No. 3 Providence Day doesn’t have Kendre Harrison, but rolls past rival Country Day

The Providence Day Chargers picked up their second consecutive win on Friday night in rather convincing fashion, knocking off the Country Day Buccaneers by a score of 63-15.

There were also a couple celebrities at the game: Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales, whose daughter attends Providence Day, and Tennessee Vols football coach Josh Heupel, in town to watch 5-star recruit David Sanders, a Providence Day offensive linemen.

Canales and Heupel were treated to a show. Providence Day got rolling early and led 49-7 at halftime, while playing without All-American Kendre Harrison.

“I’m pretty pleased with the performance,” said Providence Day head coach Chad Grier when asked about his team’s performance. “All three phases contributed, and a lot of kids played and played well. A lot of guys got involved, and they did well.”

Led by senior running back Ian Cline, the Chargers jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Cline had all three of these scores, with the first two coming on the ground and the last through the air.

Country Day responded on the following drive, scoring a long touchdown on a busted Chargers coverage. After this, however, the Chargers’ defense settled in and pitched a shutout for the remainder of the first half.

Sanders, who mostly plays offensive line, also had a sack on defense during the first half.

“I love playing defense,” Sanders said. “Anyway I can contribute to helping us win, you know obviously when we get to Rabun Gap, Charlotte Christian and all them I’m going to have to play both ways, so I just got to be prepared to play on both sides of the ball — and dominate on both sides of the ball.”

While the defense played well, highly touted junior quarterback Zaid Lott looked more like the guy who accounted for six touchdowns in the season opener than he has in recent weeks when he’s been nursing a couple injuries.

On Friday, the junior quarterback and recent UNC commit was responsible for the next five Chargers’ touchdowns with, two coming on the ground.

“You see the difference in healthy Z and not healthy Z,” Grier said when asked about his quarterback’s performance. “He’s really mature. He’s starting to be a leader, and he’s starting to identify things. I’m really proud of his development, and the ceiling is very high for him.”

Three who made a difference

Zaid Lott, Providence Day: The Chargers quarterback put on a show in the first half, recording three passing touchdowns to go along with two on the ground.

Ian Cline, Providence Day: Lott’s partner in the backfield also had a phenomenal outing: The senior running scored the Chargers’ first three TDs.

David Sanders Jr., Providence Day: The biggest star for Providence Day showed out on both on pass rush and against it as the five star Tennessee commit recorded a sack to go along with allowing zero pressures.

Game summary

Providence Day: 28 21 7 0 - 63

Charlotte Country Day: 7 0 0 8 – 15

(PD) – Ian Cline 5-yard rushing TD

(PD) – Ian Cline 7-yard rushing TD

(PD) – Ian Cline 26-yard receiving TD

(CD) – Julian Culbertson 46-yard receiving TD

(PD) – Gordan Sellers 72-yard receiving TD

Second Quarter

(PD) – Zaid Lott 1-yard rushing TD

(PD) – Zaid Lott 17-yard rushing TD

(PD) – Steele Fletcher 8-yard receiving TD

Third Quarter

(PD) – Max Cassell 7-yard receiving TD

Fourth Quarter

(CD) – Khalel Wright 4-yard rushing TD, two-point conversion good

What’s Next

Providence Day is set to play host to Christ School Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.

Charlotte Country Day travels to High Point Christian Academy.