Myers Park, Butler open high school football season with wins over Robinson, Olympic
A year ago, Myers Park finished 4-6 and the Mustangs, to a man, felt they underachieved.
After running through six straight winning seasons from 2015-2020, and establishing itself as one of the top programs in the state, last year’s sub-.500 season was Myers Park’s third in four years.
This season, the third for head coach Chris James, the Mustangs are determined to find their old form.
Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Myers Park made a big statement, dominating Jay M. Robinson of Concord, winning 37-6 over the Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 13 in The Observer’s Sweet 16 in preseason. Myers Park ran out to a 23-6 first-half lead — getting scores from Brody Keefe, Chazz Portis and Josh Falzarano — and never looked back.
Now the Mustangs — who played without Notre Dame recruit Rodney Dunham (knee) — will carry a lot of momentum into a huge showdown Friday at Weddington (1-0).
Butler figures out Olympic, wins opener
Butler High School played its first game with former head coach Brian Hales back at the helm, and the Bulldogs took a while to figure out a short-handed Olympic team before winning, 32-14, at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
Olympic started Zahir Smith, a multi-position player, for the injured Chance Cato, a 6-4 senior quarterback, who sat out the game along with the Trojans’ two top tight ends.
Butler had early trouble stopping Smith, who was basically running a series of designed QB runs. He had more than 100 yards total offense in the first half and finished with 147 yards rushing.
The Bulldogs, however, got a pair of big touchdown plays — a 69-yard pass from Tyler Druzbik to Lucas Culbertson and a 69-yard run from Da’Mourion Thomas-Wright — to get a 12-7 lead.
But Butler struggled on special teams, with two PATs blocked and some punting issues. Worse, the Trojans really struggled stopping Smith, who threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to give his team a 14-12 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Butler seemed to adjust to Olympic’s scheme, and finally got the lead late in the third quarter when it got the ball near midfield after a 2-yard punt.
The Bulldogs drove down the field, and ultimately took an 18-14 lead after a short scoring run from Druzbik.
Later, Butler appeared ready to put the game away with just under nine minutes left, but the Bulldogs fumbled near the Olympic goal line.
But Olympic ended up turning the ball over on downs at its 23-yard line with about five minutes to play. On the next play, Donovan Pollard put the game away with a 23-yard scoring run.
Thomas ended the scoring with a 52-yard run with less than two minutes to play for Butler. He finished with 155 yards rushing and two scores.
This story was originally published August 23, 2025 at 7:27 PM.
