When an athlete commits to play football for the Charlotte 49ers, it’s partly because of sold-out home games like this Saturday.
With East Carolina (3-2, 1-0 AAC) trekking roughly four hours down I-85 to the Queen City, the matchup between these two in-state conference foes is set to feature a standing-room-only crowd for a nationally televised 3:30 PM kickoff on ESPNU .
Ahead of what athletic director Mike Hill considers Charlotte’s hottest ticket in program history, second-year edge rusher Lacota Dippre said he hasn’t been able to sleep this week in anticipation.
“Man, it’s tough to sleep at night. Energy is going, and you’re excited and you just end up staring at your ceiling all night,” Dippre said. “It’s going to be standing room only. It’s going to be the most electrifying game that I’ve been a part of.”
The second installment of the budding “rivalry” features two teams aiming for 2-0 starts in American Athletic Conference play — a much different, higher stake contest than last October’s inaugural matchup.
Unknowing of the ongoing animosity between the two school’s fan bases, Charlotte head coach Biff Poggi, who was hesitant to name the in-state matchup a rivalry before a 10-7 win against the Pirates at homecoming in Greenville a season ago, is coming around to the idea.
And Poggi knows how big Saturday’s game is, where a third consecutive sold-out venue is expected at Richardson Stadium.
“Both schools want to make it a rivalry in football, which makes a lot of sense because we’re in the same state and conference. But I didn’t know the feelings were anywhere as near as strong as they are on both sides,” Poggi said. “It’s pretty intense, I think.”
The first matchup was chippy on Charlotte’s end, with the 49ers picking up multiple personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. With a familiar face for both teams thrown into the fold, Saturday evening is stacking up to be another fiery matchup.
O’Mega Blake’s ‘pit stop’
Following his career-best performance against Rice , reeling in five catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns, Charlotte wideout O’Mega Blake’s encore performance comes against a familiar foe.
Starting his career at South Carolina under Shane Beamer, and spending three seasons with Carolina Panthers’ wideout Xavier Leggette , Blake hit the transfer portal in December of 2023, electing to stay close to home in the Carolinas. The 6-foot-2 wideout landed with East Carolina under Mike Houston, spending the spring session practicing with the second-team offense in purple and gold.
It wasn’t an extended stay, but more of a pit stop, according to Blake.
“Honestly man, I’m not going to say too much, but Charlotte was a good option for me,” Blake told The Observer ahead of the season. “That was the original plan, just to come to Charlotte, but I believe they were full at the moment, so I had to make a pit stop and wait until something freed up. It’s definitely home here.”
With a matchup against his former team just days away, Blake is treating Saturday like any other game.
“Nameless, faceless opponent. They’re just the next team that’s up,” Blake told the media on Tuesday.
Blake’s three-month tenure with the Pirates was undoubtedly short, but still much longer than Houston’s “stint” as the Charlotte 49ers’ head coach in 2018.
Mike Houston’s return, sort of
Rewinding five years and two separate regimes at Charlotte, Houston was nearly the 49ers’ second head coach in program history after Brad Lambert’s tenure concluded in 2018.
With Lambert being notified of his termination in the 2018 midseason, Mike Hill extended an offer to then-James Madison head coach Houston during the Dukes’ FCS playoff run, that November.
Two days after the offer was made, as news was spread that Houston would accept the role as Charlotte’s next head coach, Hill rescinded the offer and released a statement , noting Houston’s interest in other programs.
“Normally, I would not comment on an ongoing search. However, in light of recent public comments, I feel it’s important to update our supporters on the status of our interest in Mike Houston. This morning, we withdrew a contract offer that had been negotiated in good faith with coach Houston and his representatives,” Hill said in 2018. “This was based on the fact that last evening, Coach Houston informed us that he had interest in exploring other head coaching opportunities, while remaining under consideration here. We feel great about our candidate pool and believe this institution, our students, fans and team deserve a head coach that is 100% committed to the Charlotte 49ers.”
Just five days later, Houston accepted the East Carolina job, where he’s gone 27-36 over six seasons. Charlotte went on to hire Will Healy from FCS Austin Peay in early December.
Saturday, Houston’s Pirates will make their first appearance in the Queen City, where a raucous crowd awaits, according to Poggi.
‘Hottest football ticket’ for 49ers
Pending a stadium expansion , the interest in Charlotte’s football program has reached new heights this season. Charlotte’s stadium has exceeded capacity in consecutive sellouts, ranking in the top 10 in the nation in percentage occupancy at 105.55%, and Saturday should only add to that.
“It’s the hottest football ticket we’ve ever had,” Hill told The Observer. “With the rivalry and both teams winning their league openers, it’s going to be absolutely electric on Saturday and I know our fans are going to bring it.”
And despite voicing displeasure with the 49ers’ fans on multiple occasions , Poggi and the 49ers expect a huge home advantage as the sun sets over Richardson Stadium.
“I think it will be absolutely raucous and totally nuts, which I love. Our stadium is packed. We went to Rice, and you all saw that. I’d rather play in a packed stadium of 20,000, than a 100,000-seat stadium with 10,000 people in it,” Poggi said. “We have a home advantage playing here with our fans, and our kids love to play in front of them. I expect it to be absolutely wild, and I hope not to see much purple either.”
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