Trifecta of big HS football matchups in Mecklenburg County highlight this week in NC

North Carolina high school football fans will be hard-pressed to find a stronger trifecta of games on one night than those Mecklenburg County will host on Friday, Oct. 14.

Hough will host Mallard Creek. Butler will host Charlotte Catholic. Providence Day will host Charlotte Christian.

Five of the six programs have won state championships. Hough, whose best finish is a state semifinalist, has defeated Chambers in previous regular seasons and this fall.

These games’ winners will move into serious “driver’s seat” positions for conference titles.

KINGS MOUNTAIN TAKES BIG SOUTH LEAD

Kings Mountain defeated visiting South Point, 31-20, in a battle of undefeated teams with control of the Big South 3A Conference at stake. The Mountaineers scored the game’s first 10 points and led the rest of the way.

Kings Mountain quarterback Lamont Littlejohn connected with wide receiver Zay Smith for a 40-yards touchdown pass on a fourth-and-one fourth quarter play.

Four different Mountaineers accounted each for one touchdown.

NEWBAUER, CARDINAL GIBBONS EFFICIENT

Cardinal Gibbons quarterback Whitt Newbauer’s efficiency was mirrored by receivers Chet Yardley and Nick Lemon in the Crusaders’ 38-7 win at Leesville Road.

Newbauer completed 18 of 21 passes (with one incompletion an intentional throw away) for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Yardley and Lemon made the most of their touches, too. Yardley caught seven passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Lemon corralled six passes for 137 yards and one touchdown.

Cardinal Gibbons’ defense allowed a single-digit scoring total for the fifth consecutive week.

Since 2017, the winner of the Cardinal Gibbons-Leesville Road game has gone on to win the Cap Six conference with an undefeated league record.

CLEVELAND’S BYRD FLYING HIGH

Cleveland sophomore quarterback Jackson Byrd is averaging 248 yards per game with a better than 7-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio for the 7-0 Rams. Byrd has not thrown an interception since September 16.

Byrd, a first-year starting signal caller, has scored a team-high eight rushing touchdowns, too, while averaging 50 ground yards per game.

WEST HENDERSON CONTINUES TURNAROUND

West Henderson is 7-0 after a 3-8 season last fall. The Falcons defeated Pisgah 45-21 last Friday.

West Henderson has two remaining Mountain Seven 3A conference games — at Franklin, and home versus Tuscola. In the fall of 2021, the Falcons defeated Franklin in overtime by six points, and lost to Tuscola by seven.

TARBORO’S YOUTHFUL RUNNING

A 10th and ninth grader have amassed nearly 50 percent of Tarboro’s rushing yardage — 2678 total yards. Sophomore Mason Satterfield has 706 yards (8.8 yards per carry), while freshman teammate Kamerin McDowell-Moore has 519 (12.7 yards per carry) for the 7-1 Vikings.

LITTLE FOR 102 TIMES TWO

Independence sophomore quarterback Justin Little rushed and passed for 102 yards each in the Patriots’ 28-13 win over Providence. Little averaged 17 yards per completion, twice his per-carry average (8.5).

Little accounted for all four Independence touchdowns — three on the ground, and one through the air.

APEX WINS “PEAK TOWN” BATTLE

Apex bested intra-town rival Apex Friendship 42-14. The visiting Cougars prevailed in the rivalry for the first time since 2016.

Apex will host Middle Creek on Friday. A Cougars win will secure second place in the South Wake 4A Conference, and cement Apex’s first state playoffs berth since 2014.

That 2014 Apex team included two-sport star Ian Boyd, who surpassed 2,000 basketball career points. Boyd was induced into Apex’s Athletics Hall Of Fame earlier this year.

HILLSIDE IN CONTROL OF DAC VII CONFERENCE

Hillside’s 27-0 win over Riverside cemented the Hornets’ standing atop their conference.

The 7-0 Hornets have wins over intra-city rival Southern Durham, 4A state semifinalist Rolesville, and 3A state champion Dudley.