Catawba Ridge’s #11 Quinten Jackson fights off the tackle from Lancaster’s #19 Colby Small. Catawba Ridge got their second straight win. Photos by Jeff Sochko

By David Thackham

Correspondent

If Catawba Ridge freshman quarterback Jadyn Davis seemed comfortable throwing a 37-yard touchdown to wide receiver Quinten Jackson on Catawba Ridge’s first offensive play of the game against the Lancaster Bruins Friday night, it’s because he’s practiced that play all week long.

“We ran that play literally all week,” Davis said, smiling. “Coach told me on Monday, it would be the first play of the game. The defender hit the curl, and I knew if I hit Quin over the top and gave him a chance to get the ball, he’d get it.”

Davis, who was 10-of-11 for 231 yards, threw four passing touchdowns, defensive end RJ Lincoln completed a 40-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery, and even backup quarterback Kayden Hager scored on a quarterback sneak as the Copperheads (2-1, 2-1 Region 3-4A) earned their second win in a row with a 41-0 shutout of the Lancaster at The Pit in Fort Mill.

Catawba Ridge has already equaled last year’s win total in the program’s second year of existence. The Copperheads will finish region play with a road game next week at Indian Land.

Catawba Ridge scored touchdowns on five of its six offensive drives in the one-sided rout.

The Copperheads opened the scoring on their first offensive play. Following an awkward Lancaster punt that gave Catawba Ridge a start on the Bruins’ 37-yard line, Davis lofted a perfectly-placed pass to Jackson, who caught four passes for 68 yards, in the left side of the end zone.

And when Catawba Ridge regained possession about 11 minutes later, Davis found Jacobie Henderson, who caught three passes for 118 yards, for a 68-yard strike where Henderson was easily able to outstrip his defenders.

“I loved the way that the boys responded after last week,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Zac Lendyak. “A big focus was to be more efficient offensively, and the boys reacted well to what we did in practice. We finally got clicking on offense.”

It only took Davis six plays in the second half to find Ben Hudgins from 18 yards out to make it 20-0.

Lincoln secured one of the plays of the night on defense when he recovered a Lancaster fumble on a botched Bruins play midway through the third quarter. Lincoln took the ball back the other way 40-yards after Catawba Ridge’s defensive line disrupted quarterback Sean Truesdale’s handoff.

The best play of the game came at the very end of the third quarter. Davis drove the Copperheads down to Lancaster’s 42-yard line to make the final play of the quarter. He found Henderson as a check-off, unguarded near the far sideline, and Henderson was able to maze his way from one side of the field to the other before finally reaching the end zone, leaving several Bruins defenders in his wake.

“I looked and I saw it was an open space, I hit it and started running,” said Henderson after the game. “I told someone, if I see something, I’m gonna go.”

Lancaster’s best shot at scoring came in the fourth quarter. Truesdale, who went 8-for-18 for 103-yards, singlehandedly threw or ran the Bruins from their own 16-yard line to the Catawba Ridge 19. But he was picked off in the endzone by the Copperheads’ Jaxen Anciso on fourth and 19 with about five minutes left to play.

By that time, backup quarterback Kayden Hager had taken over from Davis under center. After driving to Lancaster’s 25-yard line, Hager called his own number and faked a handoff before doing a spin move and booking it to the left side of the end zone to complete the rout.

TyQuan Bowser led the Bruins (0-2) with 16 carries for 45 yards and Juelz Hood had 30 rushing yards. JaRon Stevenson tallied three catches for 44 yards, while Ziahir Moffatt had 41 receiving yards.

Lancaster will enjoy a bye week before hosting York Comprehensive High School at home Oct. 23.

Henderson said the team is feeling great and turning heads. He said the team was doubted last year in the program’s first year. Now, he said, more people are paying attention.

“To get a win, it gives us some confidence. We play hard, we’ve got a good mindset.”

 Catawba Ridge 41, Lancaster 0

Scoring summary

First quarter

CR – 37-yard passing from Jadyn Davis to Quinten Jackson, 9:54

Second quarter

CR – 68-yard passing from Davis to Jacobie Henderson, 10:17

Third quarter

CR – 18-yard passing from Davis to Ben Hudgins, 9:45

CR – 40-yard recovered fumble for by RJ Lincoln, 6:45

CR – 42-yard passing from Davis to Henderson, 0.0 seconds

Fourth quarter

CR – 25-yard rushing by Kayden Hager, 2:34

Catawba Ridge quarterback #1 Kayden Hager scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter as Catawba Ridge routes Lancaster 41-0 in Friday night varsity football.