Vance High overcomes slow start, handles Lake Norman

Lake Norman High put Vance in an uncomfortable spot at halftime.

Then, there was the second half.

The Cougars scored 21 unanswered points after the break for a 35-16 win, Vance’s fifth in as many I-Meck 4A games, but it was far from easy.

Lake Norman (3-2) took the fight to the Vance early as the first team to grab a lead on them all season. But the Cougars were more than up to the task, especially on defense, when they totally dominated the second half and didn’t allow the Wildcats to cross midfield.

“We just trusted what we did all week” in practice, said Vance defensive tackle Jalen Swindell, who had eight tackles after the break, half of them for loss. “We fought through adversity, played Vance football and did what we were supposed to do.”

Lake Norman scored first and led 16-14 at halftime, the first team to lead Vance at intermission this season. The Cougars led 14-6 on Austin Grier’s 25-yard strike to Songa Yates early in the second quarter but Lake Norman rallied with Nick McCue’s 35-yard field goal and Anthony Limon’s 17-yard pass to Charlie Hughes nine seconds before the break.

“We won our last few games by a lot of points,” Vance coach Glenwood Ferebee said, “so they figure every game is going to be easy. Lake Norman is a tough football team, and I knew if we came out flat that we would be in a dogfight, and I tried to explain that to them before the game to up their intensity during warmups.”

Swindell took heed and seized control in the second half, blasting through the line to disrupt Lake Norman’s option and throwing ball carriers for losses. He beat blockers one-on-one and on double-teams, and it spread across the defense as the Cougars shut the Wildcats out.

“It was my get-off,” Swindell said. “All I had to do was a little swipe, and my get off let me make big plays.”

Vance’s offense roared to life as well, especially the ground game, with running back Joseph Morris rushing for 73 yards in the second half, backed by Asuani Allen’s 62. Austin Grier tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Yates in the first half and scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth.

The Wildcats also made Vance pay for mistakes, extending a pair of drives on Cougars personal fouls and converting an interception into a field goal. In a season in which Vance has outscored opponents 229-37, Lake Norman showed the Cougars there’s no such thing as a sure thing.

“When adversity struck, I wanted to see what my team was made of, so it was kind of a good thing to go through this because we’re going to have to face some adversity later in the season,” Ferebee said.

Game summary

Vance 7 7 7 14 — 35

Lake Norman 6 10 0 0 — 16

LN: Sakarri Morrison pass from Anthony Limon (kick blocked)

V: Austin Grier to Songa Yates 25 yards (Melvin Benitez kick)

LN: Nick McCue 35 field goal

LN: Charlie Hughes 17 pass from Limon (McCue kick)

V: Joseph Morris 41 run (Benitez kick)

V: Austin Grier 3 run (Benitez kick)

V: Dylan Summers 25 run (Benitez kick)

This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 12:00 AM.