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After a wild week among the NCISAA top ten, Charlotte Latin has become the team to watch in the private school ranks, and tomorrow night all eyes will be on Patten Stadium as the #2 Hawks welcome #3 Christ School for a pivotal Big South matchup.
The Hawks are coming off their first victory over Charlotte Christian since the 2016 NCISAA D1 championship game. For head football coach Justin Hardin, his Hawks are on a roll with blowout victories over Hickory and Forest Hills of the NCHSAA, and quality wins over Metrolina Christian and Legion Collegiate of the NCISAA.
The Hawks were led on both sides of the ball last week by Daniel Haughton, who returned a punt 90-yards for a touchdown, caught eight passes for 82 yards and a score, and had ten tackles on defense, two of which were for a loss. Getting Haughton the ball is the junior quarterback, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound Justin Wheeler, who is also having a great season.
Through five games, Wheeler is 73-127 for 1256 yards and 11 touchdowns with only two interceptions. The Hawks’ defense has been just as impressive as their offense, holding opponents to 9.6 points per game through the first five games.
Oh by the way, the Hawks leading tackler is the superstar Haughton, who has 45 so far. Aaron Logan, a junior linebacker is second in tackles with 36, 6.5 of which are for a loss.
Christ School comes into Friday’s contest after its first win on the season against Providence Day. The Greenies have played a very tough schedule so far and come in looking to build on last week’s win.
A.J. Simpkins looks to keep the passing attack on the upswing, so far this season he is 34-64 for 528 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Zack Myers, a sophomore wide receiver is Simpkins’ favorite target; he has reeled in 12 catches for 240 yards and two scores.
Another huge Big South game will take place in Charlotte as the #4 Charlotte Christian Knights host #1 Rabun Gap Nacoochee. The Knights, who are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Hawks do not get any breaks from the schedule makers as they welcome in the powerful Eagles.
Junior running back Kyron Jones leads the ground attack for the Knights with 40 rushes for 389 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore Micah Gilbert, a 6-foot-3 180-pound wide receiver leads the air attack with 22 receptions for 232 yds. Senior defensive tackle Hudson Jones spearheads the defense with 26 tackles, three of which are for a loss, and he adds a quarterback sack.
Rabun Gap Nacoochee, who has committed players on their roster for Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, and Vanderbilt in the class of 2022, are led offensively by Hokies commit Tucker Holloway, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound wide receiver. Holloway has pulled in 16 receptions for 313 yds and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Aiden Semo, who is being recruited by Wisconsin, amongst other Power-5 programs has 637 passing on 40 completions for seven touchdowns and two picks. Vanderbilt commit Darren Agu, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound defensive end leads the Eagles defense with 30 tackles, ten for a loss, and nine quarterback sacks.
Arrive early because this game could be a barnburner.
Stepping out of conference, #6 Harrells Christian will travel west to face #7 Cabarrus Warriors. After a 42-7 lopsided victory over unbeaten North Raleigh Christian last week, Harrells Christian will face off in its biggest test so far, against the fellow undefeated Warriors.
All-State running back Devin Gardner leads the double-wing attack for the Crusaders with 1,019 yds rushing on just 91 carries with 12 touchdowns, he is averaging over 11 yards per rushing attempt.
A young Warriors team is led offensively by sophomore quarterback Tyler Green who is 57-97 for 934 yds with 12 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Sophomore Will Jones heads the rushing attack with 511 yards on 61 carries and 9 touchdowns.
Senior linebacker Josh Reid leads the Warriors on the defensive side with 38 tackles, eight for a loss, and two sacks. Harrells, who is averaging 38 points per game will face their stiffest defensive test so far against the Warriors.
#1 Parrott Academy will host #2 Faith Christian at Hodges field in Kinston Friday night. This highly anticipated 8-Man matchup will start to help get playoff seeding in order. Parrott, who has coasted to a 5-0 start with a high-powered offense will get its first huge test defensively with Faith’s senior Deanthony Joyner, who has rushed 50 times for 744 yds and nine touchdowns, but the versatile running back also has four receptions for 69 yds and 2 scores.
Parrott’s defense has allowed 24 points per game, so this could be a real shoot-out, and with 1st place on the line in the Big 8 conference, I expect a very entertaining and hard-fought performance from both teams.
Other Games:
8-Man
#6 Grace Christian at #5 Cary Christian*
#3 John Paul II at #4 Rocky Mount Academy*
#9 Bethel Christian at #7 Wayne Christian*
Lawrence Academy at Pungo Christian*
Community Christian at Northeast Academy*
11-Man
Wake Christian at Lakewood
Trinity Christian at Metrolina Christian
Southlake Christian at Hickory Grove Christian
#8 High Point Christian at #9 Ravenscroft
Covenant Day at North Raleigh Christian
Cabarrus Home School at Asheville Christian
Charlotte Country Day at #5 Providence Day*
*Conference Game
Follow Brad Matthews on Twitter @CoachBJMJP2
