Friday’s Observations: Myers Park, Vance win quarterfinals, now face historic matchup

Next week, Vance High will play in the N.C. Western Regional championship game for the fourth time in five years. It’ll be the first time Vance has played one at home.

Next week, Myers Park will play its first regional final -- at Vance -- in 13 seasons. It will be the Mustangs’ second 4A regional since 1965.

And sometime around 10 p.m. next Friday, Myers Park or Vance will celebrate qualifying for the school’s first class 4A state final. Ever.

“It’s going to take an effort just like tonight,” Vance coach Aaron Brand said after his Cougars beat Hough 34-21. “It’s going to take an effort like we’ve had all year. We haven’t been this good on defense before, and to hold that team to 21 points after they went up early and kept going up was something. In the fourth quarter, we just stopped them.”

While Myers Park was zooming past Richmond Senior 37-14 in Rockingham, rolling pretty easily, Vance had to mash its way to the regional championship game. The Cougars forced three turnovers, including a 63-yard interception from sophomore Power Echols in the fourth quarter. Hough was driving and Vance led 27-21. Echols’ play gave Vance the ball at the 1. Andre White scored his fourth touchdown on the next play for the finishing points.

“This is what we expect,” Brand said. “We lift every day and we tell the guys we go through this grind to be able to play in games like this and face a team like Myers Park next week. We do all the behind the scenes work.”

Now, Brand is again one game away from his first state final appearance as a head coach. He’s won as an assistant, most recently with Mallard Creek, but he does long to get there as head coach, even if it’s not the most important of his job.

Brand said he’s got “a different culture” at Vance, versus some of the other power schools in the area. He said he has two players who drive, meaning -- much like a middle school or youth coach -- he’s got to stay on time with everything because he often has a lot of tired parents in the parking lot waiting to pick up their kids.

“We’re not as privileged as a lot of the teams we play against, like the one tonight and the one next week,” Brand said. “ So my No. 1 thing is to get these kids in school. I’ve got to get them in school to show them a better life. But if a state championship comes along with that, that’s icing on the cake. Do I have to have one? Absolutely not. Do I want one really bad? For sure.”

Quick Links

Friday’s scores, how the Sweet 16 fared and regional final pairings

Grayson McCall’s big night lifts Porter Ridge past West Meck

Big plays carry Myers Park past Richmond Senior

Charlotte Catholic advances past Huss to regional finals

Andre White’s big night lifts Vance past Hough

Friday’s top high school football performers

Observations

▪ Vance quarterback Nigel Summerville once played at Myers Park, but left because he didn’t think he would get to play there. He asked his mother for move and a transfer. In the past two seasons, he’s thrown for nearly 6,000 yards at Vance, winning 24-of-29 games.

“I’m sure he’s got a little chip on his shoulder,” Brand said. “But he’s the ultimate competitor and ultimate team player. He wants to keep adding to the win totals for the team and he’ll do whatever it takes.”

▪ Not at all surprised that Charlotte Catholic is back in the regional finals. The Cougars seem to play in these every season. On Friday, Catholic won 28-7 at Gastonia Huss, ending the Huskies’ best season since the ‘70s.

Catholic scored the most points against Huss all season. The Huskies came in allowing six points per game with a school-record six shutouts. Now the Cougars, the reigning N.C. 3A state champs, play Kings Mountain in next week’s regional final. Kings Mountain -- which lost 38-21 to Huss in October -- has won seven straight games since then. The Mountaineers are averaging 42 points per game. Catholic is allowing less than seven.

▪ Myers Park made a big statement with its win Friday in Rockingham. Not so much that the Mustangs won, but how they did it. This was a year that ended with an “8” and Richmond had won state titles in 2008, 1998, 1988 and 1978. The Raiders were playing at home in Rockingham, and for the first time in a while, the fan base seemed energized and there was plenty of talk of the “Raider Magic” that had once made Richmond the state’s most feared program.

But Myers Park has a sophomore quarterback, Drake Maye, who looks like he’s national-good and he’s got a pair of Division I receivers in Elijah Bowick and Muhsin Muhammad. Three Mustangs running backs average more than seven yards per carry. Next season, the Mustangs return a lot of talent and a state title this year is a real possibility.

So when you think of Mecklenburg County powers, go ahead and include coach Scott Chadwick’s bunch with the usual suspects like Mallard Creek and Catholic and Vance and Charlotte Christian and Butler and Hough. The Mustangs have arrived. They’re Tier One now.

▪ One last thought on Richmond. Coach Bryan Till has done a wonderful job bringing back the Raiders’ program and pride. Expect Richmond to be a top 10 team again next season as sophomore QB Caleb Hood and junior Jahiem Covington both return with a bevy of underclassmen.

Friday’s Top Performers

Kennique Bonner-Steward, Austin Robinson, Hough: Steward connected on 18-of-27 passes against Vance for 229 yards and three touchdowns. He hooked up with receiver Robinson six times for 137 yards and two touchdowns in his final game.

Elijah Bowick, Myers Park: Virginia Tech recruit caught seven passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in the Mustangs’ 37-14 win at Richmond Senior. Maye completed 15-of-24 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns. Muhammad caught five passes for 93 yards.

Donye Fuller, Shelby: 21 carries for 109 yards, three touchdowns in a 35-7 win over North Lincoln. Shelby, which will play state champ Lenoir Hibriten next week, is in the regional finals for the sixth straight season.

Brian Jacobs, Charlotte Catholic: In a 28-7 win over Huss, Jacobs returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, shortly after Huss had trimmed the lead to 14-7. Teammate Lamagea McDowell had two touchdowns and a two-point conversion, accounting for 14 of his team’s 28 points.

Grayson McCall, Indian Trail Porter Ridge: Ran 16 times for 156 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-20 win over West Mecklenburg. West was in the third round for the first time in school history.

Kaylon Wade, Kings Mountain: Sparked his team to a 49-28 win over previously unbeaten Northwest Cabarrus. Wade ran for 117 yards and five touchdowns. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 210 yards.

Andre White, Vance: Ran 19 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns in the 34-21 win over Hough. He also scored on a 15-yard pass. Vance QB Nigel Summerville completed 10-of-12 passes for 255 yards and a score. He had three completions of at least 40 yards.

Montez Willis, West Mecklenburg: Caught 10 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns in the Porter Ridge game. That’s the 18th most ever by a Mecklenburg County player and second in school history. Erik Nowell had 227 yards receiving in 2004. On Friday, West Meck QB Preston Brown completed 19-of-43 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns.

This story was originally published December 1, 2018 at 2:04 AM.