Mooresville defense takes a stand, holds off Reagan in Iredell County Game of the Week
Mooresville High’s Blue Devils did enough things wrong to keep Friday night’s non-conference game against Pfafftown Reagan close.
The Blue Devils also did enough right — especially in the closing stages — to pull out a 14-13 victory over the Raiders at Mooresville High’s Joe Popp Stadium. This was the Deer Park Water game of the week in Iredell County.
Mooresville twice gave Reagan (0-2) good field position off short punts in the fourth quarter, with the Blue Devils holding onto a 14-7 lead.
While Reagan was able to take advantage once, scoring off Nazeir Blackman’s 1-yard shotgun run with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left to cut the margin to 14-13, Mooresville’s defense stopped Blackman on the 2-point conversion attempt to keep the lead.
After A.J. Graham recovered Raider kicker Ryder Lawson’s pooch kick near midfield, the Blue Devils were able to run out the close to remain undefeated two weeks into the 2023 season.
“Reagan’s a very good football team,” Mooresville head coach Joe Nixon said. “I knew what kind of game we’d expect, especially after last week.
“There’s always a lot to work on, especially early in the season. But nothing takes away from the grit and toughness of our football team for pulling out the win there.”
The Blue Devils scored first, taking advantage of Eric Neal’s 51-yard run late in the first quarter to set up Brody Norman’s 2-yard keeper and Andrew Cummings’ extra point kick for a 7-0 lead with 2:23 left.
It became a tighter game in the second half, especially after Reagan tied the game at 7-all on Jaylen Moore’s 2-yard touchdown run and Lawson’s extra point with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter.
But Mooresville took advantage of a bad snap on a 48-yard field goal attempt by Lawson late in the third quarter to set up its game-winning score.
The bad snap game the Blue Devils the ball near midfield, with Mooresville driving to set up A.J. Baker’s 20-yard touchdown run and Cumming’s second extra point for a 14-7 lead with 11:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“We were playing a really good football team at their place,” Reagan head coach Josh McGee said. “We knew it was going to get ugly, and we were going to have to grind it. But we gave ourselves a chance to win.”
Three who made a difference
A.J. Graham, Mooresville: Came up with two key interceptions Friday – the first led to the Blue Devils’ first score, then a diving pick in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to stop another Raiders’ scoring chance.
Eric Heal, Mooresville: Finished with a game-high 108 rushing yards and 11 carries, none more important than the 51-yarder on that first scoring drive.
Jacob Smith, Reagan: Had a team-best 109 total yards for the Raiders – 42 rushing yards and 20 carries, and 67 passing yards on 7 of 20 attempts.
Worth mentioning
▪ The Raiders are now off to their first 0-2 start to a season since 2011, when Reagan opened with road losses to Kernersville Glenn 27-10 and North Forsyth 29-13. The Raiders finished that season 3-8.
▪ Five of 11 first downs by Reagan in Friday’s game actually came off Mooresville penalties. The Blue Devils were whistled for 13 penalties for 105 yards, while the Raiders had just five flags for 30 yards.
▪ Lawson had a tough night kicking the ball for Reagan – while he was 2 for 2 on extra points, he was 0 for 3 on field goals. In addition to the bad snap, he had attempts of 42 and 50 yards blocked by Mooresville.
What’s next?
Reagan plays its first home game Sept. 1, hosting Greensboro Grimsley. Meanwhile, Mooresville travels to Mt. Ulla for a non-conference game against West Rowan.
Scoring summary
PFAFFTOWN REAGAN 0 0 7 6 -- 13
MOORESVILLE 7 0 0 7 – 14
M—Brody Norman 2 run (Andrew Cummings kick)
R—Jaylen Moore 3 run (Ryder Lawson kick)
M—A.J Baker 20 run (Cummings kick)
R—Nazier Blackman 1 run (run failed)
This story was originally published August 25, 2023 at 11:34 PM.
