High school football roundup: Berry, Mooresville, Olympic among Week 1 winners

Berry High School won its season-opener on the road, beating East Mecklenburg 10-6.

The Cardinal, who were 2-7 last season, ran back to their postgame huddle in celebration after the postgame handshake.

Berry coach Darius Robinson got a win in his first game as the Cardinals snapped a seven-game losing streak. Berry beat East Meck 32-24 and then Garinger 53-0, on Aug. 25, 2023. They then lost seven straight to finish the ‘23 season.

No. 5 Northwestern 45, No. 6 Hough 44: Hough jumped out to a 44-24 lead behind quarterback Trey Blakeney, but Northwestern rallied in the second half, converting two turnovers into touchdowns and finally getting the lead late in the fourth, when Kameron Vance scored the winner, catching a pass from Finley Folk. The Trojans sealed the win by stopping Hough on fourth-and-15 at the 45 with 2:21 remaining.

Northwestern won despite being outgained 558-394. Hough, however, had 13 penalties for 100 yards, was 3 for 5 on point-after attempts and fumbled three times, losing two.

Blakeney was 12 of 28 for 400 yards and four touchdowns. Receivers Sean Brady (six catches, 212 yards, three touchdowns) and Tyran Evans (four catches, 175 yards, two touchdowns) both had monster nights. Evans caught a scoring pass from Ethan Royal.

Northwestern’s Finley Polk was 27 of 37 for 253 yards and four touchdowns and running back Z Gordon-Miles ran 24 times for 116 yards and a score. Vance, who caught the winner, had 13 catches for 130 yards and two scores. Teammate Jayden Nichols had 11 catches for 113 yards and a score.

Ardrey Kell 30, Providence 18: The Knights jumped out to a 20-point lead before Providence got some momentum in the second half from quarterback Jackson Bebe. But the Knights — who beat Providence 10-7 last season — won again.

Cannon School 17, Christ the King 12: Cannon (1-1) built a 17-0 lead, then held off a rally by the Crusaders (0-1). Christ the King drove to the Cougars’ 25 late in the game but couldn’t score.

Charlotte Latin 28, Mitchell County 14: Hudson Shoup and Banks Cutter caught touchdown passes, Carson Clutter ran for a score, and Gavin Provencher scored the final touchdown for the visiting Hawks (2-0) on a 10-yard interception return.

Corvian Community 47, Harding 8: A.J. Jackson ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more, leading the host Cardinals (1-0) to an easy victory.

High Point Christian 48, SouthLake Christian 6: Tyler Eley threw three touchdown passes in leading High Point Christian (2-0) to a lopsided Big 6 Conference victory. SouthLake Christian is 1-1.

Lake Norman Charter 48, West Columbus 8: The Knights (1-0) returned a fumble and an interception for first-half touchdowns, building a 34-0 halftime lead, as they trounced a team that reached the 1A state finals a year ago.

Olympic 21, West Mecklenburg 20: Olympic (1-0) rallied from a 20-7 deficit and scored on a 9-yard pass from Chance Cato to Alex Wiley with six minutes left to tie the game. The conversion kick gave the Trojans their winning point in the Air Traffic Classic.

Porter Ridge 45, Rocky River 7: The Pirates (1-0) had only four returning starters, but they look like a powerhouse again. Ziggy Harris scored three first-half touchdowns, including a 78-yard punt return, as Porter Ridge built a 38-0 halftime lead and cruised.

West Charlotte 36, Palisades 6: KD Cotton scored three touchdowns for the Lions: one catch for 40 yards, a short run and a short two-point conversions. Cotton also scored on a buck sweep.

OTHER GAMES

A.L. Brown 28, West Rowan 26: Brown (1-0) raced to a 21-0 lead, but the Falcons (0-1) scored 26 straight points and led in the fourth quarter. The Wonders rallied for the winning points when C.J. Gray scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with eight minutes left. West Rowan drove to the Brown 8 in the closing seconds, but the Wonders blocked a potential game-winning field goal.

Cherryville 20, Avery County 18: Cherryville got scoring runs from Ray Sewell and Andron Patterson and took a 20-0 lead at halftime. The Ironmen also a big gmae from Enijahe Whitworth, a sophomore who returned the opening kickoff to the Avery County 2. He also intercepted a pass in the end zone and later returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown.

Concord 37, Piedmont 7: Alex Petroff ran for two touchdowns, and Ty Rushmyer scored on a fumble return for the Spiders (1-0).

Jay M. Robinson 40, Hickory Ridge 6: The Bulldogs (1-0) raced to a 28-0 halftime lead. Jon Bissonnette ran for a touchdown and passed for another, and L.J. Watson ran for two scores. Hickory Ridge (0-1) scored on a Nathan Futch touchdown pass..

Mooresville 66, Davie County 20: The Blue Devils, No. 16 in The Observer’s Sweet 16, led 52-0 at halftime behind four touchdown passes and one rushing from QB Brody Norman, the reigning Greater Metro 4A offensive player of the year.

Monroe 32, Central Davidson 7: Nymir Kendall scored on runs of 14, 2, 3 and 78 yards, and the Redhawks (1-0) scored an easy road victory. Keegan Chambers fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Young for Monroe’s other score.

Mountain Island Charter 55, Cabarrus Stallions 6: Grayson Harvey threw seven touchdown passes, four of them to Justice Washington, and the host Pride (1-0) rolled to a big victory. Harvey finished 21 of 25 for 419 yards. Washington had nine catches for 208 yards and four scores.

North Lincoln 27, West Lincoln 14: Shannon Wingate’s 20-yard touchdown run with three minutes left clinched the victory for the Knights (1-0). Wingate also ran for a first-quarter touchdown. Standout running back Jaylin Winnex ran for a West Lincoln (0-1) score.

Statesville 36, Alexander Central 21: Statesville scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure the win on the road. Ethan Feet threw for 129 yards and a score for Statesville, and running backs Davion Summers and Allen Jones combined for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Wade Queen threw for 126 yards for Alexander Central.

West Cabarrus 28, Northwest Cabarrus 21: The Wolverines (1-0) scored an upset over 3A power Northwest Cabarrus (0-1), breaking a 14-14 halftime tie with a Carson Street touchdown pass and a short scoring run by Cesidio Castrione.