Palisades gets big night from QB Cole Hough, holds off South Meck in NCHSAA playoffs
Palisades High School won the second N.C. football playoff game in school history Friday, taking down South Mecklenburg, 35-32, in a game played at Waddell High School.
The game was played at Waddell because South Mecklenburg’s campus is undergoing renovations. Palisades needed a late close-out drive to hold on and move on to a second-round matchup at top-seeded Hough next Friday.
Ahead 35-16 with two minutes left in the third quarter, South Meck made a huge rally to put pressure on the Pumas.
After a 42-yard field goal from kicker Mac Nalls, the Sabres got a 14-yard scoring pass from Carter Gillis to Callaway Williams — and after two straight incomplete passes and a quarterback on Palisades’ next possession — Williams returned a punt 45 yards for a score.
So in about eight minutes of playing time, South Meck trimmed the lead to three, 35-32. After Williams’ score, Palisades got four first downs to close out the game.
The big play was the second one when Hough hit Jolani Legette for a 12-yard completion on third-and-11.
“This was kind of reminiscent of Providence for a second but we were able to break through,” Palisades coach Jonathan Simmons said, referring to a 34-28 overtime loss after the Pumas led 28-7 in the fourth quarter that determined the Southwestern Conference title.
Palisades got off to a hot start on the neutral field. The Pumas opened with a 59-yard touchdown pass from QB Cole Hough to Legette.
It was the first of four touchdown passes for the Palisades QB.
After that first TD pass, the Sabres fumbled the kickoff and Palisades got the ball back and scored on Lincoln Wise’s 3-yard run just 1:21 later for a 14-0 lead with 9:23 left in the first quarter.
South Mecklenburg fought back to 21-16, sandwiching a touchdown pass and a touchdown catch from Callaway Williams around a 25-yard field goal from Mac Nalls.
But Hough threw his third touchdown pass of the first half, hitting Hudson Nolden with a 69-yarder to push the Palisades lead to 28-16. And Hough had a fourth in the third quarter to push the lead to 35-16.
Then South Meck came roaring back.
Three who made a difference
Cole Hough, Palisades: Junior quarterback completed 15 of 22 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns while directing a 331-yard offensive attack.
Lincoln Wise, Palisades: Rushed 17 times for 87 yards and one touchdown. His 5-yard run in the closing seconds closed out the win.
Callaway Williams, South Meck: He accounted for all four Sabres touchdowns; He caught two TD passes, completed a 3-yard TD pass and returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown.
Notable
— The schools were formerly conference mates in the old South Meck 4A conference. Palisades won 18-14 in 2024 after South Meck won the first two meetings 35-0 and 14-6 after Palisades opened in 2022.
— The playoff win was Palisades’ second in three postseason games. South Meck dropped to 18-15-1 in its playoff history that includes the 1966 Western N.C. state champion (when the state declared regional champions), a 1967 4A runner-up and 1981 unbeaten state champion.
— South Meck senior quarterback Carter Gillis directed a 292-yard offensive attack with 123 yards passing and two touchdowns and 33 yards rushing.
They said it
“Cole Hough was there last year, Nick Rankin started his high school career and Noah Bolden did too. So those kids were familiar with their kids and went to middle school with them and grew up with them. They had their own added little incentive, but we wanted to focus on team — and we did that.” - Palisades coach Jonathan Simmons on three of his players who had previously played for South Meck.
Game summary
Palisades 14 14 7 0 — 35
South Mecklenburg 7 9 3 13 — 32
First quarter
P: Jolani Legette 59 pass from Cole Hough (Ben Vergara kick)
P: Lincoln Wise 3 run (Vergara kick)
SM: Callaway Williams 39 pass from Carter Gillis (Mac Nalls kick)
P: Hudson Nolden 68 pass from Hough (Vergara kick)
Second quarter
SM: FG Nalls 25
SM: Brody Evans 3 pass from Callaway Williams (kick failed)
P: TJ Valentine 69 pass from Hough (Vergara kick)
Third quarter
P: Valentine 2 pass from Hough (Vergara kick)
Fourth quarter
SM: FG Nalls 42
SM: Williams 14 pass from GIllis (run failed)
SM: Williams 45 punt return (Nalls kick)
This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 9:37 PM.
