Charlotte Latin rocks Cannon School at home, improves to 7-0
De’jon Douglas knew how important winning Friday night’s matchup against Concord’s Cannon School was for Charlotte Latin — especially considering who the Hawks will face next week.
Well, Douglas and Latin’s defense both played a big role in the Hawks taking a 38-17 victory over the Cougars in the final non-conference game for both teams.
Douglas ran for three touchdowns as Charlotte Latin — No. 13 in the Observer’s latest Sweet 16 rankings — improved to 7-0 for the second straight season.
The 6-foot-1 junior scored the Hawks’ first touchdown, a 5-yard run, late in the first quarter en route to a 17-7 halftime lead. He added a 3-yard TD run late in the third quarter for Latin to push its lead to 24-7, then killed a fourth-quarter Cougars rally with a 48-yard breakaway.
“I called the option,” Douglas said about his final touchdown. “I read the field, and I saw that (the middle) was open pre-snap, and I just took it to the house.
“It was very vital that we won this game, from a team standpoint. Everybody’s been counting us out in the conference — that we’re only going to finish in third place. That’s why this win was definitely deserved, because we wanted to win this game”
Latin quarterback Troy Logan also hit Anthony McGill on a 21-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Louis Markin hit a 32-yard field goal for the Hawks’ first score, and Charlotte Latin’s defense came up with a late fumble return for a touchdown to seal the win.
“We didn’t think it was going to be any type of blowout,” Hawks head coach Drew Dayton said. “(Cannon is) a good football team. They’ve got a lot of talented kids, and we knew we were going to be in for a fight. But I’m really proud of the guys in how they responded. They fought, they stepped up and they finished.”
Cannon School, under new head coach Jamaal Birch, made things difficult for the Hawks in the fourth quarter after Latin had pulled ahead 24-7.
The Cougars’ (4-3) only score to that point had come from their defense — a 4-yard interception return by Kaden Williams off a deflected pass in the second quarter that cut Latin’s lead to 10-7.
However, after the Hawks pulled ahead by two touchdowns, Cannon quarterback Lucas Lopez hit Marcus Sales on a 12-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter. After the Cougars recovered an onside kick, they marched downfield again to set up Brady Shier’s 32-yard field goal to cut Latin’s lead to 24-17.
But the Hawks responded with a pair of touchdowns over a 22-second span to put things away — Douglas’ breakaway run, followed by a sack/fumble recovery: Matthew Flynn forced the fumble and Matthew Barber returned it 16 yards for a score.
“When you play a game like this against a good opponent, you can’t turn the ball over like that,” Birch said. “When you get in the red zone, you’ve got to score. … It’s like one of those nights where you feel like everything’s not going your way.”
Three who made a difference
De’jon Douglas, Charlotte Latin – Rushed for 135 yards on a season-high 21 carries for the Hawks, his sixth 100-yard game this season. The three TDs also tied his season high.
Lucas Lopez, Cannon School – The Cougars’ sophomore quarterback threw for 176 of his game-best 204 yards in the second half to spur Cannon’s rally. Sales finished with eight catches for 116 yards, and Neil Gingles added six catches for 78 yards.
Charlotte Latin’s defense – The Hawks’ D not only came up with the game-sealing points, they constantly harassed Lopez, sacking him five times.
Observations
Charlotte Latin is now 5-0 all-time against Cannon School, and 3-0 since Dayton became the Hawks’ head coach in 2023.
Up next
Both teams start play in their respective N.C. Independent School Athletic Association leagues next Friday. Charlotte Latin plays at Sweet 16 No. 1 Providence Day in the teams’ Big South Conference opener, while Cannon School travels to Indian Trail to play Metrolina Christian Academy in their Western Conference opener.
SCORING SUMMARY
CANNON SCHOOL 0 7 0 10 – 17
CHARLOTTE LATIN 10 7 7 14 – 38
First Quarter
CL — Louis Markin 32 FG, 4:13.
CL — De’jon Douglas 5 run (Markin kick), 3:16.
Second Quarter
CC — Kaden Williams 4 interception return (Brady Shier kick), 8:36.
CL — Anthony McGill 21 pass from Troy Logan (Markin kick), 0:12.7.
Third Quarter
CL — Douglas 3 run (Jack Lilly kick), 4:45.
Fourth Quarter
CC — Marcus Sales 12 pass from Lucas Lopez (Shier kick), 9:42.
CC — Shier 32 FG, 7:33.
CL — Douglas 48 run (Markin kick), 5:38.
CL — Matthew Flynn 16 fumble return (Lilly kick), 5:16.
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM.