Providence football beats rival South Meck for fourth straight victory

Providence’s Weslee Ward didn’t have to make up the Panthers’ non-conference game against rival South Mecklenburg.

But when the opportunity presented itself, Ward and Providence took advantage — and came away with a 21-0 victory over the Sabres on Friday night.

The Panthers (5-5, 3-3 Southwestern 4A) overcame a slow start to wrap up the season with a .500 record in conference play, Providence’s first since the 2021 season.

The Panthers’ offense had nearly 430 yards of total offense, while Providence’s defense posted its second shutout in the last three games.

“I just wanted to see them battle as a team,” said Ward, in his sixth season as Providence’s head coach. “I want to see these seniors keep winning, and keep doing things. … We’re going to play as many games as we can, and do what we can do.

“We made some selfish mistakes early in the first half, some discipline stuff … but we challenged them at halftime. That’s not what we do, we come out and play tough football. I challenged them … and for the most part, they did that.”

Quarterback Jackson Debe, one of Ward’s returnees for next season, threw for 236 yards and a pair of touchdowns — both going to Shawn Matthews, another 2025 returnee.

Senior Carter Weinke added 78 rushing yards and the Panthers’ second touchdown, and fellow senior Davi Caixeta added 68 rushing yards, most of that on a 55-yard run late in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed the win for Providence.

Defensively, the Panthers held South Mecklenburg (3-7, 3-3 South Meck 4A) to 261 yards of total offense. A good part of that came from Sabres senior back Cash Hunter, who had 104 rushing yards on 21 carries.

However, the Sabres only drove into the red zone twice — both times in the second half — and turned the ball over three times. South Mecklenburg’s quarterbacks, junior Carter Gillis and sophomore Cole Hough, were sacked four times.

“I was hoping we’d come out with a little more emotion,” Sabres head coach Joe Evans said. “We came out a little flat. I think both teams came out flat. We just didn’t battle and make plays. They made more plays than we did. We didn’t make enough plays on offense, defense and special teams to win.”

Three who made a difference

Jackson Debe, Providence: Completed 13 of 25 passes for 236 yards, with touchdowns of 26 and 50 yards.

Cash Hunter, South Mecklenburg: The senior running back was a workhorse for the Sabres, and kept them in the game. He also had eight pass catches for 53 yards.

Soto Kelly, Providence: Had one of the Panthers’ two interceptions (one in the end zone) and two of their four sacks. Keland Shelton Jr. had the other Providence pick.

Notes

▪ Friday’s Providence-South Meck game was originally scheduled for Aug. 30, but heavy rain as the teams were warming up forced its postponement.

However, when the NCHSAA added a week to the 2024 schedule to help teams in western North Carolina make up games lost from Hurricane Helene, the Panthers and Sabres took advantage to get in their game.

SCORING SUMMARY

Providence 0 7 7 7 — 21

South Mecklenburg 0 0 0 0 — 0

Second Quarter

P—Shawn Matthews 26 pass from Jackson Debe (Jamison Causey kick), 7:07.

Third Quarter

P—Carter Weinke 8 run (Causey kick), 4:25.

Fourth Quarter

P—Matthews 50 pass from Debe (Causey kick), 7:58.