Nationally ranked Grimsley beats West Charlotte in Keep Pounding Classic
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Grimsley edged West Charlotte 28-27 in OT at the Keep Pounding Classic.
- West Charlotte lost three fumbles and committed nine costly penalties.
- Top QB Faizon Brandon led Grimsley, which outgained West Charlotte 331-295.
In a game between what may be the two best high school football teams in North Carolina, Greensboro’s Grimsley High seemed in midseason form.
West Charlotte came up short on a night during which it made critical mistakes.
The Lions lost three fumbles and were called for nine penalties, including some that extended Grimsley drives, in a 28-27 overtime loss at Bank of America Stadium in the Carolina Panthers’ Keep Pounding Classic.
The teams played the feature game after Hough beat Rock Hill’s South Pointe High, 14-10, in the first game Friday afternoon.
After a defensive-minded game in front of more than 10,000 fans, the two state powers got to overtime with both teams getting the ball at the 10.
Two West Charlotte penalties on Grimsley’s overtime drive helped Grimsley get inside the Lions’ 2.
West Charlotte — which played without Duke recruit and preseason all-region star KD Cotton (leg injury) — made it hard on the Whirlies, but Grimsley quarterback Faizon Brandon scored on fourth-and-1.
The Lions’ Jamouri Nichols scored on West Charlotte’s first overtime play. But after West Charlotte called timeout as Nichols was treated for cramping issues, West Charlotte went for a game-winning 2-point conversion to end the game.
Yet another penalty hurt the Lions — a false start to push the ball to the 7 — and Nichols was sacked to end the game.
How the game got to overtime
While Grimsley took advantage of Lions’ penalties that extended drives and kept its offense on the field, West Charlotte’s defense time and again, kept Grimsley from getting too far out front.
After Micah Williams’ 1-yard run gave Grimsley a 14-7 halftime lead, some key Lions defensive stops kept West Charlotte in the game despite turnovers and a touchdown being called back by a penalty.
Finally, with 6:17 to play, Nichols scored on a 1-yard sneak, but the extra point missed and Grimsley led 14-13.
Led by Brandon, a Tennessee recruit rated the country’s top high school player, Grimsley drove down the field, first with a 34-yard pass and later with a first down.
The reigning N.C. 4A state champions polished off the drive — and nearly polished off the game — when Williams scored his second touchdown with 1:43 to play.
But down 21-13, West Charlotte got a return by Sincere Gray to the Grimsley 43. After that, Nichols hit Air Force recruit Rakim Finch with a pass to the Grimsley 5 with 32 seconds left. With 12 seconds left, third-and-goal at the 2, Nichols scored with 8 seconds left. Then Nichols tied the game with a 2-point conversion to force overtime.
Notable
— Friday’s contest may have been the first time in state history that state champions from the previous year purposely scheduled a season-opener against each other the following season. In the previous 30 seasons, only twice have state champions from the past season met in the following season’s opening game; Crest (1994 4A champion) beat longtime county rival Burns (1994 3A champion) 13-8 in their 1995 season-opener, and Wilmington Hoggard (2007 4A champion) beat longtime league rival New Bern (2007 4AA champion) 28-16 in their 2008 season-opener. — The contest was filled with top-rated high school recruits by recruiting service 247sports. In addition to top-ranked Brandon, No. 22 Andrew Rogers (defensive line), No. 30 Kosci Barnes (cornerback), No. 33 D.J. Howerton (tight end) and No. 62 Nick Kaskubara (offensive tackle) played for Grimsley, while No. 14 Elijah Littlejohn (defensive lineman) and No. 47 K.D. Cotton (ATH) lined up for West Charlotte. — Grimsley outgained West Charlotte 331-295 overall. West Charlotte was penalized nine times for 97 yards with Grimsley being flagged once for 10 yards.
THEY SAID IT
“Outside of some cheap penalties, we did a pretty good stopping their offense. We’ll be back.” — West Charlotte coach Sam Greiner
GAME SUMMARY
West Charlotte 7 0 0 14 6 — 27
Grimsley 7 7 0 7 7 — 28
First quarter
G: Holden Cooper 53 pass from Faizon Brandon (Chase Huellmantle kick)
WC: Donte Nicholson 7 pass from Jamouri Nichols (Angel Ruiz kick)
Second quarter
G: Micah Williams 1 run (Huellmantle kick)
Fourth quarter
WC: Nichols 2 run (kick failed)
G: Williams 2 run (Huellmantle kick)
Overtime
G: Brandon 1 run (Huellmantle kick)
WC: Nichols 10 run (Pass failed)
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 10:56 PM.
