Weddington wallops Charlotte Catholic in a high school football shocker
Weddington and Charlotte Catholic were thought to be title contenders in the new Southern Carolina 6A-7A this season.
But the Warriors put their names squarely atop that list after Friday night’s 42-7 rout over the Cougars — and on Catholic’s home field, nonetheless.
Weddington (4-1, 1-0) — No. 5 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 rankings — thoroughly thrashed No. 15 Catholic (3-2, 0-1) in the first half, racing to a 42-0 lead and putting the game on a running clock over the final two quarters.
“Probably more ‘wishful thinking,’” Warriors head coach Andy Capone said of the final score. “We had a good week of prep, though, and another solid game plan by the defensive staff. I thought we came out fast and executed really well. Anytime you can create turnovers and make big plays on special teams, good things happen for you.”
A lot of the Warriors’ damage came from quarterback Walker Powell. He threw for two touchdown passes in the first half — a 28-yarder to Jon Manley on Weddington’s first possession, and a four-yarder to T.J. Davis midway through the second — and ran for two scores on second-quarter runs of 9 and 3 yards.
“We had a good game plan this week, and we just came in here ready to go and locked in,” Powell said. “We dominated all night, and got the ball in the right guys’ hands. The (offensive) line did a great job up front, and the defense did a great job shutting them out in the first half and third quarter. We just came in here ready to roll.”
Manley added a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown midway through the first quarter, and Anthony Barrino had the game’s longest play — a 66-yard TD run late in the first quarter for the Warriors. Add to that Owen McNulty going 6-for-6 on extra-point kicks, and Weddington finished with its second-highest scoring game this season.
The Cougars didn’t break the shutout until early in the fourth quarter against the Warriors’ second-team defense. Aided by a Weddington fumble near midfield, Catholic put together its longest possession of the game — 10 plays, 48 yards — capped by Chase Kummer’s 7-yard TD pass to tight end Jude Spisso with 9:05 remaining.
“No sir, not the kind of game we wanted,” first-year Catholic head coach Keith Emery said. “We didn’t prepare the guys well enough to play in this particular game. We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to do better next week.
“We’ve got a long season ahead of us still, the second half of the season. But Weddington beat us up and down and through and over and around. It was a tough night tonight.”
Three who made a difference
Walker Powell, Weddington — The Warriors’ senior quarterback threw for 123 yards on 10 of 13 completions (all in the first half), and ran for 14 yards and two TDs on three carries.
Jon Manley, Weddington — In addition to his punt return for a touchdown, the senior wideout caught two of Powell’s passes for 35 yards, most coming on the 28-yard TD catch.
Weddington defense — In the first half, held Catholic to two first downs and 33 yards total offense, with an interception by Connor Flynn late in the first quarter setting up Powell’s first TD run. For the game, the Cougars finished with five first downs and 81 yards total offense.
Observations
Weddington has now won four straight over Charlotte Catholic, with the Cougars’ last win coming in 2018 under then-head coach Mike Brodowicz. However, Catholic leads the all-time series, 9-5.
Up next
Charlotte Catholic travels to Indian Trail to face Porter Ridge next Friday, while Weddington hosts Union County rival Sun Valley in Monroe.
Scoring summary
WEDDINGTON 21 21 0 0 – 42
CHAR. CATHOLIC 0 0 0 7 – 7
First Quarter
W—Walker Powell 28 pass to Jon Manley (Owen McNulty kick), 8:54.
W—Manley 56 punt return (McNulty kick), 6:58.
W—Anthony Barrino 66 run (McNulty kick), 0:34.2.
Second Quarter
W—Powell 9 run (McNulty kick), 10:52.
W—Powell 4 pass to T.J. Davis (McNulty kick), 7:06.
W—Powell 3 run (McNulty kick), 1:16.
Fourth Quarter
CC—Chase Kummer 7 pass to Jude Spisso (Aidan Flynn kick), 9:05.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 10:19 PM.