Thursday’s observations: Vance believes it’s still in title hunt, but needs rivals’ help

For Vance to win a conference championship in 2018, the Cougars will need some help from a rival.

Because Vance lost to Mallard Creek this season, the Cougars are one game behind the Mavericks for first place in the highly competitive I-MECK 4A conference. Three of the top 10 4A teams in the latest Associated Press 4A poll - No. 2 Mallard Creek, No. 3 Hough and Brand’s No. 6 Cougars - are in the league.

So what Brand and Vance need to happen to win a conference championship is this:

1. The Cougars must beat a tough North Mecklenburg team next week.

2. Then they need Hough, No. 2 in the Observer’s Sweet 16, to upset No. 1 Mallard Creek at home next week.

3. And finally, when Vance plays Hough at home Nov. 9, the Cougars would need to win to force what would likely then be a three-way split of the league title. The last time Vance had an opportunity to grab at least a part of the title, it beat Hough 41-17 at home. That was in 2016.

As for 2018, the Cougars took a step toward their goal with a by-the-numbers 53-0 win Thursday at Lake Norman. More than half the games in the Observer’s coverage area this week were moved up to avoid a Nor’Easter, which is expected to dump as much as 2inches of rain on the area Friday.

In dry conditions Thursday, the Cougars (8-1) led 40-0 at halftime. QB Nigel Summerville threw for 200 yards and four touchdowns in his team’s fourth straight win. Tailback Joseph Morris ran six times for 83 yards and two scores. Receiver Andre White caught four passes. Three were for touchdowns. And on defense, sophomore linebacker Power Echols had 13 tackles.

Vance looked like a team with a lot left to play for.

“We feel like we’re still in the hunt (for a league title),” Brand said. “We feel like Hough has a chance versus Mallard Creek, but we’re trying to take care of our business. You start looking over your shoulder, you take a step back. We want to take care of us and whether it’s big 4A or small 4A for the playoffs, we want to line up and go after somebody.”

The N.C. High School Athletic Association will subdivide the upcoming playoffs. The 4A teams, like Vance, will go into a 4AA bracket or 4A, based on enrollment. Vance could go either way, and make no mistake, the 4AA will be a much rougher road than the 4A will present.

Vance has 1,970 students, Brand said. But if you remove students who are in off-campus special programs, including an early college curriculum, Vance’s population is closer to 1,600, Brand said.

“Everybody else has a lot to choose from, but we have to stay healthy and lift (weights) every day to maintain our health,” Brand said. “They get tired of lifting, but if they want to play down the stretch, and hopefully into December, we have to pound the weights and condition. We have to do a lot of stuff people take for granted.

“We don’t have the numbers. We seem to have enough on Friday night to get it done, but you look around the building and try to look for people to come out for ball, but most of the people we expect are already out. There’s not a big hallway of recruitment.”

Elevator

↑Rock Hill: Beat Rock Hill Northwestern 28-21 Thursday after losing a 21-0 fourth-quarter lead. Narii Gaither scored the game-winner from 1-yard out with 16 seconds left. Rock Hill ended an eight-game losing streak to Northwestern and won its first city championship since 2009.

↑Northwest Cabarrus: Beat Concord 24-14 to end a 10-game losing streak to the Spiders. Northwest Cabarrus, No. 13 in the Sweet 16, is 10-0.

↓Charlotte Country Day: Bucs dropped their seventh straight conference game, falling 31-16 to Charlotte Latin. In that streak, Country Day has been outscored 286-86.

↑Charlotte Country Day: The Bucs’ junior running back, Quentin Cooper, looks like a building block. Ditto sophomore QB Russell Tabor. Cooper ran 17 times for 120 yards and a 55-yard touchdown against Latin. Tabor was 13-for-26 for 127 yards and ran 13 times for 28 yards.

Links to more content

Thursday’s complete scores, Sweet 16 results and Friday’s schedule

Thursday’s top high school football performers

Latin overcomes errors to stop rival Country Day

Vance overwhelms Lake Norman in I-MECK conference game

Thursday’s Best

Donye Fuller, Shelby: Two touchdowns rushing and one receiving in a 31-14 win over East Rutherford.

Jake Helfrich, Charlotte Latin: 15-of-19 passing for 193 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-16 win over rival Charlotte Country Day. Helrich also ran for 16 yards and two touchdowns.

Landon Honeycutt, Mount Pleasant: Averaged 25.3 yards per carry in a 47-22 win over East Montgomery. Honeycutt ran eight times for 202 yards and three touchdowns.

Robert Stone, Covenant Day: 14-of-17 passing for 244 yards and six touchdowns in a 55-6 over Rock Hill Carolina.

Thursday’s Roundup

Charlotte Catholic 42, Waxhaw Cuthbertson 7: Charlotte Catholic won its ninth straight game. The Cougars (8-1, 5-0 Southern Carolinas) also won a share of the league title. Catholic can win outright next week against Marvin Ridge.

Catholic has won 63 straight conference games. The Cougars’ last conference loss was Sept. 25 2009 against Olympic. Since the start of the 2002 season, Catholic has lost two conference games.

Richmond Senior 49, Fayetteville 71st 14: The Raiders scored 21 points in a decisive second quarter in an easy win. Richmond QB Caleb Hood threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns and he ran 11 times for 98 yards. The win gave Richmond a share of the SAC conference championship. If the Raiders beat rival Scotland County next week, they win the title outright.

Metrolina Christian 55, Hickory Grove 14: Metrolina scored five touchdowns in the first quarter. Jack Crump ran 11 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Angel Gonzalez completed 11-of-14 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns.

SouthLake Christian 48, Concord First Assembly 0: Braeden McCarthy completed 9-of-12 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He hooked up with Cole Cameli three times for 139 yards and two of those scores. Austin Reed added 119 yards rushing and a score on 17 carries.

This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 12:04 AM.