Chambers High’s Daylan Smothers delivers on a promise, helps Cougars remain unbeaten
Nationally ranked Chambers High School was in trouble Friday night at home.
The Cougars’ usually stout defense couldn’t stop Hickory Ridge, and the Cougars really couldn’t stop Hickory Ridge quarterback Alex Bentley.
The game was tied late. And it just seemed like if Bentley got the ball one more time in the fourth quarter, Chambers’ hopes of an unbeaten season — and its top 20 national ranking — were all going the way of the dinosaur.
“The game got tight,” said Chambers junior running back Daylan Smothers, the hero of his team’s 34-27 win, “and I went out there and told my coach and my defensive players that, ‘I got your back.’ In ballgames like that, you’ve got to step up. I wanted to be the guy they could lean on.”
So it went like this: Hickory Ridge (2-2) stopped Chambers on downs near midfield with 8 minutes, 51 seconds left, and Bentley led a slick drive that he finished with touchdown pass to Sabin McLaughlin. A bad snap on the extra point cost Hickory Ridge the lead.
The game was tied at 27.
There were just over five minutes left, and there were a lot of nervous Cougars on the Chambers’ sideline. That’s when Smothers walked over to his coach, Glenwood Ferebee, and said he wanted the ball.
“He said, ‘Coach I got us,’” Ferebee said. “He said, ‘Put it on my back.’ We were struggling up front (to block) and he talked to the offensive linemen. He said, ‘Hey it’s on us,’ and the kids up front answered the call, and he answered the call, too.”
Chambers drove 80 yards on its final drive, exhausting all but 7.6 seconds of the clock, making sure Bentley didn’t get another real shot to score. Almost all of the memorable drive was Smothers -- up the middle, around the edge on fourth down, running up the middle. Hickory Ridge knew what was coming, and Hickory Ridge knew what might be coming if they could stop it.
They just couldn’t.
“I felt and told people all week that we can beat Julius Chambers,” Hickory Ridge coach Jupiter Wilson said. “We just needed the opportunity. And we didn’t play with any fear. We came and tackled (Smothers) and did what we’re supposed to do, and as they game went on, they felt a little pressure, but they’re (two-time state) champions for a reason and they put the ball in their best players’ hands, and he’s good, man.”
How good, coach?
“He’s probably the best player we’ve played so far,” said Wilson, who started in college at North Carolina. “And he’s probably the best player we’ll play all year. He’s just so hard to tackle. You’ve got to tackle his legs out. You get him up high, and he just keeps going.
“He’s not a normal football player.”
Smothers won the N.C. Heisman Award, distinguishing himself as the state’s best player after his sophomore season. Friday night, he may have played the best game of his still young career, given the circumstances.
His 2-yard score with 7.6 seconds left was the game-winner but he finished with 28 carries for 200 yards and three touchdowns, despite not playing much in the third quarter. He also caught three passes for 38 yards.
“Those guys threw the kitchen sink at us,” Smothers said of Hickory Ridge. “They really fought. They didn’t hold back, but not once did I think it would get away. I have faith and confidence in my guys.”
After his score, Smothers ran to the sidelines and danced with the cheerleaders, facing the large Chambers crowd.
He seemed to love being in the moment.
“It feels really good to pull that one out tight,” he said. “It’s jittery and butterflies and in the heat of the moment, everybody’s nervous, and it feels good to close the game out with a touchdown and get the crowd into the game, and have fun. Man, when you’re out there playing free and clear-minded, it’s just fun.”
Quick Links
Friday’s scores, how Sweet 16 fared, next week’s schedule
Chambers late drive helps Cougars escape Hickory Ridge upset bid
Ardrey Kell shows off short memories, beats Weddington
Replay: stream from Ardrey Kell 38, Weddington 21
Harding’s late defensive score seals win, ends West Meck’s unbeaten season
Observations
▪ Chambers will be without star defensive lineman Jalen Swindell for the rest of the season, and he was the run-stuffer for his team. Hickory Ridge had some success up the middle Friday, and Ferebee said he’s got to address it quick.
Swindell will have season-ending surgery on his foot. He’ll next play at Wake Forest next season.
“We had one week to prepare,” Ferebee said, “and you count on Jalen being around and now you’ve got to get another guy prepared and that guy hasn’t had the reps, so we’re making mistakes and it cost us, but our kids are resilient. This week the defense didn’t play well and our offense bailed us out. Some weeks, it’ll be the offense and some weeks it’ll be the defense, but when you’ve won two state championships back-to-back, you need these type of games to reel these kids back in. Everybody thinks it’s going to be easy.”
▪ Hickory Ridge is now 2-2, but coach Wilson thinks his team gained a lot of confidence going toe-to-toe with the champs. The big thing? Don’t have a letdown next week at home against AL Brown.
“We have to keep that same vigor and mentality we had (against Chambers),” he said. “If we do, we can win the rest of our games and see what happens in the playoffs. I told people all year that this could be a good year for Hickory Ridge. I really like our kids.”
▪ Ferebee came away impressed with Hickory Ridge QB Bentley. Chambers couldn’t get him down. Hickory Ridge used four and five receiver sets, often sending receivers long. That left holes for Bentley to exploit when he scrambled. He accounted for three touchdowns Friday.
“That quarterback was pretty good,” Ferebee said with a laugh. “He’s probably the best QB we’ve seen all year.”
Notes
▪ In the Triangle, Brooklyn Harker started at free safety for Chapel Hill HIgh School. Chapel Hill beat Carrboro 55-6. Usually when you hear about high school girls playing football, it’s as a kicker. This was different.
▪ Northwest Cabarrus pulled off one of the more stunning results Friday. The Trojans upset Mount Pleasant 26-24. Coming into the game, Northwest Cabarrus was 0-3 and had been outscored 116-49. Mount Pleasant came in at 3-0 with two shutouts and had allowed only seven points all season.
▪ Richmond Senior showed some grit Friday, outscoring previously unbeaten South View 20-0 in the second half to win 23-15 and avoid a two-game losing streak. Raiders QB Kellan Hood was 11-of-18 for 159 yards and a touchdown passing. He ran 15 times for 50 yards.
Friday’s #BIG5 Top Performers
Alex Bentley, Hickory Ridge: completed 15-of-27 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 loss to Chambers. He ran 13 times for 116 yards and a touchdown.
Jack Curtis, Ardrey Kell: A senior quarterback, Curtis completed 14-of-24 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-21 win over Weddington in battle of two teams ranked in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll.
Nigel Dula, Draughn: ran 13 times for 185 yards and four touchdowns, plus a kickoff return for a touchdown in a 69-34 win over Highland Tech.
Jacob Newman, South Mecklenburg: 14 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns, plus a 78-yard reception for a score in a 34-16 win over Cuthbertson.
Daylan Smothers, Chambers: Scored game-winning touchdown with seven seconds left in a 34-27 win over Hickory Ridge. Smothers finished with 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns, plus three catches for 38 yards.
Friday’s area scores
Click here for more statewide scores
Mecklenburg nonconference Ardrey Kell 38, Weddington 21 Bessemer City 36, Christ The King 8 Buford (GA) 44, Myers Park 17 Chambers 34, Hickory Ridge 27 Charlotte Christian 31, Legion Collegiate 0 Charlotte Latin 41, Forest Hills 10 Gaffney 38, Mallard Creek 14 Hammond School, SC 23, Charlotte Country Day 7 Harding 16, West Mecklenburg 7 Hickory Grove 14, Lake Norman Charter 9 Hough 48, Cox Mill 7 Independence 51, Hopewell 0 Metrolina Christian 13, Covenant Day 7 North Mecklenburg 30, Berry 22 Olympic 51, East Mecklenburg 7 Providence Day 53, Carolina Bearcats 0 Ravenscroft (1-1) at SouthLake Christian (0-2), late Roswell (GA) Blessed Trinity 28, Charlotte Catholic 10 Rocky River 34, Sun Valley 14 South Meckenburg 34, Cuthbertson 16 Big South 3A Crest 46, North Gaston 21 Nonconference Alexander Central 28, R-S Central 8 | Bunker Hill 41, North Iredell 0 Cabarrus Warriors 49, Concord 21 Catawba Ridge, SC 21, West Cabarrus 14 Chase 42, Cherryville 16 Davie County 51, Mooresville 34 Draughn 69, Highland Tech 34 East Forsyth 59, South Iredell 7 Freedom 42, Patton 6 Hickory Hawks (0-3) vs. South Wake Crusaders (0-2), at Lenoir-Rhyne Univ. Maiden 27, Christ School 21 Marvin Ridge (2-1) at Parkwood (0-1), late North Davidson 52, East Rowan 7 Northwest Cabarrus 26, Mount Pleasant 24 Piedmont 34, Fort Mill (SC) 28 Richmond 23, South View 15 Robinson 22, Carson 10 Salisbury 53, South Rowan 0 South Caldwell 16, Newton-Conover 13 South Pointe, SC 51, Shelby 37 South Stanly 21, South Davidson 16 Starmount (1-2) at Pine Lake Prep (0-2), ate Union Academy (0-3) at Mountain Island Charter (2-0), late Watauga 28, Burns 20 West Lincoln 21, Ashbrook 19 West Rowan 42, North Rowan 35 |
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
