No. 2 Providence Day overwhelms No. 13 Charlotte Catholic at home Friday

Charlotte Catholic played its kind of football game for one quarter.

Providence Day played its kind of game for the rest of Friday night’s contest, as the second-ranked Chargers’ array of weapons wore down the 13th-ranked Cougars, 32-7.

Zaid Lott threw a pair of touchdown passes and gashed the Charlotte Catholic defense with his running, and Providence Day’s defense forced a pair of costly turnovers that turned into two more scores.

After squeaking past Philadelphia Roman Catholic, 29-28, in its opener, Providence Day has romped over defending state runner-up Rolesville and perennial power Charlotte Catholic by a combined score of 70-17.

But for a little more than 12 minutes Friday night, the Chargers did not look invincible.

Charlotte Catholic did what Charlotte Catholic likes to do — run the ball effectively and eat up the clock. That’s exactly how the Cougars spent about nine minutes of the opening period before turning the ball over on downs. Then the Cougars had a great goal-line stand early in the second quarter, as Keanen Teeter broke up Lott’s fourth-down pass at the Charlotte Catholic 4.

But Providence Day’s defense made the next big play, as a defensive lineman punched the ball out of the grasp of Cougar quarterback Chase Kummer, and the Chargers’ Griff Galloway recovered at the 4. Quintin McCray ran for a touchdown on the next play, and the Chargers were off and running.

The Cougars punted on their next possession, and Providence Day’s Gordon Sellars returned the kick 40 yards to the Charlotte Catholic 26. Running back Aidan Gallos took over from there, rushing 7, 11 and 8 yards — the last of those carries for a touchdown.

Providence Day made it 18-0 shortly before halftime on an 80-yard drive that included a 21-yard Lott-to-Sellars pass and then a 27-yard scoring toss to Sellars.

Charlotte Catholic regained momentum in the second half, eating up 7 1/2 minutes of the third quarter on an 80-yard drive that ended with a Garrett Nowlan touchdown run.

The Chargers’ most impressive drive came covered a five-minute span late in the third and early in the fourth quarters. They went 80 yards — well, actually, they drove about 110 yards, when you factor in a couple of penalties — and scored on a 12-yard pass from Lott to Brendan Ravin.

Providence Day’s defense added the final score of the night, as Stone Eich picked off a Cougar pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

Three who made a difference

Griff Galloway, Providence Day: Galloway, a 6-3, 255-pound junior defensive end, made life miserable for the Cougars. He recovered a Charlotte Catholic fumble at the Cougar 4 and had three tackles for losses.

Zaid Lott, Providence Day: Lott, the 6-4, 220-pound Syracuse commit, directed the Charger offense to near-precision. He threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for more than 80 yards.

Garrett Nowlan, Charlotte Catholic: Life is good for Charlotte Catholic when the Cougars have a strong running back, and Nowlan is filling that role well this year. He rushed for more than 100 yards against the tough Providence Day defense and scored a touchdown.

Just noting

Providence Day is dealing with some injury problems, especially on the offensive line. Senior lineman Leo Delaney (a Clemson commit) was injured last week at Rolesville and is out for the season. Also missing Friday’s game, due to injury, were wide receiver/kick returner Steele Fletcher and linemen Cooper Hodson and Jacob Ahmadvarji.

Providence Day is now 4-2 against Charlotte Catholic. The Cougars won the teams’ first two meetings, in 2014 and 2016. But Providence Day has won four straight years. The Chargers have won the last three meetings by a combined score of 98-23.

Both kickers had big nights, although neither Providence Day’s Jacob Baggett nor Charlotte Catholic’s Aidan Flynn was called upon for a field goal. Flynn, who kicked three field goals last week, put both of his kickoffs in the end zone. Baggett was 6 for 6 with touchbacks on his kickoffs. He had a conversion kick blocked but made his two other tries.

The game drew a standing-room-only crowd to Providence Day.

What’s next?

Charlotte Catholic is home against Kings Mountain next Friday, while Providence Day hosts Butler in a first-ever meeting of the two Mecklenburg football powers.

Charlotte Catholic 0 0 7 0 — 7

Providence Day 0 18 0 14 — 32

PD — Quintin McCray 4 run (kick blocked)

PD — Aidan Gallos 8 run (run failed)

PD — Gordon Sellars 27 pass from Zaid Lott (pass failed)

CC — Garrett Nowlan 17 run (Aidan Flynn kick)

PD — Brendan Ravin 12 pass from Lott (Jacob Baggett kick)

PD — Stone Eich 37 interception return (Baggett kick)

This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 10:14 PM.