Self-belief, determination lead Vance past No. 1 Mallard Creek in shocking upset
Before Vance High School pulled off the biggest upset of these 2019 N.C. playoffs Friday night, the Cougars’ 2018 state final 9-7 to Wake Forest gave his team a simple and clear message.
“Nobody outside this locker room believes in you,” Ferebee said, “but I believe in you, and you’ve got to believe in yourselves.”
Before Vance beat Observer Sweet 16 No. 1 Mallard Creek 13-7 on Friday, Ferebee said his players had been reading on Twitter where some of their former coaches, now at other schools, were doubting they could win. Mallard Creek is ranked No. 13 nationally by High School Football America and, in truth, is probably the most complete high school football team in the Carolinas.
But that was before Friday.
That was before Vance put up a sterling defensive performance and nearly shut down a Mavericks offense that was averaging about 40 points per game.
That was before Vance beat Mallard Creek for the first time in four years. And, yes, it felt good.
“The kids read Twitter,” Ferebee said, “and you could tell it kind of (upset them) and you could tell they wanted to prove the naysayers wrong.”
And this is what focused motivation looked like: Vance’s defense limited Mallard Creek to 186 yards total offense and ultimately got the ball at its 19, late in the fourth quarter, down 7-6.
Ferebee said his plan all along was to get into field-goal range to win it. But on a night when he was harassed and sacked nine times, Vance QB Austin Grier led a final drive that included three fourth down conversions against one of the state’s elite defenses.
On the final fourth down, at the Mallard Creek 33, the Cougars called a time out. Ferebee thought he saw Mallard Creek playing man-to-man defense. He called for a short pass to try to isolate Stefon Thompson on a Mallard Creek linebacker who Ferebee thought couldn’t run.
After the timeout, Ferebee said Mallard Creek’s defense didn’t change. He stuck with his play.
It came off better than he could’ve dreamed.
Thompson caught a short pass and ran 33 yards for a touchdown with less than a minute left. When he scored, the Mallard Creek crowd went eerily silent.
This was not what they’d come to see.
“I thought Stefon could get the three or four yards we needed to get a first down and keep the drive going,” Ferebee said. “But he just happened to take it to the house.”
Vance lost by two points in the 2018 state final. Now the Cougars are two wins from going back to the title game.
Ferebee reminded his team of that and told them to not dwell on this win. Vance has to travel to West Forsyth next week to face an 11-1 team that has won four straight games.
“That was the first thing I talked to them about, was don’t be satisfied with beating Mallard Creek,” Ferebee said. “I keep preaching that they lost the state championship by two points and to use that as motivation to get back there so we can rectify what happened.”
They’re getting very close now.
Quick Links
Friday’s NC, SC playoff scores, how Sweet 16 fared, next week’s schedule
Friday’s Top high school performers
Richmond Senior holds off Hough, forces Myers Park rematch
WATCH: Richmond relishes home-field playoff shot
Charlotte Catholic beats Gastonia Huss on road to advance
Myers Park, QB Drake Maye, overcome slow start to eliminate Ardrey Kell
Will Shipley’s 3 TDs help Weddington blow past Winston-Salem Parkland
Playoff shocker! Vance upsets No. 1 Mallard Creek
Elevator
↑Melvin Ingram: LA Chargers defensive end, and former Richmond Raider, came to watch his old team beat Hough 36-27 in the second round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs.
↑West Rowan: No. 9 seed upset No. 1 Boiling Springs Crest 35-30 to advance to next week’s state quarterfinal at Charlotte Catholic.
↑Kings Mountain: the No. 10 seeded Mountaineers scored on six straight possessions in a 38-7 win over No. 2 seed Statesville. This will be the fourth time in five years the Mountaineers have reached the third round.
3 Quick Thoughts
1. Hats off to Hough for going to Richmond Senior and giving the 4AA West No. 1 seed a heck off a game. Hough starting quarterback, Darius Ocean, was out with an injured foot. That meant that 6-foot-3, 205-pound freshman Tad Hudson had to go the whole game, in one of the toughest places to play in North Carolina.
Hudson threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Hough, which returns five-star tailback Evan Pryor next season, starts 15 underclassmen right now. So the 2020 version of Hough could be the school’s best-ever team and a bona-fide state title favorite.
Pryor, by the way, had seven catches for 181 yards and ran for 92 yards Friday.
2. Weddington doesn’t play the big 4A competition that generally gets the biggest headlines, but what the Warriors are doing is pretty impressive. Weddington beat Winston-Salem Parkland 56-6 Friday and the Warriors defense continues on a pace that is historically good.
Weddington (13-0), the reigning N.C. 3AA state champion, has shut out six of 13 opponents and only two teams have scored in double digits.
3. People were ready to write off Charlotte Catholic after Weddington beat the Cougars 45-0 on Oct. 4. Since then, Catholic has seven straight games, rediscovered itself, and now will host West Rowan next week in a state quarterfinal. The Cougars are two wins away from a chance to win a school-record third straight N.C. 3A state title. Credit the coaching job of Mike Brodowicz, who is 82-8 in six seasons.
Videos
Friday’s #BIG5 Top Performers
Jaheim Covington, Richmond Senior: Former Observer football player of the week ran 12 times for 202 yards in a 36-27 win over Hough. His 95-yard score late in the third quarter with his team up 23-21 proved to be the difference.
Anderson Castle, Jaiden Bond, Boone Watauga: In a 55-27 win over Kannapolis Brown, Castle ran 28 times for 252 yards and five touchdowns. Boone ran 14 times for 259 yards and two scores.
Jaylin Lane, Clover: Caught 15 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-42 Upper State 5A semifinal loss to No. 1 seed Dorman. Clover QB Gabe Carroll completed 28-of-41 passes for 409 yards and four scores.
Paul Neel, Charlotte Catholic: Ran 24 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-20 win at Gastonia Huss.
Kujuan Pryor, Lawndale Burns: Ran 42 times for 413 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-35 win over Lenoir Hibriten. That ties for the 26th most rushing yards in a single game by an NCHSAA athlete and is second in Cleveland County history. Boiling Springs’ Crest star Josh Brown ran for 428 yards against Morganton Freedom in 2000.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 2:42 AM.
