No. 1 Providence Day, shows a little rust, but rolls past Trinity Christian in opener

Providence Day’s nationally ranked high school football team was missing two starters during Friday’s 55-8 season-opening win over Fayetteville’s Trinity Christian, and the Chargers weren’t exactly sharp, but there were moments when they showed their fans what they might become:

▪ Junior QB Zaid Lott, who sat behind two-time N.C. Mr. Football Jadyn Davis for two years, looked pretty sharp. He had at least five passes dropped and two of them likely would’ve been touchdowns. But Lott has a really big arm, good accuracy and nice field awareness.

Lott accounted for six touchdowns Friday.

“I waited three years for it,” Lott said of getting the starting job. “It was more just like a blessing. I knew it was God’s plan. I knew it was meant for me and I just took it.”

▪ Providence Day’s star-studded offensive line mostly kept Lott clean, and he threw the ball to nine different receivers — in the first half.

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▪ Chargers’ sophomore Caleb Cooper started at running back for preseason first team All-Observer pick Ian Cline (ankle), who did get some work as a holder on kicks. Cooper made a really nice run on fourth down to break a tackle in the first half and proved Providence Day has depth at the position behind Cline, coming off a 1,000-yard season.

▪ And the Providence Day defense, retooling a little bit, looked awful scary when All-Americans David Sanders and Kendre Harrison lined up together. The Chargers didn’t do a lot of that, likely not wanting to give too much away to Weddington High, the reigning N.C. public school 4A champ, which the Chargers play on Thursday at Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte. But Sanders and Harrison both got some quarterback pressures and a sack each in the first half.

Overall, Providence Day, also playing without preseason All-Observer defensive back Braxton Winston, looked like a team that hadn’t had a scrimmage game.

The Chargers turned the ball over twice in their first seven plays, once near the Trinity Christian goal line, but the ease with which they could move the ball up and down the field was stunning.

“We had a lot of mistakes throughout,” Providence Day coach Chad Grier said. “We made some plays, obviously. There were some good things that happened. We’ve got a lot to clean up. A lot of correctable things. It wasn’t like it was fundamental breakdowns. We left a lot of points on the field. Some of it is game shape is different. We played a lot of guys into the fourth quarter that we normally would not have, but we need to play them into shape. To (Trinity Christian’s) credit, those guys never quit. They competed. They’ve got some guys to play.”

Three who made a difference

Zaid Lott, Providence Day: Already committed to North Carolina, Lott had an impressive season debut. He completed 21-of-30 passes for 437 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran for a score.

Gordan Sellars, Providence Day: Sellars will likely be Lott’s top target this season, replacing Jordan Shipp, who’s now at North Carolina and the best receiver in school history. Sellars caught a pretty catch-and-go slant for a touchdown and looked electric every time he touched it. He’s a national recruit in the junior class and looked like it.

Elijiah Oehlke, Trinity Christian: The senior quarterback has committed to Wake Forest and he proved to be slick and elusive with a big arm to boot. He finished 14-of-26 passes for 234 yards. He ran 20 times for 80 yards and a score. Outside of Oehlke, however, Trinity Christian had 19 yards total offense.

Notable

▪ Providence Day defensive lineman Griff Galloway, 6-4 and 240 pounds, was named to the MaxPreps sophomore All-American team. Galloway had 60 tackles, nine for a loss and 8.5 sacks as a freshman. He was the only N.C. player selected to the sophomore team. Friday, Galloway had a strip sack in the fourth quarter that was recovered by Justin Abanquah.

▪ Providence Day’s Kendre Harrison and offensive lineman Leo Delaney were named to the MaxPreps’ junior All-American team this week. They were joined by Greensboro Grimsley QB Faizon Brandon, who has been ranked as high as the No. 1 player nationally in the junior class.

▪ Harrison, who transferred from N.C. 2A public school champ Reidsville, had a good debut.

Harrison finished with a sack on defense to go with five catches for 101 yards. He caught a pass in the first half deep on Providence Day’s side of the field and pulled away from a collective of smaller, fast defensive backs from Trinity Christian before he was caught on an angled tackle. He and Lott also hooked up for a 10-yard jump ball that Harrison caught with soft hands. The guess here? Providence Day will run that play a lot this season.

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They said it

“Zaid had a really good first start. That rushing touchdown was impressive. We had a misfire in the backfield and he didn’t just stand there. He was tough and physical. Most impressively, he saw things at an advanced level. That’s why he’s committed to UNC. It’s not just throwing to one guy or throwing deep balls. He went through a progression and saw what the the defense gave to him. And he went to that three or four times in a very special way.” — Providence Day coach Grier

GAME SUMMARY

Trinity Christian 0 8 0 0 — 8

Providence Day 14 13 14 — 55

FIRST QUARTER

PD: Jaylen Himes 26 pass from Zaid Lott (Davis Dudley kick)

PD: Brendan Ravin 22 interception return (Jacob Baggett kick)

SECOND QUARTER

PD: Kendre Harrison 10 pass from Zaid Lott (Dudley kick)

PD: FG Dudley 31

TC: Elijiah Oehlke 20 run (Karlfonza McLean-Smith pass from Oehlke)

PD: FG Dudley 28

THIRD QUARTER

PD: Gordon Sellars 18 pass from Lott (Baggett kick)

PD: Ravin 17 pass from Lott (Dudley kick)

FOURTH QUARTER

PD: Max Cassell 53 pass from Lott (Dudley kick)

PD: Lott 1 run (Baggett kick)

PHOTOS: Trinity Christian at Providence Day