In Year 3, South Mecklenburg coach Joe Evans has his Sabres looking playoff good
This week, South Mecklenburg’s Sabres burst into the Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 high school football poll for the first time in, well, a long time.
Consider that at one point last year, the Sabres were working on a 14-game losing streak.
But Friday night, South Meck proved it was deserving of its new lofty ranking — at No. 14 — by taking down No. 9 Providence on the road, 24-7.
Yes, 24-7.
This South Meck team is looking playoff good.
“I feel like having the same kids for three years now is big,” said Sabres coach Joe Evans. “Now they truly know what the expectations are and they know how to practice and how to lift weights the right way. They’re bought in now. The first year you’re trying for that buy-in, and by year three, you’ve set the standard and the guys know they have to live it up to it.
“The great thing is that if you’re not living up to it, a teammate will address it. The coaches don’t have to.”
Those “same kids” Evans talked about have been through a lot.
In 2019, Evans’ first year, South did not win a game and played what was probably the state’s toughest schedule. After they lost to nationally ranked Myers Park in Week 4 in 2019, for example, the Sabres had scored 14 points total.
Sadly, that kind of performance had become familiar.
South Meck won a state championship in 1981 and had reached the semifinals in 1993 and 2008. But the program really struggled after that.
When Evans was hired, he was South Meck’s third coach in 13 years and he was fighting history: South Meck had no winning seasons since 2015 and just four in the previous 21 years.
But Evans took his lumps, kept building, and in the spring season he led the Sabres to a 4-3 record. The won their last four games.
Now they’ve won five of six and will be favored next week at East Meck.
The one loss in the Sabres’ run? It was last week’s 13-6 loss to a Charlotte Catholic team that is ranked among the nation’s top 100 and has won four state championships in a row. And truthfully, the Sabres outplayed the Cougars for much of that game.
They did the same thing Friday night against a tough Providence team.
“We respected them for sure,” Evans said. “We knew they were a good team and knew they were going to be tough, and all week we were battling heat restrictions and couldn’t go outside and had to go to the gym. The first couple days, the kids were up and down because of the changes. I told them we had to manage this and be flexible.
“We just played a 7-game season with all the restrictions and we were flexible then. So we had a good practice Wednesday, an even better one Thursday and we put it all together on the field (Friday).”
Quick Links
Friday’s scores, how the Sweet 16 fared, next week’s schedule
West Charlotte starts slow, beats Harding in Greiner’s return
West Charlotte win leaves coach Sam Greiner with mixed emotions
South Meck continues revival, upsets Providence
3 Quick Friday Observations
1. One of the area’s fastest turnarounds is in Union County, where Metrolina Christian is 2-0. THe Warriors were 2-5 in the spring and scored 161 total points. So far this fall season, Metrolina has outscored Union Academy and North Wake 122-0.
Metrolina, which beat North Wake 49-0 Friday, takes a big step up in competition next week when it hosts Charlotte Latin.
2. Mitchell County is the No. 7 ranked 1A team in the Charlotte Observer’s statewide rankings, but it proved a big point coming down to the Charlotte-area after a last-minute game schedule with 4A Lake Norman. Lake Norman won 15-12, but Mitchell County showed that a good 1A team can hang with the big boys.
3. Not sure folks are paying attention to how well Marvin Ridge is playing. The Mavericks spoiled the debut of new Independence High coach DJ McFadden with Friday’s 38-6 win. Marvin Ridge -- which beat then Sweet 16-ranked Monroe 37-6 in Week One — has now outscored opponents 75-12.
Next up is a showdown at home with Sweet 16 No. 15 Ardrey Kell Friday.
I think they’ll be a good crowd for those rivals who are just a few miles apart.
Here is how to watch Saturday’s high school football games
There are some big matchups on the schedule Saturday.
▪ MaxPreps is listing Chambers at Highland Springs (VA) as one of the top 10 best games in the nation this week. Chambers has won back-to-back N.C. 4AA state championships. Both teams are nationally ranked in multiple polls.
Highland Springs is led by 6-4, 275-pound senior defensive lineman Rashaud Pernell, committed to Virginia Tech. Highland Springs, which lost in the state finals last season, allowed 4.8 points per game in the spring season and had five shutouts.
▪ In Charlotte, two state championship contenders will play at Memorial Stadium in the first “BIg Friday” game sponsored by the Carolina Panthers. The Butler vs. Richmond Senior game was pushed to Saturday because the Panthers played their final NFL preseason game against the Steelers at home Friday night.
▪ West Mecklenburg will host Rocky River at 7 p.m. West Meck had its game with Berry canceled Friday afternoon. Watch here
Friday’s #BIG5 Top Performers
Chris Brown, Hopewell: more than 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns in three quarters of a 34-0 win at East Meck (teammates Damien West and QB Landen Francis hooked up for more than 100 yards and two scores).
Daniel Haughton, Charlotte Latin: In a 24-6 win over Hickory, Haughton had eight catches for 124 yards and two scores. Had 154 yards total offense. He also had eight tackles, a 30-yard interception return, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal.
Cameron Lackey, Alexander Central: 14 carries, 165 yards, two touchdowns in a 41-6 win over North Gaston. He averaged 12 yards per carry.
Endai McDowell, West Charlotte: Had an 80-yard touchdown pass from Josh Mahatha called back for penalty, but sparked the Lions with a 72-yard kickoff return to open to the second half to give his team the winning points in a 20-8 win over their rivals from Harding.
Jae’mias Morrow, North Rowan: Sophomore ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-28 come-from-behind win over South Rowan. He scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
Friday’s Scores
Mecklenburg nonconference
Ardrey Kell 41, Cuthbertson 28
Athens (Ga.) Academy 33, Charlotte Country Day 9
Charlotte Cathoilc 34, Hickory RIdge 19
Charlotte Latin 24, Hickory 6
Christ The King 42, Union Academy 14
Hickory Grove Christian 49, Highland Tech 0
Hopewell 34, East Mecklenburg 0
Hough 48, Mooresville 9
Lake Norman Charter 16, Winston-Salem Prep 6
Marvin Ridge 38, Independence 6
Myers Park 35, Clover 13
South Mecklenburg 24, Providence 7
Starmount 21, Community School of Davidson 10
West Charlotte 20, Harding 8
Weddington 28, Providence Day 7
Other nonconference
AL Brown 41, Sun Valley 13
Alexander Central 41, North Gaston 6
Bandys 49, Fred T. Foard 6
Bunker Hill 42, St. Stephens 0
Burns 21, Crest 20
Cabarrus Warriors at Concord, late
Chase 56, C.D. Owen 6
Cox Mill 35, Northwest Cabarrus 9
Davie County 56, West Rowan 30
Freedom 13, East Burke 12
Kings Mountain 14, Asheville 0
Lake Norman 15, Mitchell County 12
Maiden 47, Watauga 0
Metrolina Christian 49, North Wake 0
Monroe 43, Piedmont 0
Mount Pleasant 10, Forest Hills 7
Mountain Island Charter 28, Cabarrus Stallions 6
Newton-Conover (0-1) at West Iredell (0-1), ppd
North Lincoln 28, Lincolnton 18
North Rowan 36, South Rowan 28 OT
North Stanly 28, East Rowan 6
Pinecrest 48, Anson 0
Porter Ridge 34, West Cabarrus 10
Robinson 28, Central Cabarrus 17
Salisbury 44, Polk County 0
Shelby 15, A.C. Reynolds 12
South Point 35, East Gaston 7
Southwestern Randolph 55, South Stanly 6
Statesville 27, South Iredell 14
Stuart Cramer 38, Bessemer City 6
Thomas Jefferson Academy 23, Pine Lake Prep 8
West Lincoln 27, Cherryville 7
West Stanly 34, Albemarle 14
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
