Yahoo Sports Back for more. Weddington High still feels disrespected, even after winning the 4A title
Weddington High School lost its star quarterback and 12 starters from last season’s N.C. 4A state championship team.
But Thomas Davis Jr., one of the team’s current stars and the son of a rather famous former Carolina Panther, said if you think the Warriors are going to drop off, even a little bit, then you’ve got another thing coming.
“I would tell them that they’re wrong,” Davis Jr. said about anyone who doubts Weddington can beat Providence Day in Thursday’s mega-matchup at Bank of America Stadium, or win another 4A state title. “Our team has great chemistry and a great bond. The work these guys have put in, man, they will not accept anything less.
“Our guys are ready.”
It’s been more than nine months since Weddington asserted its dominance in North Carolina’s largest and most competitive classification, beating Wilmington Hoggard 56-21 to win the school’s first N.C. 4A state championship.
That night in Raleigh, senior quarterback Tyler Budge threw for 243 yards on 17 of 24 passing. His favorite target, senior Keenan Jackson, had three touchdowns during the first half and finished with 136 yards.
Budge is now at Georgia Southern. Jackson at N.C. State.
Weddington does return plenty of talent, though.
There’s 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior defensive lineman Aiden Harris, ranked among the nation’s top 70 players in his class. There’s 6-2, 235-pound junior defensive lineman Drew Harris, a top 20 in-state recruit in his class. There’s Davis Jr., a 6-2, 205-pound junior linebacker who is a top 125 recruit nationally. And there’s senior defensive lineman Traden Odom, a 6-4, 285-pound top 10 in-state recruit committed to Ohio State.
Odom played at Panther Creek last season.
“And our offensive side of the ball is great, too,” Davis Jr. said. “We have a lot of pieces that people don’t know about, but they will soon. I want to go ahead and guarantee it. Obviously, it’s football and things happen, but the way we’ve worked, and if everybody does their job, I don’t see how we can get beat in 4A. I mean, slip-ups happen, but if everyone is on the same page and we stay disciplined, I don’t see how we can get beat (in that classification).”
Still feeling slept on
Despite winning the 4A crown last season, Weddington’s players still have a chip on their shoulder; still feel a little disrespected.
The Warriors don’t play in football-rich Charlotte, don’t play in a glamorous conference and when they were winning three state titles in four years, from 2016-19, Weddington was winning in class 3A, and coach Andy Capone said there was talk about how his team had not beaten the state’s best teams to earn the championships.
“But people talk about everything,” Capone said.
Even when Weddington beat elite teams — Chambers and Catholic and Grimsley and Independence, all past state champions — to get the 4A state title last season, Capone isn’t exactly sure his team got the respect statewide he felt it should have.
“I feel like people didn’t think we could compete when we got up there (to 4A),” he said. “But last year’s team was last year’s. This year’s team is this team. We’ll always have that to remember, but it’s time to write our story for this year, and it starts off in a big way.”
Drew Harris said Weddington did get one thing from everything that’s happened since winning the title.
The Warriors have gotten plenty of motivation to go win another.
“That’s what happens when you win,” Harris said. “People don’t want to see you succeed. It’s motivates us. We do everything together. We know what comes with winning a championship. Going into the next year, it’ll be harder. But I like being hunted. That means I get better competition.”
Playing at the bank
The Warriors will open the season at 8 p.m. Thursday against Providence Day at Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
This will be the second year that high school teams have suited up for games at the stadium. Providence Day beat Rock Hill Northwestern 42-35 last season.
Independence and Myers Park will play Thursday before Weddington and Providence Day clash.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for the kids,” Capone said, “and it’s one I think they deserve for the success we’ve maintained and sustained. They’re ready to go and we still know, even after all the hoopla, and the (Charlotte) skyline and the big stage and all of that, end of the day it’s a football game; 120 yards by 53 1/3 and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go and understand the importance of it.”
Providence Day and Weddington are ranked 1-2 in The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll for the top teams in the Charlotte region and 1-2 in the McClatchy newspaper poll of the top teams in the Carolinas.
Providence Day is ranked No. 65 nationally by High School Football America. Weddington is No. 73.
“It’s going to be a good game,” Harris said. “They’ve got some good players over there. We’ve got some good players over here, too. It’s not a mismatch game. It’s going to be a good game, but it’s just a game to us. We’re playing at a big stadium with a big name on it and a lot of people there, and we’re there to prove that private school (football) is not better than public school football.”
Capone thinks the game will come down to the little things.
“I tell our kids to keep blinders on,” he said. Providence Day is “extremely talented and I think it’s an even matchup. It’s just about who is going to play cleaner football Thursday. It’s our first game and it’s their second, but they didn’t have a scrimmage, so we’re both figuring out what we want to do and how to be successful. I know gambling is legal in North Carolina, although maybe not in high school, but this is probably a pick ‘em game.
“But this is the game everybody in North Carolina wanted to see, and now they’ll get it.”
Observer HS newsletter
Sign up for the free Observer high school sports newsletter for more in-depth and exclusive coverage weekly. Tap here to sign up.
Want to go?
The Keep Pounding High School Classic begins at 4 p.m. Thursday at Bank of America Stadium, when Independence High plays Myers Park, followed by Providence Day vs. Weddington at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 via Ticketmaster
