he threw for 79 yards and another as the Blue Devils made an early 14-0 lead stick.

Friday’s Top Performers

▪ Kennique Bonner-Steward, Hough: Senior quarterback, committed to Temple, completed 8-of-14 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-6 win over No. 13 Harding. Steward rushed for a 32-yard score for the Huskies, No. 1 in the Observer’s Sweet 16. Harding’s Quavaris Crouch ran 14 times for 95 yards and a score.

▪ Mason Boothe, Caleb Ogunmola, Providence: Boothe completed 12-of-15 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-13 win over East Mecklenburg. Ogunmola caught seven passes for 127 yards and three scores.

▪ Elijah Burris, Mountain Island Charter: Six carries, 232 yards and six touchdowns in a 70-7 win over Christ the King.

▪ Jaylen Coleman, Grayson McCall, Porter Ridge: Coleman ran 18 times for 306 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-35 win over Cuthbertson. McCall completed five passes for 88 yards and ran 11 times for 209 years. Porter Ridge had 574 yards rushing as a team.

▪ Wayne Freeman, Carolina Pride: Ran for 160 yards and threw for 125 yards and four touchdowns in a 46-10 win over Statesville Christian.

▪ Joseph Morris, Vance: Sophomore scored on a 76-yard run on his first carry in a 21-14 win over West Meck. He finished with 118 yards on 12 carries. West Meck QB Preston Brown, a senior, completed 21-of-27 passes for 195 yards.

This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 1:13 AM.