No. 1 Weddington cruises past East Forsyth in the NCHSAA 4A football quarterfinals
The Diamond sparkled brightly Friday night at Weddington.
The Warriors’ Nick Diamond ran for 300 yards and carried the defending 4A state champions past visiting East Forsyth, 37-21, in a quarterfinal battle of unbeatens.
The Eagles (13-1) moved the ball well at times against Weddington, but their defense had no answer for Diamond.
On a night when the temperature dropped below freezing in Weddington, coach Andy Capone decided to go with the Warriors’ strength — running the ball.
It was a steady dose of Diamond up the middle, Diamond off tackle, and occasionally Diamond around end. When he wasn’t doing damage, one of the other Weddington running backs was either pounding through the line for a first down or breaking into the clear for a big gain.
Weddington (13-0) ran on 45 offensive plays and passed on 15.
“We noticed that they had a little trouble stopping the run last week,” Capone said of East Forsyth’s 35-30 victory over Mooresville. “Nick missed some time this season with an injury, so he’s fresh.”
“But we have three very good running backs, and they give us a lot of options,” Capone added. “We were able to use them all in this game.”
Diamond rushed for 117 yards in the first quarter and added 161 yards in the second half.
“Nick really stepped up in this game,” Capone said.
East Forsyth quarterback Bryce Baker completed enough passes to put some pressure on Weddington’s defense, and the Eagles successfully converted three fourth-down plays in the game.
But the Warriors’ defense came up with several big plays, allowing Diamond and the offense to pull away.
“35 points is the least they had scored this season, until tonight,” Capone said. “I thought our defense played great. Those fourth-down plays can be kind of strange. Other than that, we did a really good job against them.”
Baker spent a lot of time in his backfield Friday night with Weddington defensive lineman Aiden Harris. For the night, Harris had 3.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. The Warriors had six sacks in all.
Weddington took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, when Diamond’s 4-yard run capped an 83-yard 12-play drive that included 56 rushing yards from the Warriors’ standout senior running back. Weddington made it 14-0 early in the second quarter on a 34-yard pass from Gregory Fee to a wide-open Joseph Madden crossing over the middle.
Meanwhile, Warriors’ defensive lineman Aiden Harris was wreaking havoc with East Forsyth, recording two sacks and several quarterback hurries.
After the Eagles scored midway in the second quarter, Weddington added a field goal on the final play of the first half for a 17-7 lead.
The Warriors essentially won the game early in the third quarter. They scored on their first possession, with Diamond breaking free on a 58-yard touchdown run; and on their second possession, on a 31-yard Fee-to-Javon Barber pass. The second score came after East Forsyth’s only failed fourth-down play of the night, at the Eagles’ 31.
At that point, Weddington led 30-7, and the Warriors ran it out from there — literally.
East Forsyth 0 7 7 7 — 21
Weddington 7 10 13 7 — 37
W — Nick Diamond 4 run (Owen McNulty kick)
W — Joseph Madden 17 pass from Gregory Fee (McNulty kick)
EF — Corey Blair 2 run (Brayden Cressimore kick)
W — FG McNulty 21
W — Diamond 58 run (McNulty kick)
W — Javon Barber 31 pass from Fee (kick blocked)
EF — Jaylin Murry 13 pass rom J.P. Gilchrist (Cressimore kick)
W — Brody Anso;n 25 run (McNulty kick)
EF — Jaire Richburg 6 pass from Gilchrist (Cressimore kick)
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 9:50 PM.