East Mecklenburg ends losing streak, shuts out Garinger at home
With the disruptions created by Hurricane Helene East Mecklenburg coach Lennie Sanders was thrilled to see how his team responded on Monday night.
Sanders’ team turned in the season’s first winning performance in a 35-0 victory over Garinger and the shutout was the first for East Mecklenburg since 2019.
“My group was ready to play,” Sanders said. “Ever since Thursday when we couldn’t practice, we had a group text and everybody wanted to play on Friday and on Saturday.”
Finally, Monday came and the Eagles went through a pregame walk-through practice that led to its victory over its longtime Southwestern 4A Conference rival.
“The kids were locked in,” Sanders said. “They didn’t let the distraction of not playing cause any problems. And I challenged the defense and they really responded.”
Led by seniors Tristan Campbell, Ben Witmer and Chase Storey, junior James Bailey and sophomore Max Priest, the Eagles limited the visiting Wildcats to 35 yards total offense as East Mecklenburg improved to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the league.
The shutout was the Eagles’ first since a 21-0 home win over Berry Academy on Sept. 6, 2019.
Garinger falls to 0-5 and 0-2.
Playing on its home turf, East Mecklenburg held Garinger to minus 22 yards in a first half in which the Wildcats’ only first down came on an Eagles’ penalty.
After Garinger picked up first downs on two of its first three plays of the second half, East Mecklenburg’s defense stiffened and yielded only one more first down. It also accounted for a fourth quarter safety when Witmer and Priest wrapped up a Wildcats’ runner in his own end zone with 6:20 left.
Offensively, sophomore quarterback Adam Aoun directed a 230-yard attack with 16 completions in 24 attempts for 127 yards and three touchdowns while also adding a 1-yard scoring run.
Bailey (six catches for 49 yards and two TDs), junior John Crowder (40 yards rushing, two catches for 23 yards) and Zaylen Barnes (46 yards rushing with one TD, three catches for 19 yards with one TD) were other top Eagles’ offensive playmakers.
Three who made a difference
Adam Aoun, East Mecklenburg: Completed 16 of 24 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns and rushed four times for one yard and one touchdown.
James Bailey, East Mecklenburg: Bailey had six catches for 49 yards and two touchdowns and two pass interceptions.
Chase Story, East Mecklenburg: Story had one fumble recovery and one pass interception.
Notable
▪ Garinger and East Mecklenburg have met in football since 1958, though the first meeting was a year before Garinger opened in 1959 and was against the old Charlotte Central High School that Garinger can trace its history to. The initial game, 19-0 Central victory, was played at Memorial Stadium as were the first 10 meetings in the series.
▪ East Mecklenburg hosted the first on-campus matchup in 1968 (a 13-all tie). The Eagles now have a 42-19-2 all-time series advantage with 22 wins in the last 24 matchups.
▪ Both teams were hurt by penalties as East Mecklenburg was flagged 12 times for 140 yards with one infraction negating a touchdown and Garinger was penalized 14 times for 126 yards.
They said it
“I know how hard my kids work and it was great to see the result on the scoreboard give them a reward for all of that work.” — East Mecklenburg coach Lennie Sanders
GAME SUMMARY
Garinger 0 0 0 0 - 0
East Mecklenburg 6 13 7 9 - 35
FIRST QUARTER
EM: James Bailey 10 pass from Adam Aoun (Run failed)
SECOND QUARTER
EM: Zaylen Barnes 30 run (Peter Byrne kick)
EM: Bailey 1 pass from Aoun (Bad snap)
THIRD QUARTER
EM: Aoun 1 run (Byrne kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
EM: Safety - Max Priest and Ben Witmer tackle Garinger runner in end zone
EM: Barnes 10 pass from Aoun (Byrne kick)