After a second-round playoff appearance last season, the Catawba Ridge Copperheads have reclassified and have dropped down to 4A, but the goal is still the same for the program – keep moving forward.
Catawba Ridge finished 6-6 last year and lost to Northwestern in the second round of the playoffs. They will now take on a 4A schedule, but that won’t be any easier in a new realigned conference. For example, Catawba Ridge trades region foe Northwestern for a similar strong region foe in South Pointe.
The Copperheads will be young this season with just a dozen seniors to lean on for experience. They have come to a decision regarding their quarterback to start the season.
“The summer has been fantastic,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Zac Lendyak. “Will Gambrill will be our starting quarterback and we are excited about it. He stepped in last year during the playoffs and did great, so we are excited to see what he can do for us this year.”
Lendyak said the team is young on both sides of the ball and it allows them to mold their younger players early on.
“We worked really hard installing the offense and the defense looks really good,” Lendyak said. “They are learning from scratch, so that will be helpful.”
Dropping back to 4A could be beneficial to a young Copperheads team. Lendyak added that most of the Region 3-4A schedule are teams that they are used to seeing like Clover, Nation Ford, and Indian Land.
“Last two years we played 5A football with a 4A classification with actual population,” Lendyak said. “We play teams closer to our size so it’s a good thing. A lot of the region is the same as last year so we know what we have instore. It’s a tough region for sure.”
Catawba Ridge will have non-region home games against Blythewood and Westwood. They will travel to Fort Mill and Boiling Springs. The Copperheads will open Region 3-4A play at Indian Land and then will host York, Nation Ford, and South Pointe. They will travel to Lake Wylie and finish the regular season at Clover.
Lendyak isn’t getting too high about the season, and said he is looking to keep the team moving forward.
“Everybody is excited about what they have now,” he said. “If we come out and play Catawba Ridge football, I like our chances. We have a ton of work to do, but we have a tough schedule so we are just going to show up every Friday ready to work.”
Catawba Ridge will start things off this season at home hosting Blythewood on Friday, Aug. 21. Before then they will finish their pre-season games hosting a Battle of the Border Jamboree at the school on Friday, Aug. 14. The event will also feature Nation Ford along with three North Carolina teams as the two states are pitted against each other with scrimmages starting at 7 p.m. The Copperheads are scheduled to play Marvin Ridge at 9 p.m.
2026 Catawba Ridge football schedule (*= region games)
Aug. 21 vs. Blythewood
Aug. 28 at Fort Mill
Sept. 4 at Boiling Springs
Sept. 11 vs Westwood
Sept. 18 at Indian Land*
Sept. 25 Bye
Oct. 2 vs. York*
Oct. 9 vs. Nation Ford*
Oct. 16 vs. South Pointe*
Oct. 23 at Lake Wylie*
Oct. 30 at Clover*
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
