How West Charlotte football used big plays and penalties to stop Mallard Creek
West Charlotte took advantage of some big plays — and some big penalties — to beat Mallard Creek on the road Friday night.
In a game whose start was delayed by lightning and heavy rain, the Lions beat Mallard Creek, 32-9, behind four touchdowns by Jamouri Nichols (including three TD passes to Rakim Finch) and five Mallard Creek pass interference penalties that kept extending the Lions’ drives.
Nationally ranked Mallard Creek (4-2) was down 13-0 after West Charlotte scored on a 69-yard fourth-down pass from Nichols to Finch and later on another 18-yard hookup between the two.
That last score came after one of those Mallard Creek pass interference penalties gave West Charlotte a fresh set of downs.
After the Mavericks rallied to within 13-9, West Charlotte pushed away.
First came Finch’s third touchdown catch. Then, early in the fourth quarter, Nichols overcame cramping issues just a few plays earlier to take off on a 67-yard TD run up the middle to give West Charlotte a 26-9 lead that put the game away.
It was Nichols’ seventh rushing score of the season.
“This was a statement game for us,” West Charlotte coach Sam Greiner said. “I still don’t think we played very clean. If we clean some things up, I think we can be the best team there is.”
West Charlotte’s final score came on the longest play of the night, a 92-yard run from Sincere Gray, after making a defensive stand.
“My favorite thing was when they got to the 1-yard line and we called a timeout,” Greiner said. “We told them, ‘When you’re at the one-yard line, you can show them what your greatness is about.’ And they stepped up.”
After Mallard Creek had second and goal from the 1, the Lions’ defensive front stuffed a running play for a one-yard loss, then recorded a six-yard sack and forced an incomplete pass.
Three who made a difference
Jamouri Nichols, West Charlotte: Completed 13 of 20 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed nine times for 64 yards and another score.
Rakim Finch, West Charlotte: Caught eight passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns.
Cailen Napier, Mallard Creek: Sophomore came off the bench to complete 12 of 21 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown.
Notable
West Charlotte’s win was its second in three years against the Mavericks in a series that Mallard Creek has dominated. The Mavericks lead the series, which began in 2007, by a 15-4 margin and won 14 straight from 2009 to 2022, with seven of those victories being shutouts.
Entering the game, Mallard Creek was No. 75 in the HSFA national poll and West Charlotte was 238. The highest N.C. team was Providence Day (23). The teams combined for more than 30 penalties overall with 29 officially marked off; Mallard Creek was flagged 15 times for 142 yards and West Charlotte 14 times for 120 yards.
They said it
“It wasn’t really a big factor. (Mallard Creek athletic director) Coach (Bryant) Bailey was my former AD and we were going to go sit on the buses but he let us wait in the building. That was nice of him. It’d be tough to sit on the bus for an hour.” - Sam Greiner on the 45-minute game delay after teams were cleared from the field during pregame workouts at 6:15 p.m. - or 45 minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. kickoff.
Game Summary
West Charlotte 0 13 6 14 — 32
Mallard Creek 0 3 6 0 — 9
Second quarter
WC: Rakim Finch 69 pass from Jamouri Nichols (Angel Ruiz kick)
WC: Finch 18 pass from Nichols (kick failed)
MC: FG Ashton Blevins 30
Third quarter
MC: Khalil Price 80 pass from Cailen Napier (kick failed)
WC: Finch 8 pass from Nichols (run failed)
Fourth quarter
WC: Nichols 67 run (Ruiz kick)
WC: Sincere Gray 92 run (kick failed)
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 10:46 PM.