Saturday Night Special: Providence Day to HS finals; Charlotte Catholic, Watauga fall
Here’s something you probably weren’t expecting when the playoffs began.
When the third round of the N.C. public school playoffs kicks off Friday, there will be no 4A games played in Charlotte. Saturday cemented any chance of that.
Charlotte Catholic fell to top 4A Western seed Grimsley 42-30 Saturday and that leaves only Hough, Independence and Butler left in the those playoffs. All three Mecklenburg County teams will hit the road next week: Hough to East Forsyth, Independence to Grimsley and Butler up to Asheville’s Reynolds High.
But Providence Day will host the private school final in town next week, meeting Charlotte Christian in a rematch of what might have been the game of the year so far. Last month, Charlotte Christian rallied from being down 20 points — twice — to beat then-nationally ranked Providence Day 38-37 on Tripp Woody’s kick as time expired.
Providence Day (11-1) beat Christ School 51-14 in its state semifinal Saturday after Christian rallied to beat Rabun Gap on the final play of the game Friday night.
Saturday’s games ended a three-game playoff weekend after Tropical Storm Nicole forced many games to be moved away from Friday night.
A few highlights:
East Forsyth makes a statement with Hough on the Horizon
It was smooth sailing in Kernersville for the Eagles from East Forsyth. They got off to a hot start and never looked back, sending the Spartans of Mount Tabor home with a 42-0 win.
Mount Tabor, a former 3A power, had a solid first couple drives, but seemed to have a case of the drops early. Several passes were bobbled by the Spartans ending several long drives.
The Eagles would make sure they took advantage of these miscues. Led by quarterback Jaylen Alexander-Raynor, the Eagles would go on a tear, scoring with ease, and cruising to victory.
Northwest Guilford mounts comeback against Watauga
In what was the game of the day, the Northwest Guilford Vikings knocked off the third seeded Watauga Pioneers in what was an instant thriller.
The Vikings may have gotten on the scoreboard first, but Watauga scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter, leaving the Vikings wondering what they needed to do. Worse starting quarterback Tanner Ballou left the game after the first series due to injury.
Head coach Kevin Wallace’s team would find a way to make adjustments as it chipped away at the Watauga lead slowly and found their way back within striking distance. Northwet went on to score 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, including a late touchdown with under a minute to go.
The Vikings head to Weddington next week to face a stout Warriors team.
Grimsley holds serve against Charlotte Catholic
Grimsley High let everyone know that it was for real Saturday. Grimsley, the No. 1 4A seed in the West, knocked off perennial power Charlotte Catholic 42-30 en route to the third round of the NCHSAA playoffs.
The Whirlies struck first after a big pass play set up a three yard rushing score.
Griffin Sovine answered and punched the ball in for the first Charlotte Catholic score from just under 10 yards out.
After Grimsley answered quickly with a score of their own, Catholic did what they do best, and that is use the clock, and end up in the end zone. Sean Boyle found tight end Jack Larsen to level the game at 14-14.
Grimsley would tack on seven more before halftime, taking a one touchdown lead into the halftime break.
Grimsley came out firing in the second half scoring quickly to hold a 28-14 advantage. The Cougars wouldn’t fold though as they managed to force a punt on Grimsley’s next possession and score. The Cougars converted a two-point conversion making the score 28-22 in favor of the Whirlies.
Grimsley once again had the answer, scoring and converting a two point conversion with under 5 minutes to play. After a valiant effort by the Cougars to score quickly, they turned the ball over on downs. Grimsley would add a 53 yard rushing touchdown to seal the win.
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 9:58 PM.
