Playoff roundup: Mooresville, Indy, Weddington, West Charlotte among first round winners

Mooresville (10-1), No. 12 in The Observer’s Sweet 16, began its 4A playoff run with a dominant victory, beating Alexander Central, 70-0

The Blue Devils scored 49 points in the first half and only faced two third downs all game.

Quarterback Brody Norman completed 9 of 13 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns. Norman ran for 83 yards and a score. In the game, he set a new single-season passing record at the school.

The Blue Devils, seeded sixth in the West, scored 21 points in the first quarter on a 13-yard pass from Norman to Eric Heal, a 20-yard pick-six by Jamari Farmer, and a 48-yard Norman run. Norman threw two more touchdown passes in the second quarter.

Mooresville hosts 11th seed Northwest Guilford (9-2) next Friday.

CLASS 4A

Independence 44, Mount Tabor 0: Justin Little ran for a touchdown and passed for two more, as the 21st-seeded Patriots (10-1) steamrolled host Mount Tabor, the No. 12 seed in the 4A West. Jayden Jones also ran for a pair of scores, as Independence built a 35-0 halftime lead and coasted.

Northwest Guilford 21, Olympic 14: Rakem Hammer dashed 51 yards for a touchdown with nine minutes remaining, lifting 11th-seeded Northwest Guilford (9-2) over the 22nd-seeded Trojans (8-3). Olympic had rallied from a 14-0 deficit with touchdown runs late in the second quarter and midway in the third quarter.

After Northwest Guilford’s go-ahead score, Olympic drove to the Northwest 38 with two minutes left, but the drive stalled.

Weddington 54, A.L. Brown 7: The defending 4A state champions and No. 2 seed in 4A West trounced the visiting Wonders, as Nick Diamond ran for three touchdowns. Weddington (10-0) led 34-7 after the first quarter, with Anthony Barrino also scoring two touchdowns.

A.L. Brown (5-6) avoided a shutout when Jameer Langley caught a 70-yard touchdown pass.

Weddington hosts 15th-seeded Sun Valley in an all-Union County second-round game next Friday.

West Forsyth 10, Cuthbertson 3 (2 OT’s): West Forsyth (8-3) scored on a touchdown pass in the second overtime, then held Cuthbertson (7-4) scoreless for a home victory. The teams had played to a 3-3 tie in regulation.

CLASS 3A

West Charlotte 47, Hunter Huss 0: Jamouri Nichols threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes, as the eighth-seeded Lions (8-2) trounced the Huskies (4-6). Nichols tossed a 60-yard scoring pass to Donte Nicholson just two minutes into the game and connected with Rakim Finch on a 20-yarder early in the second quarter.

Nicholson also scored on a 5-yard run, and Aiden Turner and K.D. Cotton also ran for West Charlotte touchdowns.

The Lions host 22nd-seeded West Rowan (7-4) next Friday.

South Point 42, Montgomery Central 7: Quarterback Patrick Blee ran for 99 yards and passed for 67 yards and a touchdown, as the second-seeded Raiders (9-1) cruised. Eric Forston rushed for 75 yards, as South Point piled up 317 rushing yards.

The Raiders will host fellow Big South 3A opponent Ashbrook in the second round next Friday.

Ashbrook 24, Northwest Cabarrus 7: Emmett Anderson returned a blocked punt 34 yards for an Ashbrook touchdown early in the third quarter, lifting the Green Wave (9-2) past Northwest Cabarrus (8-3).

Ashbrook had taken a 14-0 lead in the first half on a Martino Smith 2-yard touchdown run and an 11-yard scoring pass from A.J. McClain to J.J. Gordon. The Trojans cut the deficit to 14-7 shortly before the half, on a 14-yard pass from Porter Branham to Micah Slaughter.

Kings Mountain 38, East Lincoln 28: The host Mountaineers (9-2) held off East Lincoln (7-4) for a first-round victory. Kings Mountain had taken a 35-21 lead in the third quarter on touchdown runs by T.J. Armstrong and Josiah Hill, but East Lincoln closed the gap to 35-28 with three minutes left on a Grant Lawless touchdown pass.

The Mountaineers got a field goal with one minute left, icing the victory.

Kings Mountain will travel to fourth-seeded Jay M. Robinson (11-0) in the second round next Friday.

North Lincoln 43, North Davidson 13: Shannon Wingate scored on runs of 7, 4 and 2 yards, as the 10th-seeded Knights (10-1) trounced North Davidson (4-7). North Lincoln will travel to No. 7 seed West Henderson next Friday.

Eli Sipe ran 10 yards for a North Lincoln score and passes 54 yards to Landon Agee and 41 yards to Jake Dos Santos for touchdowns.

CLASS 2A

Community School of Davidson 42, Bandys 6: Brandon Albert ran for four touchdowns, and the 10th-seeded Spartans (8-3) routed Bandys (7-4). Albert scored on runs of 8, 22, 35 and 10 yards.

Oliver Morris also ran 50 yards for a Community School of Davidson touchdown, and Micah McCoy returned an interception 99 yards for a score.

The Spartans travel to No. 7 seed Mount Pleasant next Friday.

Mount Pleasant 36, West Lincoln 35: Mount Pleasant rallied with a touchdown and two-point conversion with one minute remaining. The Tigers (9-2), seeded seventh, host Community School of Davidson next week. West Lincoln, which had scored with three minutes left for a 35-28 lead, finished with a 6-5 record.

CLASS 1A

Corvian Community 49, Elkin 0: The fifth-seeded Cardinals (11-0) remained undefeated by trouncing the Elks (2-9). Noah Best scored three touchdowns, and A.J. Jackson ran for a touchdown and passed for another.

Best scored on a 17-yard pass from Jackson, on a 32-yard run, and on a 70-yard interception return. Adrian Scott also returned an interception for a Corvian Community score.

The Cardinals host 10th-seeded Mitchell County next Friday.

Mountain Island Charter 36, Bishop McGuinness 27: The Raptors (6-5) piled up 330 rushing yards in their victory. Joshua Moses carried 20 times for 179 yards, and Aamir Gilchrist had 14 carries for 138 yards. Each scored a touchdown.

Bishop McGuinness (6-5) led 14-7 at the half.

Mountain Island Charter travels to No. 1 seed Mount Airy (11-0) next Friday.