Late rally lifts Ardrey Kell past Weddington 30-27

Ardrey Kell methodically dug itself out of an early hole Friday night and rallied for a 30-27 victory over visiting Weddington in a game decided on a 33-yard Jarrett Wright field goal with 12 seconds left in the game.

Wright’s decisive kick capped a drive that started at the Knights’ 30-yard line with 3 minutes, 50 seconds remaining.

The big play in the drive was a 32-yard run by Merrick Haston, who shredded the Weddington defense with several big second-half runs. After missing on a pair of passes into the end zone, Ardrey Kell settled for Wright’s field goal.

The visiting Warriors had built a 14-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes on a 65-yard touchdown dash by running back Wil Brunson and a 9-yard run by quarterback David Bayha.

But Ardrey Kell battled back, scoring three touchdowns on passes from Luke Hafferly, in his first varsity start at quarterback, to Cade McDonald. Hafferly also threw a touchdown pass to Jaylen Erwin.

Quote: “We’ve got a group of resilient kids. When Weddington got up, I never thought for one minute that we wouldn’t come back.” – Ardrey Kell coach Joe Evans.

Records: Ardrey Kell is 1-0 overall; Weddington is 0-1 overall.

Worth mentioning: Weddington kicker Matt Peterson kicked field goals of 39 and 48 yards. The second kick, in the fourth quarter, hit the crossbar and bounced over … Weddington’s Wil Brunson rushed for more than 100 yards and had several big plays on defense … Each team was whistled for more than 100 yards in penalties.

What's Next: Weddington is home next Friday against Forest Hills; Ardrey Kell travels next Friday to Myers Park.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 10:42 PM with the headline "Late rally lifts Ardrey Kell past Weddington 30-27."