High school football roundup: Mallard Creek stuns Ohio’s No. 1 team, beats Moeller 21-14 in OT

Mallard Creek’s help Ohio power Cincinnati Moeller’s high-powered offense to 14 points Saturday and stunned the Buckeye State’s No. 1-ranked team 21-14 in overtime.

The Mavericks, who left Charlotte at 5:30 a.m. Saturday and traveled by bus for 5 1/2 hours to Ironton, Ohio, for a 1 p.m. kickoff, picked off two Crusader passes and recorded five sacks.

The last of those sacks came on the game’s final play, as Anthony Dangerfield brought down Archbishop Moeller quarterback Matt Ponatoski for a 7-yard loss on fourth down.

Earlier in the game, Dangerfield had picked off a Ponatoski pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.

Archbishop Moeller, an iconic Ohio high school power, had won its first three games by a combined score of 122-53. But the Crusaders had a miserable day against Mallard Creek (2-1), which held Moeller to 193 yards’ total offense.

Maverick senior linebacker Zykeir Stripling also had a huge day, with four tackles for loss and two sacks.

Mallard Creek bulled to a 14-0 lead, scoring on a 57-yard run by Caleb Knight late in the first quarter and then on Dangerfield’s pick-6 early in the second period. Moeller cut the deficit in half on a short pass from Ponatoski to Landon Adams with 5:11 left in the half.

The Crusaders tied the game with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter, on a 5-yard pass from Ponatoski to Roman Mason.

Once the game was tied at 14-all, defenses took over. There were eight punts and three interceptions in the game’s final nine minutes, with all of the interceptions coming in the final 54 seconds.

Mallard Creek won the toss for overtime, and coach Kennedy Tinsley elected for the Mavericks to go on offense first. On a third-and-11 at the 21, Evan Rambert fired the go-ahead touchdown pass to Curtis Clark.

Archbishop Moeller, playing a North Carolina team for the first time in school history, then got possession. The Crusaders threw an interception, gained 6 yards on a run, then lost 4 yards. That set up the game-ending sack by Dangerfield.

Knight led Mallard Creek with 75 yards rushing.

The game was the opener of the Ironton Football Classic, with Ironton facing Buffalo St. Francis in the Saturday evening nightcap.

Archbishop Moeller and Mallard Creek were scheduled for the event after each found themselves with schedule openings. Moeller had a vacancy after a game against a Georgia school was canceled. Mallard Creek’s opening developed when the Mavericks’ scheduled game earlier this season against Cardinal Gibbons was canceled due to a thunderstorm.

Weddington 27, Butler 19: Weddington High, the No. 1 team in The Observer’s Sweet 16, The Carolinas’ Top 25 and the N.C. 4A statewide poll, had its hands full with Butler on Friday night.

The Warriors got a late field and a good defensive stand to avoid a major upset, winning 27-19.

“It’s a big win,” Weddington coach Andy Capone said. “I told them on Monday, ‘Don’t look at (Butler’s) record. They’re a really good football team and each week, they are playing better and figuring out who they are.’”

Butler, which came in 0-3, rallied from a 24-point deficit and had the ball with a chance to pull off perhaps the season’s biggest upset.

Down 24-19, Butler drove into Weddington territory but two penalties on the same play, initiated by an illegal procedure, that pushed Butler back into its own territory where the drive stalled.

Weddington got the ball and, aided by another penalty, the Warriors got a field goal and one final defensive stop that ended the game.

Butler played the final quarter and half without quarterback Zach Lawrence, a Massachusetts recruit, who left the game with injury.

But for the second straight week, Butler played a top team tough. Last week, it lost by one point to Irmo, a top five-ranked S.C. team.

“We came out really strong and took our foot off the gas,” Capone said, “but they made some adjustments defensively that I’ve got to do a better job with. But they’re a good team. If they get into the playoffs, someone is going to have a tough matchup. That’s for sure.”

Catawba Ridge 38, Spring Valley 14: The host Copperheads (2-1) rolled to a 38-0 lead in the third quarter and glided to victory. C.J. Couch threw three touchdown passes, including a 41-yard strike to sophomore Colton McCauley with 22 seconds left in the first half. He also connected to Braylin Burgess and Boston Halpin for touchdowns. Camden Gifford added a field goal. Spring Valley scored twice in the fourth quarter off Copperhead reserves.

Charlotte Christian 39, Ardrey Kell 7: The visiting Knights (1-3) led 7-6 after one quarter, but Charlotte Christian (2-2) broke it open with 20 points in the second period. Jamal Rule had three touchdown runs, one of them for 70 yards.

Charlotte Latin 58, Carolina Bearcats 6: Joe McGirt picked off a pair of passes, returning one of them for a touchdown, as the Hawks (5-0) continued their best start to a season in several years. Charlotte Latin had three interceptions in all.

Clover 37, York 6: Landon Stone ran for two touchdowns and older brother Grady had a touchdown run, as the Blue Eagles (3-1) rolled past the host Cougars (1-3). Clover also scored on a touchdown pass and a touchdown on a recovered fumble in the end zone. Tayshon Freeman threw a touchdown pass to Xavier McCoy for York’s touchdown in the second half.

Corvian Community 57, Garinger 0: Noah Best caught two touchdown passes as the host Cardinals improved to 3-0 on the season and dropped Garinger to 0-4. Adrian Scott and Donovan Kirkwood scored for Corvian on interception returns, and Kelvin Stinson ran back a punt for another touchdown.

Hickory Grove Christian 38, SouthLake Christian 10: The host Lions remained unbeaten (5-0, 1-0) and captured their Big 6 opener. Hickory Grove Christian’s defense had a big night, picking off two Eagles passes and recovering a fumble. SouthLake Christian falls to 3-2, 0-2.

Independence 40, South Mecklenburg 13: Independence improved to 4-0 with an easy win. The Patriots led 19-0 at halftime and 26-0 after three quarters. Running back Jayden Jones ran 15 times for 211 yards and a touchdown. Independence QB Justin Little passed for 253 yards and two scores.

Jay M. Robinson 49, Central Cabarrus 0: The unbeaten Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 South Piedmont 3A) cruised, behind quarterback Jon Bissennette, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. Brian Rowe had a pair of touchdown receptions.

Lake Norman 22, Marvin Ridge 16: Kaden Craft threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, as the Wildcats (3-1) topped the Mavericks (2-2). Marvin Ridge’s offense moved the ball well, but Lake Norman forced the Mavericks to settle for Ford Fehling field goals three times. The last of Fehling’s field goals came with eight minutes left and cut Lake Norman’s lead to six points. But the Wildcats ran out the clock, converting a fourth-and-13 in the closing minutes to keep the ball. Braydon Rediger ran for the Mavericks’ only score.

Lancaster 32, Fort Mill 27: Junior quarterback R.J. Brown ran for two touchdowns and threw a 58-yard pass for another score, as the host Bruins (2-2) held off the Yellow Jackets (1-2). Lancaster led 19-0 and 26-7 in the first half, but Fort Mill battled back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tighten the game. Quinn Kelly ran for one of those final-period touchdowns and threw to Braylon Thomas for the other score.

Palisades 14, Cuthbertson 6: The host Pumas shut down Cuthbertson’s strong running game and handed the Cavaliers their first loss in four games. Palisades scored on a pick-6 and a punt return, building a 14-0 halftime lead.

Richmond Senior 21, Myers Park 10: Richmond Senior rallied from a 10-0 deficit to win at home. Myers Park fell to 1-3. Richmond, which lost 31-13 to Raleigh’s Cardinal Gibbons last week, improved to 2-2. Richmond is 2-0 against Mecklenburg County teams, however. The Raiders beat Butler, 26-7, at home.