Two plays made the difference in Chambers High’s win over Porter Ridge Friday night
Daylan Smothers rushed for 149 yards, and the Chambers defense was stifling, but the Cougars’ 28-10 third-round 4A playoff victory Friday night over visiting Porter Ridge was decided essentially by back-to-back plays in the third quarter.
It happened about four minutes into the second half.
Trailing 14-10, Porter Ridge quarterback Myles Carroll threw a short pass over the middle to David Oden, who broke free of several tackles and galloped toward the Chambers end zone.
Such a play often ends as a touchdown, but not against the Chambers defense.
Junior cornerback T.J. McGill caught up with Oden, nearly 50 yards from the line of scrimmage, and punched the ball loose at the Chambers 6. Teammate Jeremiah Smith recovered the ball.
“We teach our defensive players not to give up on a play like that,” Chambers head coach Glenwood Ferebee said. “We tell them to keep pursuing the play.”
On the next play, Chambers running back Camren Kennedy took a handoff and galloped 86 yards to the Porter Ridge 5. Three plays later, Kennedy scored.
Instead of falling behind 17-14, Chambers led 21-10.
“A game can turn around on a couple plays like that,” Ferebee said. “That happened tonight.”
And with the defense showing the form that carried Chambers to the last two 4AA state championships, the Cougars advanced to a quarterfinal game next Friday at Weddington.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize that this is basically a young team,” Ferebee said. “But we continue to develop each week. We’ve come quite a ways since early in the season.”
The Cougars have offensive weapons in Smothers and Kennedy, and quarterback Anshon Camp can move the team in the air, as he did with a pair of touchdown passes Friday night.
But Chambers wins football games with its defense.
The Cougars limited Porter Ridge to 59 yards’ total offense in the second half, and 49 came on the pass play that ended with the fumble.
Smith added an interception to his big fumble recovery, and the Chambers defense kept steady pressure on Porter Ridge through the second half.
The visiting Pirates had some success in the opening two quarters, totaling 138 yards of offense and pushing into scoring position four times.
The first drive resulted in a Myles Carroll touchdown run. The other three ended with field goal attempts, with one of those being successful.
Smothers dominated the first half for Chambers, carrying 13 times for 141 yards. Kennedy took over in the second half, gaining 92 of his 96 yards after intermission.
“We’ve got several ways to win a game,” said Camp, the Cougars’ junior quarterback.
He completed the Chambers scoring with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Zion Baker on the first play of the fourth quarter.
“It feels like we’ve been getting a little better every week,” Camp said.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association’s realignment of schools has created an interesting quarterfinal game next week for Chambers. The Cougars will visit Weddington in a meeting of teams that won state championships in 2019 – Chambers in 4AA, Weddington in 3AA.
“They are a well-coached team that plays hard,” Ferebee said of his team’s next opponent. “There are no easy games at this stage of the season.”
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ The game was announced as a sellout, although there were some seats available on the home side of Chambers’ stadium.
▪ An injury forced Porter Ridge to go with a backup long-snapper Friday night. The snaps seemed a bit low on the two field goal attempts that the Pirates’ Braeden McAlister missed. McAlister had a big night otherwise, putting all three kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks, and averaging 42 yards a kick on his four punts.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
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Porter Ridge 7 3 0 0 – 10
Chambers 14 0 7 7 – 28
CH – Daylan Smothers 3 run (Melvin Benitez kick)
PR – Myles Carroll 4 run (Braeden McAlister kick)
CH – Kevin Concepcion 15 pass from Anshon Camp (Benitez kick)
PR – McAlister FG 41
CH – Camren Kennedy 6 run (Benitez kick)
CH – Zion Baker 28 pass from Camp (Benitez kick)
Quick Links
Friday’s North Carolina HS football playoff scores, next week’s schedule
Friday’s NC high school basketball scores, Charlotte-area capsules
Hough stops Mallard Creek, rolls into Elite 8
Chambers picks up play in second half, eliminates Porter Ridge
Providence Day, Cabarrus Warriors win state titles Friday
Friday’s NC high school basketball scores, Charlotte-area capsules
Friday’s Top Performers
Chris Culliver, Maiden: 10 catches for 205 yards and four touchdowns in a win over reigning state champion Salisbury.
Liam Groulx, Providence Day: caught state championship-winning touchdown pass from Grantt Logan in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 14-9 win over Rabun Gap. Groulx’s two older brothers won state championships at Davidson Day, when current Providence Day coach Chad Grier worked there. Liam Groulx also had a first quarter interception Friday.
Xander Lamb, Cabarrus Warriors: fourth quarter interception helped perserve his team’s 34-31 win over Harrells Christian in the state championship game. Lamb also had 75-yard touchdown reception.
Jeremiah Smith, Chambers: key fumble recovery and an interception in the Cougars 28-10 win over Porter Ridge. Smith returned the interception for a touchdown but it was called back for penalty.
Friday’s scores and next week’s schedule
Class 4A
Friday’s third round
West
Hough 31, Mallard Creek 17
East Forsyth 14, Glenn 0
Weddington 34, Cuthbertson 21
Chambers 28, Porter Ridge 10
East
Leesville Road 28, Knightdale 7
Rolesville 54, Millbrook 28
Cardinal Gibbons 29, Cleveland 21
Panther Creek 35, Hoggard 21
Next Friday’s quarterfinals
West
East Forsyth (11-1) at Hough (13-0)
Chambers (12-1) at Weddington (12-1)
East
Rolesville (8-5) at Leesville Road (10-2)
Panther Creek (10-3) at Cardinal Gibbons (11-2)
Class 3A
Friday’s third round
West
South Point 27, Forestview 7
Crest 35, North Davidson 14
Dudley 36, Kings Mountain 10
Statesville 42, Hibriten 0
East
Eastern Alamance 43, Westover 12
Jacksonville 25, Lee County 22
J.H. Rose 20, Seventy-First 14
Scotland County 29, Northern Nash 26
Next Friday’s quarterfinals
West
South Point (10-3) at Crest (10-2)
Dudley (12-1) at Statesville (12-0)
East
Jacksonville (10-2) at Eastern Alamance (10-1)
Scotland County (8-4) at J.H. Rose (9-4)
Class 2A
Friday’s third round
West
Shelby 64, East Gaston 15
Reidsville 50, Hendersonville 35
Maiden 32, Salisbury 20
East Surry 10, Monroe 9
East
Princeton 63, Nash Central 12
St. Pauls 38, Whiteville 36
Northeastern 57, Washington 47
Wallace-Rose Hill 21, East Duplin 17
Next Friday’s quarterfinals
West
Reidsville (12-0) at Shelby (12-1)
Maiden (13-0) at East Surry (12-0)
East
St. Pauls (11-0) at Princeton (12-0)
Wallace-Rose Hill (11-2) at Northeastern (12-0)
Class 1A
Friday’s third round
West
Murphy 64, Eastern Randolph 31
Robbinsville 50, North Rowan 47
Mitchell County 38, Thomasville 21
Mount Airy 44, Starmount 7
East
Tarboro 42, Perquimans 0
Northampton County 34, Rosewood 16
Pender County 50, North Moore 12
Pinetown Northside 14, Southside 7
Next Friday’s quarterfinals
West
Murphy (9-4) at Robbinsville (9-3)
Mitchell County (11-2) at Mount Airy (13-0)
East
Northampton County (10-2) at Tarboro (11-1)
Pender County (9-3) at Pinetown Northside (11-1)
NCISAA Finals
Division I
Providence Day 14, Rabun Gap 9
Division II
Cabarrus Warriors 34, Harrells Christian 31
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 8:00 AM.