High schools in North Carolina started playing games this week. The slate of games was filled with very competitive match ups. NCPreps.com was on hand for two of the top games in the state and below are a few notes from each.
Hough versus Dutch Fork SC
Chambers versus Cardinal Gibbons
On Thursday evening, the Hough Huskies took on Dutch Fork High School from Irmo, SC, in the ninth annual Charlotte Kickoff Classic at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC. The matchup was a battle of two of the top teams in the Carolinas and was also marked as the NCPreps.com Game of the Week.
Dutch Fork, who had its 61-game winning streak snapped last season in the state finals needed all four quarters to put away a resilient Hough team.
The Silver Foxes left the Queen City with a narrow victory 27-24 over Hough.
Dutch Fork forced Husky quarterback Tad Hudson, a UNC commit, to turn the ball over three times including a pair of interceptions from senior J’Von Mack.
Quarterback Aliam Appler led the Silver Foxes on offense going 14-for-23 for 123 yards and a touchdown to Jacob Hamilton. Hamilton, who led the team in receiving, caught six passes for 90 yards. Appler also led the Silver Foxes on an impressive 84-yard drive capped by a 34-yard touchdown run by the quarterback.
Hough fought back from a 21-9 deficit with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to come within striking distance of comeback.
The Huskies struggled to get their offense on track most of the night by not scoring a touchdown until the fourth quarter. Prior to finding the end zone, Hough depended on kicker Noah Hauser to provide points for the Cornelius-based school. He nailed a 48-yarder to give Hough its last lead of the game 9-7 in the third quarter.
The Huskies were led by JT. Smith, who ran for 64 yards, had 62 receiving yards, and scored two touchdowns late in the game. Hudson completed 21 of 33 passes for 221 yards with a touchdown.
Next week Hough will play Mooresville, while Dutch Fork will play at Spartanburg
In a rematch of the NCHSAA 4A state championship game, the Chambers Cougars and the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders travelled to Rock Hill, SC to participate in the Turf King Invitational at District 3 Stadium.
The game had some recruiting excitement before the game as Chamber's 4-star wide receiver Kevin Concepcion committed to NC State over rival North Carolina just before kickoff.
With revenge on the mind, Chambers, who lost last season to the Crusaders in the title game, dominated the night and won 28-14.
Offensively, running back Braylon Vinson finished the game with over 100 all-purpose yards to lead Chambers.
Cougar quarterback Anshon Camp passed for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 73-yard touchdown in the game's opening drive to Concepcion
Defensively, the Cougars were led by linebacker Jordan Thompson, who finished the game with two sacks.
A top performer for the Crusaders was Corbin McDaniel, who had two interceptions in the game
-Next week, Cardinal Gibbons travels to New Jersey to play Bergen Catholic while Chambers will host Virginia-based school Highland Springs.
