Mallard Creek rallies past Myers Park for big high school football win
After suffering the second-worst defeat in school history the week before and hosting an unbeaten and talented Myers Park High School team on its home field, some might’ve been surprised to see Mallard Creek coach Kennedy Tinsley and his players dancing and chanting “Creek Boys! Creek Boys! Creek Boys!” after Friday’s game.
But, as Tinsley says, his team’s resilience surprises him and his coaching staff.
They did so again by overcoming a slow start to grind out a 20-13 win over Myers Park.
“We tried to make it a learning lesson and, I thought, the kids handled it well,” Tinsley said of last week’s 63-13 loss at Grayson, the defending Georgia 6A state champion and the No. 5-ranked team in the country according to MaxPreps.com. “This group is very resilient and they truly bounced back tonight.”
The Mavericks did just that — and even after the visiting Mustangs scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the opening quarter.
But after Mallard Creek yielded a touchdown pass on Myers Park’s first play from scrimmage and saw its first offensive end in a pass interception that led to the first of two James Remsen field goals for a 10-0 Mustangs’ lead, the Mavericks showed their resolve.
With senior Sam Cheeseboro and sophomore Caile Napier splitting time at quarterback, Mallard Creek rolled for 326 yards of total offense and scored three touchdowns in the middle two quarters to overcome its early deficit.
Sophomores Xavier Edmond (16 carries for 140 yards rushing and 2 TDs) and Joshua Person (11 carries for 75 yards) powered the offense and a group effort defensively limited the Mustangs to 324 yards total offense - and that after they had 80 yards in their first two scoring drives.
“We felt the message this week was to learn from last week as far as what our effort can do for us,” Tinsley said. “If you try hard and do what you’re coached to do, it’s going to give you a chance to be successful.
“And we didn’t do that last week. We still made some mistakes tonight like penalties. But, in the end, they found a way and they fought defensively.”
Three who made a difference
Josh Falzarano, Myers Park: The Mustangs tailback rushed 27 times for 189 yards.
Xavier Edmond, Mallard Creek: Rushed 16 times for 140 yards and caught one pass for 15 yards.
Mallard Creek quarterbacks: After losing senior Perry Justice to a season-ending knee injury, senior Sam Cheeseoro (20 yards rushing with 1 TD and 58 yards passing) and sophomore Cailen Napier (33 yards passing) directed a 326 yards Mavericks’ offense.
Notable
This was the sixth meeting between the two schools. After Myers Park won the first two meetings, the Mavericks won four straight, highlighted by a 2011 third-round Class 4AA playoff matchup, the 2014 first-round Class 4AA playoff matchup and the 2022 game at Memorial Stadium.
Last week’s loss was only the second time Mallard Creek has lost by 50 or more points. The first time came in the Mavericks’ inaugural season of 2007 when they were trounced 62-7 at West Charlotte.
Both teams are now 3-1. Myers Park’s 3-0 start is the 12th in its 75-year history, with eight previous 3-0 starts leading to teams that made the postseason.
They said it
“We had a great opportunity to play against of the nation’s best and we want to challenge our kids. This time, it didn’t go so well. We didn’t play well at all. So you get back to work, watch some film and take a valuable lesson from it.” - Mallard Creek coach Kennedy Tinsley on bouncing back from a 50-point loss last week.
Game Summary
Myers Park 10 3 0 0 — 13
Mallard Creek 0 7 13 0 — 20
FIRST QUARTER
MP: Brody Keefe 45 pass from Ramir Watson (James Remsen kick)
MP: FG Remsen 31
SECOND QUARTER
MC: Xavier Edmond 7 run (Ashton Blevins kick)
MP: FG Redsen 34
THIRD QUARTER
MC: Edmond 1 run (Blevins kick)
MC: Sam Cheesboro 2 run (kick failed)
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 9:31 PM.
