Charlotte Christian ‘brands’ program with win over 4A North Davidson
By Langston Wertz Jr.
Charlotte Christian pulled off a statement win in a season of statement wins Friday night.
Christian (5-0), a small private school, won 52-38 over visiting North Davidson (4-1), a 4A public school.
Charlotte Christian coach Jason Estep has led his team to a 5-0 start against stiff competition this season. The Knights are No. 6 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll
Despite having but one senior starter on offense -- center Jack Bennett -- the Knights have also beaten reigning 4A state champion Charlotte Catholic, N.C. 3A public school Cuthbertson and S.C. 5A public school West Ashley this season.
The combined record of those teams, minus the losses to Charlotte Christian losses, is 11-2.
“Our kids played well,” Christian coach Jason Estep said of Friday’s win. “We’ll take it. No disrespect to Carolina Pride (a home-school team the Knights beat 49-0 Aug. 26), but we have had four difficult games and I’m happy to get to (next week’s) bye, man.”
Estep saw his team take a 7-0 lead Friday but then fall prey to a flurry of mistakes as North Davidson took a 21-7 lead.
“We never panicked,” Estep said. “We said, ‘We’ll score some points, they’ll score some points. It may come down to who has the ball last.’ Our defense made some plays, but man, on offense, we were pretty dynamic.”
Christian had 616 yards of offense, including 317 yards passing and five touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Garrett Shrader. Junior tailback Justus Woods, Estep said, was 100 percent healthy for the first time all season. He’s had his carries limited with due to a nagging hamstring injury. But he ran free Friday, carrying 23 times for 199 yards.
“I enjoy coaching this group,” Estep said. “I’m not sure when, but these young guys are gonna be good. I look out there and we’ve got a sophomore quarterback and freshmen and sophomores running routes. It’s crazy.”
Christian beat an N.C. 4A public school team for the first time, joining Charlotte Latin and Charlotte Country Day among Mecklenburg County private schools to pull off that feat. Charlotte Latin beat Providence to start the season.
“I talked to our kids before the pregame meal,” Estep said. “I said, ‘This is another opportunity for our program and our brand that we try to represent, to go out there and make an impact in the state. Let’s not waste this opportunity.”
Most certainly, they did not
By Langston Wertz Jr.
Charlotte Christian pulled off a statement win in a season of statement wins Friday night.
Christian (5-0), a small private school, won 52-38 over visiting North Davidson (4-1), a 4A public school.
Charlotte Christian coach Jason Estep has led his team to a 5-0 start against stiff competition this season. The Knights are No. 6 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll
Despite having but one senior starter on offense -- center Jack Bennett -- the Knights have also beaten reigning 4A state champion Charlotte Catholic, N.C. 3A public school Cuthbertson and S.C. 5A public school West Ashley this season.
The combined record of those teams, minus the losses to Charlotte Christian losses, is 11-2.
“Our kids played well,” Christian coach Jason Estep said of Friday’s win. “We’ll take it. No disrespect to Carolina Pride (a home-school team the Knights beat 49-0 Aug. 26), but we have had four difficult games and I’m happy to get to (next week’s) bye, man.”
Estep saw his team take a 7-0 lead Friday but then fall prey to a flurry of mistakes as North Davidson took a 21-7 lead.
“We never panicked,” Estep said. “We said, ‘We’ll score some points, they’ll score some points. It may come down to who has the ball last.’ Our defense made some plays, but man, on offense, we were pretty dynamic.”
Christian had 616 yards of offense, including 317 yards passing and five touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Garrett Shrader. Junior tailback Justus Woods, Estep said, was 100 percent healthy for the first time all season. He’s had his carries limited with due to a nagging hamstring injury. But he ran free Friday, carrying 23 times for 199 yards.
“I enjoy coaching this group,” Estep said. “I’m not sure when, but these young guys are gonna be good. I look out there and we’ve got a sophomore quarterback and freshmen and sophomores running routes. It’s crazy.”
Christian beat an N.C. 4A public school team for the first time, joining Charlotte Latin and Charlotte Country Day among Mecklenburg County private schools to pull off that feat. Charlotte Latin beat Providence to start the season.
“I talked to our kids before the pregame meal,” Estep said. “I said, ‘This is another opportunity for our program and our brand that we try to represent, to go out there and make an impact in the state. Let’s not waste this opportunity.”
Most certainly, they did not
