Monday’s high school football roundup: South Mecklenburg runs away from Berry
Once South Mecklenburg stopped making mistakes, the whole winning thing got pretty easy.
The Sabres recovered from some early errors Monday night, and raced away from visiting Berry for a 41-13 SoMeck 4A victory.
It was the first victory this season for the Sabres (1-4, 1-1), whose opening four opponents have a combined record of 15-5.
South Mecklenburg drove 85 yards in its first possession, scoring on an 18-yard run by Cash Hunter. But the Sabres fell behind on their next possession, when a bad snap on an attempted punt was recovered in the end zone by Berry Academy’s Marquise McNair for a touchdown. The Cardinals got the conversion and led 7-6.
The Sabres scored early in the second quarter on a Carter Gillis-to-Kaleb Vines touchdown pass, then got the two-point conversion for a 14-7 lead.
But then another error — a 17-yard punt from deep in their territory — hurt the Sabres again. Berry Academy (2-4, 0-2) took over at the South Meck 40 and scored seven plays later on a 23-yard pass from Justin Williams to Elijah Britt. That cut the Sabre lead to 14-13 midway in the second quarter.
The Sabres, who also had nine first-half penalties, finally got it going in the closing minutes of the half. Gillis connected with Quinn Rucker on a 74-yard touchdown pass for a 21-13 lead.
In the second half, coach Joe Evans’ team was much more efficient. They scored on runs by Hunter and Vines, and on a pass from Gillis to Callaway Williams.
Gillis finished with 12-of-22 passing for 203 yards, and Hunter rushed for 127 yards.
Berry Academy’s McNair had a big game, with a sack and three tackles for loss, along with the touchdown on the fumble recovery.
Berry Academy 7 6 0 0 — 13
South Mecklenburg 6 15 7 13 — 41
SM — Cash Hunter 18 run (run failed)
BA — Marquise McNair recovered fumble in end zone (Elijah Britt kick)
SM — Hunter 6 run (Quinn Rucker pass from Carter Gillis)
BA — Britt 23 pass from Justin Williams (kick blocked)
SM — Rucker 74 pass from Gillis (Austin Metcalf kick)
SM — Hunter 1 run (Metcalf kick)
SM — Bishop Boswell 15 pass from Gillis (Metcalf kick)
SM — Kaleb Vines 1 run (run failed)
West Charlotte 32, West Mecklenburg 14: The Lions jumped out to a 20-7 halftime lead and won this Queen City 3A-4A game against their westside rival from West Meck on the road. Jamouri Nichols opened the West Charlotte scoring with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Christian Coleman, and he later scored on runs of 7 and 5 yards.
West Meck (1-4, 0-2) closed to within 12-7 with a touchdown late in the first half, and then got within 19-14 with a score early in the third quarter. But the Lions pulled away. West Charlotte (3-1, 1-1), which bounced back from a tough 13-12 loss to nationally ranked Mallard Creek on Sept. 20,will host Hopewell Friday.
JM Robinson 36, Carson 0: Robinson posted its second straight shutout Monday after beating Central Cabarrus 49-0 on Sept. 13. The Bulldogs have not allowed more than eight points in a game this season and are outscoring opponents 214-21. Robinson plays East Rowan at home Friday.
Corvian Community 16, Christ the King 7: The visiting Cardinals (5-0, 2-0 Catawba Shores 1A-2A) remained unbeaten, as Cam Johnson scored two touchdowns. Corvian pulled ahead late in the first quarter on Cooper Peterson’s 46-yard field goal. The Cardinals made it 10-0 early in the second quarter on A.J. Jackson’s 69-yard pass to Johnson.
Christ the King (1-4, 1-1) closed to 10-7 with a long pass shortly before halftime, but Johnson ran 25 yards with four minutes left in the third quarter for Corvian’s final score.
Northwest Cabarrus 48, East Rowan 0: The Trojans (4-1, 2-0 South Piedmont 3A) got four rushing touchdowns in the first half from Jarion Drye. Anderson Lee opened the second half by scoring on a 90-yard kickoff return for Northwest Cabarrus.
Pine Lake Prep 22, Winston-Salem Prep 8: The Pride (2-3, 2-0 Catawba Shores 1A-2A) got two touchdown passes from quarterback Chase Riggs, including a 60-yard toss to Dre Nichols.
Lake Norman 42, A.L. Brown 2: Kaden Craft threw three touchdown passes, as Lake Norman (4-1, 1-0 Greater Metro 4 4A) rolled over the Wonders (3-2, 1-1).
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 10:54 PM.
