Friday’s Charlotte-area high school football previews and area schedule
Area prep football preview, schedule
Ardrey Kell (1-0, 1-0 SoMeck 7 4A) at Harding (0-1, 0-1), 7 p.m. – Offensive threats like WR’s Joshua Johnson and Quentin McCall pose a huge challenge for a young and thin Harding defense.
Bishop McGuinness (0-1) at Community School of Davidson (0-1), 6:30 p.m. – The visiting Villains are coming off a 24-6 loss to North Stokes and are a young team. They meet their match in the Spartans, who fell 25-9 to powerful Thomas Jefferson Academy last week.
Butler (1-0, 1-0 Southwestern 4A) at Porter Ridge (1-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. – Each team won overwhelmingly last week, and this looks like a battle to determine the top challenger to Myers Park in the conference title race.
Christ the King (1-0, 1-0 Southern Piedmont 1A) at Mountain Island Charter (0-1, 0-0), 6:30 p.m. – The Crusaders scored their first-ever N.C. High School Athletic Association football victory last week, but the host Raptors are loaded offensively and will be a tough test.
East Mecklenburg (0-1, 0-1 Southwestern 4A) vs. Independence (0-1, 0-1), at Rocky River High, 7 p.m. – The two QB’s, Corey Hook (East Mecklenburg) and Arnold Taylor (Independence), are solid leaders. This game was moved to Rocky River High, which has a turf surface.
Hickory Ridge (1-0, 1-0 Southwestern 4A) at Garinger (0-1, 0-1), 7 p.m. – Hickory Ridge is coming off a tough 7-6 victory over Independence. Garinger is trying to recover from its season-opening 49-0 loss to powerhouse Myers Park.
Mallard Creek (0-1, 0-1 I-Meck 4A) at Lake Norman (1-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. – Mallard Creek, a 27-7 loser to Vance last week, can’t afford another setback in its race for a playoff berth. But Lake Norman, behind senior QB Anthony Limon, was impressive in a 40-8 romp over West Charlotte last week.
Mooresville (0-0, 0-0 I-Meck 4A) at Hough (1-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. – Hough had a surprisingly tough time last week, edging Hopewell 7-6. Now the Huskies face a Mooresville team playing for the first time. The visiting Blue Devils have only six starters back from 2019.
Olympic (1-0, 1-0 SoMeck 7 4A) vs. South Mecklenburg (0-1, 0-1), at Ardrey Kell High, 7 p.m. – This contest was moved to a turf field because of wet conditions at South Mecklenburg. Olympic, behind QB Sean Bowles, routed Harding 49-0 last week. The Sabres showed some strength at times in their 30-14 loss to conference favorite Ardrey Kell.
Providence (1-0, 1-0 SoMeck 7 4A) at Berry Academy (1-0, 0-0), 7 p.m. – Providence QB Holland Stallings passed for two touchdowns and ran for another last week. Berry Academy was impressive in a 31-13 victory over Ashbrook. This could be one of those under-the-radar good games.
Rocky River (0-1, 0-1 Southwestern 4A) at Myers Park (1-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. – The Ravens lost 42-0 last week to Butler, and now they face the conference’s other dynamo. The Mustangs’ new QB, Lucas Lenhoff, threw three first-half touchdown passes last week.
Vance (1-0, 1-0 I-Meck 4A) vs. Hopewell (0-1, 0-1), at Hough High, 7 p.m. Saturday – The defending 4AA state champion Cougars dominated traditional power Mallard Creek last week. This time, they face a Hopewell team that gave Hough a scare in a 7-6 loss.
Weddington (1-0, 1-0 Southern Carolina 3A) at Charlotte Catholic (1-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. – It’s the Game of the Night in North Carolina, matching the two-time defending state 3AA champion Warriors against the host Cougars, defending 3A state champs. Defense and turnovers figure to decide the winner. Each team is expected to make a deep playoff run this spring.
West Charlotte (0-1, 0-1 I-Meck 4A) at North Mecklenburg (0-0, 0-0), 7 p.m. – It’s the coaching debut for the Vikings’ Damon McKee, who has 14 returning starters but a young team. Sam Greiner goes for his first victory as head coach at West Charlotte.
West Mecklenburg (0-1) at North Lincoln (1-0), 7 p.m. – West Mecklenburg filled an open date in the schedule with the Knights, of the South Fork 2A Conference. North Lincoln’s Daniel Carter, a Davidson commit, is an outstanding two-way player.
Outside Mecklenburg
A.L. Brown (1-0, 1-0 South Piedmont 3A) at Central Cabarrus (1-0, 1-0), 6 p.m. – Central Cabarrus RB Elijah Horton rushed for nearly 100 yards and a touchdown last week. He and the Vikings face a stern test, as the Wonders are coming off a 51-19 pummeling of what was expected to be a strong Northwest Cabarrus team.
Alexander Central (0-1, 0-0 Northwestern 3A-4A) at Watauga (0-0, 0-0), 7 p.m. – It’s a meeting of two teams that typically battle for the conference championship. Alexander Central’s offense was erratic in a 7-2 loss to South Iredell last week. Watauga’s scheduled opener against South Caldwell was canceled.
This week’s schedule
Friday
I-Meck 4A
Mallard Creek at Lake Norman, 7
Mooresville at Hough, 7
West Charlotte at North Mecklenburg, 7
SoMeck 7 4A
Ardrey Kell at Harding, 7
Olympic vs. South Mecklenburg, at Ardrey Kell High, 7
Providence at Berry Academy, 7
Southwestern 4A
Butler at Porter Ridge, 7
East Mecklenburg vs. Independence, at Rocky River High, 7
Hickory Ridge at Garinger, 7
Rocky River at Myers Park, 7
Sandhills 4A
Hoke County at Seventy-First, 7
Lumberton at Jack Britt, 7
Purnell Swett at Scotland County, 6
Richmond Senior at Pinecrest, 6
Northwestern 3A-4A
Alexander Central at Watauga, 7
Hickory at Freedom, 7St. Stephens at McDowell, 7
Big South 3A
Crest at Stuart Cramer, 7
South Piedmont 3A
A.L. Brown at Central Cabarrus, 6
Cox Mill at West Cabarrus, 6
Jay M. Robinson at Northwest Cabarrus, 6
Southern Carolina 3A
Marvin Ridge at Monroe, 7
Parkwood at Sun Valley, 7
Piedmont at Cuthbertson, 7
Weddington at Charlotte Catholic, 7
Central Carolina 2A
Central Davidson at Lexington, 6:30
Ledford at West Davidson, 6:30
Oak Grove at Salisbury, 7
South Rowan at East Davidson, 7
Foothills 2A
Draughn at Patton, 7
East Burke at West Iredell, 7
Fred T. Foard at Bunker Hill, 7
West Caldwell at Hibriten, 7
South Fork 2A
Bandys at Newton-Conover, 7
East Lincoln at Lincolnton, 7
West Lincoln at Maiden, 7
Southwestern 2A
Burns at Chase, 7
Shelby at R-S Central, 7
South Point at East Gaston, 7
Mountain Valley 1A-2A
Alleghany at Starmount, 6:30
East Wilkes at West Wilkes, 6:30
Elkin at Ashe County, 6:30
North Wilkes at Wilkes Central, 6:30
Southern Piedmont 1A
Christ the King at Mountain Island Charter, 6:30
Union Academy at Bessemer City, 6:30
Pine Lake Prep at Cherryville, 6:30
Yadkin Valley 1A
North Moore at Albemarle, 6:30
North Rowan at South Stanly, 6:30
North Stanly at Chatham Central, 6:30
Nonconference
Anson County at Goldsboro, 6
Bishop McGuinness at Community School of Davidson, 6:30
Central Academy at Concord, 6:30
East Henderson at C.D. Owen, 7
East Rowan at Thomas Jefferson Academy, 6
East Rutherford at Polk County, 7
Forest Hills at Union Pines, 6:30
Hendersonville at Mountain Heritage, 7
Madison County at North Buncombe, 7
Mitchell County at Smoky Mountain, 7
Montgomery Central at Graham, 7
Mount Pleasant at Jesse Carson, 7
Ronald Reagan at South Iredell, 6:30
South Caldwell at Statesville, 7
South Davidson at South Stokes, 7
West Mecklenburg at North Lincoln, 7
West Rowan at Davie County, 7
West Stanly at East Rowan, 6:30
Postponed/Canceled
Avery County at North Iredell
Highland Tech at Thomas Jefferson Academy
Kings Mountain at North Gaston, 7
Saturday
I-Meck 4A
Vance vs. Hopewell, at Hough High, 7
Big South 3A
Ashbrook at Forestview, 6
Central Carolina 2A
North Davidson at Thomasville, 1
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 7:23 PM.