No. 2 Hough gets three interceptions, stops No. 6 Myers Park in Memorial Stadium showdown
Hough High had to wait a long time Thursday to beat Myers Park 32-16 in the showcase game of a season-opening doubleheader at Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium.
Actually, the Huskies had to wait until Friday morning.
The game was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., after Charlotte Catholic beat South Mecklenburg 13-6 in the first N.C. high school game of the year.
Only, Catholic-South Meck suffered through a two-hour weather delay and Hough and Myers Park didn’t hit the field until close to 10.
At 12:03 a.m., the lights at the stadium went out with Myers Park driving. The field and the players were left in the pitch black for about a minute. Then the lights came on, and play continued before the game ended about 10 minutes later.
It was just one wild moment in a night full of them.
Myers Park, No. 6 in the preseason Sweet 16, had a 22-game regular-season win streak snapped by the No. 2 Huskies.
The Mustangs had also won 21 straight non-conference games, dating back to a 2015 overtime loss to South Mecklenburg.
Myers Park (0-1) was down 16 at halftime but got a 78-yard scoring pass from Lucas Lenhoff (19-32-3, 350 yards) to Cam Thornton on the second play of the second half. And after stopping Hough (1-0), the Mustangs got a break when the ball was snapped over the head of the Huskies punter and led to a safety.
Myers Park was down 23-16 with 9:40 left in the third quarter. The Mustangs had scored nine points on six plays.
Later, the Mustangs later began to drive again, but Myers Park threw its third interception deep in Hough territory. Hough senior Brodrick Gooch got the pick.
But the game got crazier.
After a stop, it appeared Myers Park had tied the game with a special teams score, but a series of penalties instead gave Hough the ball near midfield. Hough’s ensuing drive -- aided by more penalties -- ended with a short Nolan Hauser field goal and a 10-point 26-16 lead.
Hough finally created some breathing room on Zayvion Taylor-Knox’s 8-yard run late in the fourth quarter after Myers Park tried a fourth down on its side of the 50 and failed.
But the entire game was wild.
The Huskies led 23-7 after a first half that might’ve been a lot closer if the Mustangs hadn’t turned the ball over. Hough intercepted Myers Park once in the end zone and once near it.
Hough’s Isaiah Murray, who blocked a punt to set up his team’s first score, got an interception in the end zone. Later Ethan Johnson got another as Myers Park was again driving deep into Hough territory with the Huskies up 20-7.
After Johnson’s big play, Hough got a 49-yard pass from quarterback Tad Hudson (12-20, 208 yards, TD) to Darryl Taylor. That got Hough to the Myers Park 2. After a failed scoring attempt, Nolan Hauser kicked a short field goal with two seconds left for a 16-point halftime lead.
Myers Park 0 7 9 0 -- 16
Hough 6 17 3 6 -- 32
H: Tad Hudson 7 run (kick failed)
H: Darryl Taylor 8 pass from Tad Hudson (Nolan Hauser kick)
MP: Jon McDowell 17 pass from Lucas Lenhoff (Win Byerley kick)
H: Markell Quick 17 run (Hauser kick)
H: FG Hauser 18
MP: Safety (ball snapped over punter’s head)
MP: Cam Thornton 78 pass from Lenhoff (Byerley kick)
H: FG Hauser 28
H: Zayvion Turner-Knox 8 run (kick failed)
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 12:12 AM.
