Cougars roar to first playoff win
MICHAEL LINDSAY | ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT – High Point Christian took all the doubt out of whether it’d get its first-ever playoff win.
The top-seeded Cougars scored on all eight of their possessions – including six in the first half – and shut out eighth-seeded Fayetteville Christian 53-0 in the first round of the NCISAA 11-man Division III football playoffs Friday night at Marcus Aderholdt Track.
“It’s a great win for us, and it’s historic,” HPCA coach Scott Bell said. “We’ve won more games now than ever before and it’s our first playoff win. So, it’s a great win. We had a rough week of practice. So, to see us come out here and execute was a positive.”
De’Shaun Taylor completed 9 of 12 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns and ran for one touchdown – all in the first half – to lead the Cougars (9-1), who, in their sixth varsity season, also eclipsed last year’s school record of eight wins in a season.
Dre Davis also had 182 yards receiving and one touchdown, while Brett Bell and Nathan Woelfel added receiving touchdowns. Austin Hendley also had 66 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Lance Boykin and Ryan VanEaton added rushing touchdowns.
“It was great,” said Taylor, a junior. “First win in High Point Christian history in the playoffs. So, that’s good. … We changed it up a little bit, started on the passing game early. So, I’ve got to give all the credit to the offensive line. We had three touchdowns passing in the first half. That’s all the offensive line right there.”
HPCA finished with 471 yards of total offense (289 passing, 182 rushing) and limited the Warriors (2-6), led by Andrew Winski with 43 yards rushing and James Gray with 48 yards receiving, to just 112 yards of total offense (71 passing, 41 rushing).
The Cougars scored on all six of their first-have possessions – highlighted by a 57-yard touchdown catch by Bell and an 80-yard touchdown reception by Davis, who also had two other long catches that set up scores – to lead 39-0 into halftime.
“We felt pretty confident we could move the ball against them,” Coach Bell said. “And I felt confident that our defense would do a good job. So, we came out early throwing, expecting to move the ball, and then worked in our running game later on. So, yeah, it was a great start for us.”
Copeland Petitfils and Malik Greene also had interceptions on defense.
MICHAEL LINDSAY | ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT – High Point Christian took all the doubt out of whether it’d get its first-ever playoff win.
The top-seeded Cougars scored on all eight of their possessions – including six in the first half – and shut out eighth-seeded Fayetteville Christian 53-0 in the first round of the NCISAA 11-man Division III football playoffs Friday night at Marcus Aderholdt Track.
“It’s a great win for us, and it’s historic,” HPCA coach Scott Bell said. “We’ve won more games now than ever before and it’s our first playoff win. So, it’s a great win. We had a rough week of practice. So, to see us come out here and execute was a positive.”
De’Shaun Taylor completed 9 of 12 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns and ran for one touchdown – all in the first half – to lead the Cougars (9-1), who, in their sixth varsity season, also eclipsed last year’s school record of eight wins in a season.
Dre Davis also had 182 yards receiving and one touchdown, while Brett Bell and Nathan Woelfel added receiving touchdowns. Austin Hendley also had 66 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Lance Boykin and Ryan VanEaton added rushing touchdowns.
“It was great,” said Taylor, a junior. “First win in High Point Christian history in the playoffs. So, that’s good. … We changed it up a little bit, started on the passing game early. So, I’ve got to give all the credit to the offensive line. We had three touchdowns passing in the first half. That’s all the offensive line right there.”
HPCA finished with 471 yards of total offense (289 passing, 182 rushing) and limited the Warriors (2-6), led by Andrew Winski with 43 yards rushing and James Gray with 48 yards receiving, to just 112 yards of total offense (71 passing, 41 rushing).
The Cougars scored on all six of their first-have possessions – highlighted by a 57-yard touchdown catch by Bell and an 80-yard touchdown reception by Davis, who also had two other long catches that set up scores – to lead 39-0 into halftime.
“We felt pretty confident we could move the ball against them,” Coach Bell said. “And I felt confident that our defense would do a good job. So, we came out early throwing, expecting to move the ball, and then worked in our running game later on. So, yeah, it was a great start for us.”
Copeland Petitfils and Malik Greene also had interceptions on defense.
