• C. JEMAL HORTON
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C. JEMAL HORTON
Last fall, as the only private-school football team in town, the Cabarrus Warriors also were the county’s sole squad that got to take the field – the public schools, because of a state association-mandated altered COVID schedule, had to wait until spring.
Because of that, and a recent COVID outbreak throughout the team that caused the Warriors to miss their first two games of the season, it had been a whopping 294 days since they had suited up for an official game.
And early Friday night in Raleigh, it showed.
The normally high-scoring Warriors had a bit of a sluggish start, endured a bout with penalties and cramps throughout the game, but ultimately returned to Cabarrus County with a 24-14 victory over Ravenscroft at Stefano Field.
Warriors second-year head coach Jamie Bolton acknowledged that it wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing performance for his squad, but he also couldn’t have been prouder.
“It’s a testament to last year,” said Bolton, who led the Warriors to the state semifinals in 2020, in a telephone interview with the Independent Tribune. “We carried over from last year, when we played so many close games. We had so many penalties that were called on us tonight, and (the Ravens) had some called on them. It was a pretty tightly run game by the officials, and we had a couple of turnovers that hurt us.
“But I think our kids showed a lot of resiliency. That’s just the team we are. It’s not going to always be pretty with us, especially with the cramps, but our guys were able to get the job done.”
Make no mistake, though, the Warriors had their moments when they were potent, starting in the second quarter.
After going scoreless in the first period, the Cabarrus offense finally caught fire, with sophomore quarterback Tyler Green delivering pinpoint accurate passes to receivers who found openings in the Ravenscroft defense.
The Warriors got on the board with 8 minutes, 52 seconds left in the second quarter, when Green hit sophomore running back Will Jones in the flat, allowing space for him to dash into the end zone for a 7-0 lead after Todd Pelino’s extra point.
Minutes later, the Cabarrus defense rose to the occasion when linebacker Randy Marion III intercepted a pass, giving his team possession on the Ravenscroft 27-yard line.
Although the ensuing offensive drive stalled for the Warriors, even moving backward some, Pelino proved why he’s headed for a Power 5 college conference, as the Duke University recruit booted a career-best 52-yard field goal to put Cabarrus in front, 10-0, with 6:38 remaining in the half.
Unfortunately, Pelino wouldn’t be in action much longer, as severe cramps put him on the sideline for the rest of the night.
After going to the air for much of the first half, the Warriors came out of the locker room in the second half focused on establishing the run.
Jones handled that.
On Cabarrus’ opening drive of the third quarter, Jones started with a 21-yard burst and followed that up with a 37-yard jaunt down to the Ravenscroft 22-yard line. Jones culminated the drive with 16-yard yard touchdown run, and Pelino’s replacement, Landon Mare, the son of former NFL Pro Bowl kicker Olindo Marie, added the extra point for a 17-0 advantage.
“He’s a freshman,” Bolton said of Mare, “and I wanted him to come tonight, just in case something happened to Todd. He had a big extra point and got a few punts off for us. That’s big time.”
Ravenscroft later pulled within three points on back-to-back touchdowns by Anthony Melvin late in the third quarter. But after that, the Cabarrus defense stiffened, highlighted by an interception by Eli Snodgrass and big plays by linebacker Josh Reid, defensive backs Brayson Wilson and Jackson Scurlock, and a host of linemen, led by end Jack Schultz, who frequently put pressure on the Ravens’ two quarterbacks, Kyle Hawkins and Xander White.
Xander Lamb caught a long touchdown pass from Green to effectively seal the game for the Warriors with 2:32 left.
But defense, Bolton said, ensured Cabarrus started the season 1-0 in their first live action in nearly a year.
“Hats off to (defensive coordinator Joe) Grosso and his defensive staff for hanging in there,” Bolton said. “Those guys really battled with bad field position, because either we had a penalty and the kickoff was on the other side of the 50, and we couldn’t really move it on offense because of the personnel and so forth.
“Hats off to our kids for just staying calm,” Bolton added. “One of our big keys this week was composure. We were really excited to get out there and play our first game, and I knew emotions would run high. But I think, for the most part, we did a pretty good job with that, especially when it felt like we were losing control a little bit there.”
The Warriors visit Concord’s Bailey Stadium next Friday for a rare private-vs.-public showdown at 7 p.m.
\
C. JEMAL HORTON
Last fall, as the only private-school football team in town, the Cabarrus Warriors also were the county’s sole squad that got to take the field – the public schools, because of a state association-mandated altered COVID schedule, had to wait until spring.
Because of that, and a recent COVID outbreak throughout the team that caused the Warriors to miss their first two games of the season, it had been a whopping 294 days since they had suited up for an official game.
And early Friday night in Raleigh, it showed.
The normally high-scoring Warriors had a bit of a sluggish start, endured a bout with penalties and cramps throughout the game, but ultimately returned to Cabarrus County with a 24-14 victory over Ravenscroft at Stefano Field.
Warriors second-year head coach Jamie Bolton acknowledged that it wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing performance for his squad, but he also couldn’t have been prouder.
“It’s a testament to last year,” said Bolton, who led the Warriors to the state semifinals in 2020, in a telephone interview with the Independent Tribune. “We carried over from last year, when we played so many close games. We had so many penalties that were called on us tonight, and (the Ravens) had some called on them. It was a pretty tightly run game by the officials, and we had a couple of turnovers that hurt us.
“But I think our kids showed a lot of resiliency. That’s just the team we are. It’s not going to always be pretty with us, especially with the cramps, but our guys were able to get the job done.”
Make no mistake, though, the Warriors had their moments when they were potent, starting in the second quarter.
After going scoreless in the first period, the Cabarrus offense finally caught fire, with sophomore quarterback Tyler Green delivering pinpoint accurate passes to receivers who found openings in the Ravenscroft defense.
The Warriors got on the board with 8 minutes, 52 seconds left in the second quarter, when Green hit sophomore running back Will Jones in the flat, allowing space for him to dash into the end zone for a 7-0 lead after Todd Pelino’s extra point.
Minutes later, the Cabarrus defense rose to the occasion when linebacker Randy Marion III intercepted a pass, giving his team possession on the Ravenscroft 27-yard line.
Although the ensuing offensive drive stalled for the Warriors, even moving backward some, Pelino proved why he’s headed for a Power 5 college conference, as the Duke University recruit booted a career-best 52-yard field goal to put Cabarrus in front, 10-0, with 6:38 remaining in the half.
Unfortunately, Pelino wouldn’t be in action much longer, as severe cramps put him on the sideline for the rest of the night.
After going to the air for much of the first half, the Warriors came out of the locker room in the second half focused on establishing the run.
Jones handled that.
On Cabarrus’ opening drive of the third quarter, Jones started with a 21-yard burst and followed that up with a 37-yard jaunt down to the Ravenscroft 22-yard line. Jones culminated the drive with 16-yard yard touchdown run, and Pelino’s replacement, Landon Mare, the son of former NFL Pro Bowl kicker Olindo Marie, added the extra point for a 17-0 advantage.
“He’s a freshman,” Bolton said of Mare, “and I wanted him to come tonight, just in case something happened to Todd. He had a big extra point and got a few punts off for us. That’s big time.”
Ravenscroft later pulled within three points on back-to-back touchdowns by Anthony Melvin late in the third quarter. But after that, the Cabarrus defense stiffened, highlighted by an interception by Eli Snodgrass and big plays by linebacker Josh Reid, defensive backs Brayson Wilson and Jackson Scurlock, and a host of linemen, led by end Jack Schultz, who frequently put pressure on the Ravens’ two quarterbacks, Kyle Hawkins and Xander White.
Xander Lamb caught a long touchdown pass from Green to effectively seal the game for the Warriors with 2:32 left.
But defense, Bolton said, ensured Cabarrus started the season 1-0 in their first live action in nearly a year.
“Hats off to (defensive coordinator Joe) Grosso and his defensive staff for hanging in there,” Bolton said. “Those guys really battled with bad field position, because either we had a penalty and the kickoff was on the other side of the 50, and we couldn’t really move it on offense because of the personnel and so forth.
“Hats off to our kids for just staying calm,” Bolton added. “One of our big keys this week was composure. We were really excited to get out there and play our first game, and I knew emotions would run high. But I think, for the most part, we did a pretty good job with that, especially when it felt like we were losing control a little bit there.”
The Warriors visit Concord’s Bailey Stadium next Friday for a rare private-vs.-public showdown at 7 p.m.
