Catawba Ridge head football coach Zac Lendyak said a combination of injuries and turnovers just after the break were among the obstacles Copperheads faced during the 34-13 non-region loss to Charlotte Christian Friday night at The Pit.
Despite leading by 10 at halftime, Catawba Ridge’s defense couldn’t keep up with the visitors in the second half. The Knights scored 31 unanswered second-half points, including a 24-point third quarter that included three touchdowns in the space of 40 unlucky seconds.
In one particularly unlucky stretch, Charlotte Christian cut the lead to three with a 7-play, 61-yard drive to open the second half, then took the lead by forcing fumbles on the ensuing two Catawba Ridge possessions.
With the win, Charlotte Christian (2-0) handed Catawba Ridge (1-1) its first loss of the 2023 season.
“The first six minutes got us,” Lendyak said. “Two turnovers inside the red zone, they’re gonna score with the talent they have. Up 13-3 at halftime, we couldn’t hold on to that. It was a war of attrition. They answered the bell, and the mistakes really hurt us.”
Lendyak said three of his five offensive linemen went down with injuries at some point during the game. Catawba Ridge also played without its top two cornerbacks Sheldon Crawford and Jordan Gilliam due to injuries. But Lendyak said those were no excuses for his team’s performance.
Catawba Ridge was unable to capitalize on two key scoring opportunities in the first half, settling for field goals.
After trading a pair of three-and-outs, the Copperheads opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when senior running back Ira Mister, who had 23 carries for 123 yards, burst into the end zone from 5 yards out to close out a 64-yard, 8-play drive that included a DJ Latimer 49-yard bomb to wide receiver Jackson Burger.
Two drives later, Latimer took over on his team’s own 22-yard line. Following three straight runs by Mister, Latimer tried to find Darius Sutton, who had three catches for 51 yards, in the end zone, but the wide receiver couldn’t corral in the pass.
Still, Mister and Brayden Wasik worked to bring the Copperheads as far as the Knights’ 6-yard line. But Latimer and Mister were dropped for losses inside the 10 before Latimer threw an incompletion, forcing Gifford to take and convert a 24-yard field goal.
Charlotte Christian made better headway into Catawba Ridge’s half in the second quarter. Quarterback Parker Burke strung together a couple passes to bring the Knights to the Catawba Ridge 15. But with first and 10 on the Copperheads’ 22, Rasean Marajah picked off Burke through the middle and rumbled his way more than 30 yards back the other way.
Taking over on his own 48, Latimer scurried down the sideline for a 25-yard keeper before Mister had a 16-yard run of his own to put the Copperheads just eight yards away from the end zone. But Mister was stymied at the line before Latimer was sacked for a loss, setting Gifford up for a 38-yard field goal.
A strong kick return set Charlotte Christian up at the Catawba Ridge 44 with 1:06 left in the first half. Quarterback Owen Farrell found Micah Gilbert open for a 38-yard catch.
Catawba Ridge’s Eric Johnson then sacked Charlotte Christian’s Burke for a long loss. Burke then missed the last throw of the half, leading kicker Tripp Woody to hit a 25-yard consolation field goal just seconds before the half.
That’s when things turned bad for the home team. Charlotte Christian quarterback Owen Farrell took over for the second half, combining with wide receiver Micah Gilbert for an 18-yard touchdown to cap off a sustained drive to open the third quarter.
The Knights’ defense then stripped the ball from Catawba Ridge on back-to-back possessions. The first instance resulted in a 16-yard fumble recovery by Maxton Miller to take the lead, and the next included a Gilbert 3-yard rushing touchdown from 3 yards out.
That three-touchdown swing only took 40 seconds of regulation time, and the Copperheads couldn’t recover.
Kicker Tripp Woody knocked home a 27-yard field goal to end the third quarter, and Christian Vann scored a touchdown with less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter to ice the win.
Quarterback Andrew Turner took over for Latimer late in the third quarter. He combined with Mister to drive from his own 20 to drive into Knights’ territory, but the drive was stopped around the 40 when Mister was stopped for a loss and Turner couldn’t find an open Copperhead on 4th and 15.
Latimer was 4-of-11 for 77 yards and Turner was 4-of-12 for 66 yards combined for 8-of-21 passing on the night.
“(DJ) took a pretty good shot,” Lendyak said. “Andrew’s capable, and he hopped right in. We’ll evaluate the guys over the weekend and see where we’re at. They’ve both got to eliminate the drive-killers. They need to command the offense. The one that can command the offense and put on long, sustained drives, that’s what we’ll look for, moving forward.”
Lendyak said he and his staff will carefully evaluate his injured starters to determine whether they can return to the regular brand of Copperheads football, or if any adjustments need to be made.
“We’ve got to figure out who we have and where they’re gonna be,” he said.
Catawba Ridge totalled 208 rushing yards on 46 carries.
The Copperheads next travel to play non-region crosstown rival Nation Ford 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1.
