Weddington holds off Marvin Ridge on the road to head into playoffs on winning note

The Weddington Warriors ended their season on the road against Southern Carolina 4A conference opponent Marvin Ridge and held on for a 23-18 victory.

Weddington (9-1, 5-0) led the entire game even when it appeared as if Marvin Ridge (7-2, 4-1) was going to make a comeback.

It was very unlike these two high-flying offenses as the game started out relatively slow with only two field goals coming by Weddington’s Matthew Moonan early on. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter where both offenses really started to heat up.

Marvin Ridge scored on back-to-back possessions late in the fourth quarter to bring the game to a one-score affair. Weddington’s Kyle Parsons had an answer for that as he did just about all game long. He broke through a hole in the offensive line, broke two tackles and was gone for a 48-yard touchdown rush.

Parsons took a humble approach when asked about his performance. “I think the (offensive) line has all the credit for my performance tonight,” Parsons said. “I could really do whatever I wanted. I am so proud of those guys.”

After a squib kick by the Warriors, it was the Mavericks’ turn to show how electric their offense could be. With their last possession ending in an 85-yard touchdown strike, they wanted to one-up themselves, literally. Quarterback Evan Medders connected with Luke RayKovicz for the second straight possession for the score, this time for 86 yards.

With just a few timeouts remaining, Marvin Ridge needed a three-and-out but could not get that done. Weddington was able to kneel out the remainder of the game and become conference champions for the third consecutive year.

“It always good to say you’re conference champions,” coach Andy Capone said following the win. “This team keeps growing up and growing up. We are a young team, but you know, you’re not young anymore. We are at the end of the season now, played 10 games and anytime you can hang in a conference championship it’s always special.”

With their 9-1 record, Weddington will likely host a playoff game or two, but Capone realizes the tough test ahead now playing in 4A.

“Now we got to look forward to the playoffs,” Capone said. “It’s 4A football. There’s a lot of good teams in 4A, and it is going to be a battle every single week.”

Three who made a difference

Kyle Parsons, Weddington: Parsons put the Warriors on his back on his way to a terrific rushing performance of over 230 yards. On three occasions the Warriors were backed up in a third-and-long situation, yet the excellent running of Parsons bailed them out, and he was able to gain first downs on all three occasions.

Matthew Moonan, Weddington: It isn’t every day that a kicker gets to shine in high school football, but that was the case in this game as Moonan scored 11 of Weddington’s 23 points in this game. He went 2 for 2 on extra-point attempts and 3 for 3 on field-goal tries. His early field goals proved to be what Weddington needed, in the end, to have the edge when the clock hit zero.

Luke RayKovicz, Marvin Ridge: He was pulling double duty all night long. He made a splash in the first half on the defensive side of the ball, notching a bunch of tackles and pass deflections. In the fourth quarter, he had two receiving touchdowns for 85 and 86 yards.

Worth mentioning

▪ Before the game, the senior football players and senior dancers were honored as it was senior night for the Mavericks. During halftime, there were special performances by the dance team and band to celebrate all of the seniors.

▪ Coming into the game, both teams averaged around 30 points per game. But it was a defensive grudge match for the first three quarters. This was a bit of a twist from what most might have been expecting out of this game. Both teams got their offenses going late, but for the better portion of the game, it was dominated by the defenses.

▪ After netting negative yardage in the first half, Marvin Ridge found a spark in the fourth quarter, hitting on back-to-back possessions for deep touchdown strikes to really make the game interesting late.

What’s next?

Weddington improves to 9-1 on the season and caps off a perfect conference run, while Marvin Ridge finishes its regular season 7-2 with only one loss in conference play. Both teams will be in the 4A state playoffs, but it is yet to be known how many games either team will play at home.

Scoring Summary

Weddington 3 3 7 10 — 23

Marvin Ridge 0 0 0 18 — 18

W: Matthew Moonan 24-yard FG

W: Moonan 42-yard FG

W: Kyle Parsons 17 run (Moonan kick)

W: Moonan 22-yard FG

MR: Cole Seawright 26 pass from Evan Medders (conversion failed)

MR: Luke Raykovicz 85 pass from Medders (kick missed)

W: Parsons 48 rush (Moonan kick)

MR: Raykovicz 86 pass from Medders (conversion failed)