Defense carries Hough to close high school football conference title
Hough took another step toward a football conference championship Friday night, but head coach Matthew Jenkins says he wants his team to feel a sense of urgency over the final three weeks of the regular season.
“The playoffs are less than a month away,” Jenkins told the Huskies after their 37-17 homecoming victory over West Charlotte.
“We’ve got to keep working to clean up some things,” Jenkins told the Observer later. “We’re getting better every week, but we still have some things to accomplish.”
Hough (7-0, 4-0 Queen City 3A-4A) won easily Friday night because its defense — more specifically, its first-team defense — stopped West Charlotte (5-2, 2-2).
The visiting Lions trailed 37-0 and had 61 yards of total offense when Hough began removing defensive starters on the final play of the third quarter.
Give West Charlotte credit. Coach Sam Greiner’s team was a different team in the fourth quarter, totaling 111 yards’ offense and scoring two touchdowns and a field goal.
But Hough’s defense had put the game out of reach by then.
“Our starters on defense really had a dominating game,” Jenkins said. “And they’ve been getting a little better every week.”
Nobody was more dominating than Huskies’ linebacker Anthony Walker, who had two sacks and four tackles for loss.
“We’re working to get a little better every week,” Walker said. “That’s been our focus in practice — to get a little better all the time.”
“Anthony was a wild man out there,” Hough defensive coordinator Steve Williams said. “He seemed to be near the ball all night.”
While the defense put on a strong performance, Hough’s offense was a bit erratic.
The Huskies scored 17 points in a four-minute span of the first quarter, then added 20 more over about eight minutes in the third period. They didn’t score in the second and fourth quarters.
West Charlotte held Hough to less than 100 rushing yards and limited the Huskies to a total of 86 offensive yards in the second half.
But Hough did more than enough to move within one victory of clinching the conference title.
“It’s like I told our players,” Jenkins said. “We have a few things to work on. There are teachable moments from every game, and we had some tonight. But we’re getting stronger each week, the way we need to be doing it.”
Three who made a difference
Anthony Walker, Hough: A sophomore linebacker, Walker had two sacks, four tackles for loss, and two quarterback hurries.
Ryan Caden, Hough: Another of the Huskies’ linebackers, Caden had a sack and joined Walker in pressuring West Charlotte quarterback Josh Mahatha for most of the night.
Josh Mahatha, West Charlotte: Mahatha, a quarterback who threw seven touchdown passes in a game earlier this season, completed 18-of-31 passes for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Worth mentioning
▪ Strangest play of the night: West Charlotte’s punter kicked the ball into the back of a teammate in the third quarter. The ball rebounded into the air and was picked off by Hough’s Isaiah Murray, who returned it 22 yards for a touchdown.
▪ Hough quarterback Tad Hudson passed for 164 yards, completing 12-of-22 with one interception. He threw for three touchdowns.
▪ West Charlotte kicker Sule Fortuna stole the show from Hough’s Nolan Houser, a sophomore who is considered one of the nation’s top prep kickers. Fortuna converted a 41-yard field goal and two conversions. Houser was 1-of-4 on field goals, barely missing a pair of kicks from beyond 40 yards. But Hauser was 7-for-7, putting kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
▪ Hough is now 11-1 all-time against West Charlotte. The Lions won the opening game of the series, 34-10, in October 2010. Hough has taken the last 11.
What’s next
West Charlotte has its final nonconference game of the season next Friday, with the Lions traveling to Berry Academy. Hough continues Queen City 3A-4A play next Friday, traveling to Mallard Creek.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
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West Charlotte 0 0 0 17 – 17
Hough 17 0 20 0 – 37
H: Nolan Houser FG 36
H: Markell Quick 54 pass from Tad Hudson (Hauser kick)
H: Andrew Kryshtalowych 9 pass from Hudson (Hauser kick)
H: Zayvion Turner-Knox 14 pass from Hudson (Hauser kick)
H: Isaiah Murray 22 punt return (Hauser kick)
H: Jacob Dossey 13 pass from Hudson (kick failed)
WC: Sule Fortuna FG 41
WC: Khemaan Fleming 15 pass from Josh Mahatha (Fortuna kick)
WC: Chance Morrow 18 pass from Mahatha (Fortuna kick)