A sophomore delivers on a promise, helps Providence Day beat its biggest rival
Before he made the biggest play so far of his high school career on Friday, Providence Day sophomore Chris Peal was talking to Chargers’ quarterback Jake Helfrich.
Helfrich had just scrambled for 14 yards and then taken a late hit that knocked him deep into the Charlotte Christian sideline. Trailing 28-25 with just more than two minutes left, Providence Day had a first down at the Charlotte Christian 37.
That’s when Helfrich turned to Peal, the team’s No. 3 tailback, and said, “Man, I need this touchdown.”
Peal looked at his senior leader and made him a promise.
“I told him,” Peal said, “that I would get it.”
On the very next play, Providence Day coach Chad Grier called an outside run for Peal. Peal ran the ball to the left, towards the Providence Day sideline, right at Grier.
And it looked like Christian had him boxed up.
Growing up, Peal was an AAU track star who was nationally ranked in sprinting. He knew he just needed a little daylight.
So as the play developed and he kept running sideways, and as the Knights’ defense looked like it was going to make a play, Peal had two thoughts: find a crease, and score.
Just as he got to the sideline, he found what he was looking for. And once Peal started running straight at the end zone, he broke a few tackles, and when he got free, no one caught him.
His breathtaking run was the difference in Providence Day’s 32-28 win.
It was the first time Providence Day had beaten Charlotte Christian in nine years.
“We were down and I knew my team needed it,” Peal said. “I did not want to go down. There was no way they were going to bring me down. I was going to stay up. If it took my life, I was going to stay up.”
Peal knew Providence Day (2-0) had chances to grab this game and take control, but Charlotte Christian hasn’t won three straight state championships for no reason. They also had arguably the best player on the field in tailback Henry Rutledge, and Rutledge, a senior who has blinding speed himself, kept breaking off big play after big play.
He finished with more than 200 yards rushing.
Providence Day and Peal watched a 17-7 lead turn into a 28-17 deficit before Helfrich hit Thomas Flynn with a perfect dart of a 65-yard scoring pass with just under six minutes to play. Then the Providence Day defense, which had been shaky in the second half, stood up and got the ball back to Helfrich and the offense for a 77-yard game-winning drive that PD students will be talking about all week.
“We messed up a couple of times” on defense, Peal said. “We knew what we had to fix and we fixed it and we started turning them over.”
Providence Day coach Chad Grier was in awe of the sophomore after the game.
“Chris is a special talent,” Grier said. “He’s your third back. Nickel (Fields, a senior) is a tremendous player. JT (Smith, a sophomore who played varsity last season) is a very good player, and Chris is going to be. Chris is a sophomore that’s got very little experience. Chris is still learning to play, but you can’t teach his speed. He did a great job in the weight room all summer. You saw how strong he is running through tackles, stiff arming and pushing guys away.
“I told the guys, ‘I’m not a very good coach if I don’t figure out how to get him the ball a little more often.’ He did a great job playing corner for us. He’s a sophomore and he’s a Power 5 (recruit) no question. His ceiling is so high, but that (run) was big, man. Those guys had shots at him and he refused to go down.”
Peal thinks this is just the beginning for Providence Day, which has never really been a football power and has mostly been known for its basketball team that’s been nationally ranked in five of the past seven seasons and won a state championship four years ago.
Grier, who once built a state championship regional power at Davidson Day, was brought in to make football big-time at Providence Day.
Peal thinks that Friday’s win — made possible by his big promise and his big run — was a step toward getting there.
“This is the beginning of something huge,” he said. “This is the beginning of a humongous team, a nationwide team. Everybody is going to know our name.”
Quick Links
How Providence Day rallied for a win at 3-time state champ Charlotte Christian
Country Day defense points to win over Charlotte Latin
Friday’s high school scores throughout the Carolinas
Friday’s observations
▪ Before the game between Charlotte Country Day and Charlotte Latin, 11 Bucs players took a knee during the national anthem. When Country Day played at Charlotte Christian two weeks ago, three Bucs players took a knee.
▪ Providence Day only has 11 seniors on the roster. The Chargers beat Charlotte Christian Friday night without seven starters in a game where Providence Day showed serious heart. It’s hard to win at Charlotte Christian. And the Knights really delivered what I thought was going to be a knockout punch, going up 11 in the second half.
▪ Rock Hill Northwestern was once a big-time passing team. Northwestern ran 53 times in Friday’s 17-3 upset over Rock Hill South Pointe. Northwestern gained 133 yards on those 53 attempts. But the defense held South Pointe to 40 yards on 15 carries.
Friday’s #BIG5 Top Performers
Russell Tabor, Charlotte Country Day: The senior completed 10-of-18 passes for 240 yards and ran for 54 yards in a 27-13 win over Charlotte Latin. He had a role in all four Bucs’ touchdowns.
Henry Rutledge, Charlotte Christian: The senior ran 23 times for 209 yards and two scores against Providence Day. He had a long running play and a long kickoff return, both for scores, called back due to penalty.
Jake Helfrich, Providence Day: He completed 15-of-28 passes for 255 yards and a score in the win over Charlotte Christian.
Nickel Fields, Providence Day: He ran 19 times for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Chase Montgomery, Charlotte Latin: He had 15 tackles and one sack in the 27-13 loss to Charlotte Country Day.
This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 1:28 AM.
