Mooresville dominates Lake Norman in Deer Park Water Union County game of the week
The Mooresville Blue Devils earned more than just bragging rights over southern Iredell County after beating Lake Norman on Friday night.
The Blue Devils also capped an undefeated regular season by beating the previously-unbeaten Wildcats, 34-7, in front of a standing-room-only crowd to claim the Greater Metro 4A conference title.
Brody Norman accounted for four touchdowns for Mooresville (10-0, 6-0), ranked sixth in the Observer’s Sweet 16, which jumped on No. 13 Lake Norman (9-1, 5-1) early in pulling out to a 20-0 halftime lead.
Norman had a pair of one-yard quarterback keepers in the first and second quarters, then capped the first half with an off-balance two-yard TD pass to K.J. Gillespie with no time remaining for the three-TD lead.
Norman then added his second touchdown pass late in the third quarter on a 61-yarder to Randy Fulmore.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Norman said. “We prepared pretty well throughout the week, and we had a good mindset coming into the game. I’m just proud we got the win.”
The Blue Devils’ defense also did their part, coming up with a pick-six — Marley Samuel’s 20-yard interception return — early in the third quarter.
Mooresville finished with a pair of interceptions (Josiah Hunter had the first in the first quarter), and sacks by Ziquel Adams and Jamari Farmer in the fourth quarter.
“This is big for our guys,” Mooresville head coach Joe Nixon said. “To be able to sit here as conference champions is awesome. It was one of our goals, and I’m really proud of our guys.
“All year long, it’s not been about who we play, it’s been about how we play. Obviously this is a big game, and Lake Norman’s got a great football team. But I’m really proud of our players and really proud of our coaches. It was an awesome game with an awesome atmosphere. I knew if we could play the way we could play, we’d be fine.”
The Wildcats didn’t get their offense going and break the shutout until late in the third quarter — and after Antonio Griffin had a 60-yard kickoff return called back on a penalty.
Lake Norman put together a 65-yard drive, capped off by a trick play. On third and goal at the Mooresville 3, quarterback Kyle Mosley handed off to Trae Sechrest on a sweep left. But Sechrest handed the ball to Cannon Wigginton sweeping right, who then found a wide-open Mosley in the end zone with 2:31 left.
However, the Wildcats did little else, held to just two first downs and 61 total yards over the first two quarters, and 190 total yards for the game.
“You can’t do that with (Mooresville),” said Lake Norman head coach (and former Blue Devils assistant) Jonathan Oliphant. “They haven’t trailed all year, so when you give them what they want, they’re going to do what they do.
“They’re a good football team, well coached and well disciplined, and they get after you. They were just better than we were tonight.”
Three who made a difference
Brody Norman, Mooresville: The Blue Devils’ sophomore quarterback didn’t have the greatest numbers — 48 yards rushing on 10 carries, and 102 passing yards on 5-of-14 attempts. But you can’t argue with four touchdowns, giving him 11 rushing TDs and 20 passing TDs for the season.
Eric Heal, Mooresville: Finished with a game-high 90 rushing yards and 12 carries — all but 13 yards coming in the first half.
Mozes Morris, Lake Norman: Finished with a team-best 69 rushing yards on 16 carries, pushing his season total to 759 yards.
Worth mentioning
▪ Officials said that Friday’s game was a sellout, and the largest crowd to attend a Wildcats home football game since the school opened in 2002. While no official numbers were available, estimates put the standing-room-only crowd at over 5,000 spectators.
▪ Mooresville now leads its series against Lake Norman — which began when the school opened in 2002 — 14-6, and have now won three straight.
What’s next?
Both Mooresville and Lake Norman should wind up with high seeds when the NCHSAA announces its first-round 4A playoff pairings today. Entering Friday’s game, the Wildcats were No. 5 in the NCHSAA 4A West’s RPI, while the Blue Devils were No. 7.
SCORING SUMMARY
MOORESVILLE 7 13 14 0 — 34
LAKE NORMAN 0 0 7 0 — 7
M — Brody Norman 1 run (Jacob Monsour kick), 6:00 1st.
M — Norman 1 run (Andrew Cummings kick), 6:04 2nd.
M — K.J. Gillespie 2 pass from Norman (kick blocked), 0:00 2nd.
M — Marley Samuel 20 interception return (Cummings kick), 10:57 3rd.
LN — Cannon Wigginton 3 pass to Kyle Mosley (Michael Buck kick), 2:31 3rd.
M — Randy Fulmore 61 pass from Norman (Cummings kick), 1:07 3rd.
PHOTOS: Mooresville at Lake Norman
This story was originally published October 27, 2023 at 8:50 PM.
