The Weddington Warriors, No. 8 in the Observer’s Sweet 16, lost 20 seniors to graduation from last season’s 7-1 team, but it appears coach Andy Capone did a good job of stocking his team with younger but talented players.
Weddington erased a 7-0 halftime deficit with a solid second half for a 14-7 win over Charlotte Christian Friday in the season-opener for both teams.
The Warriors scored twice in the second half — on a 10-yard touchdown run by senior running back and Wofford College commit Kyle Parsons, and a 48-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Grady Brosterhous to senior wide receiver Landyn Backey.
The Knights, No. 11 in the Sweet 16, had one last chance to tie the game as they marched to the Warriors’ 9 and faced a fourth and 7 with under a minute left in the game. But Estep’s pass was incomplete and Weddington went to the victory formation to close out the win.
Brosterhous has had to sit behind former Warriors’ QB Donte Casciola the past two seasons who went 34-2 as the starter for Weddington.
“It felt very good,” said Brosterhous on finally getting his chance to start. “I have waited a long time for this and I couldn’t have asked anything more from my teammates who played hard, left it all out there, and came out with the win”
Brosterous’s numbers were modest going 8-of-16 for 128 yards and one TD while rushing for 38 yards. But with a strong Warriors’ defense, those stats were enough to get the job done. Backey caught only three passes, but his last one was the 48-yard catch that won the game.
The lone score in the first half belonged to Christian, courtesy of a 45-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Christian Vann from junior quarterback Cameron Estep. Outside of the Knights’ big play, both team’s defense dominated in the first two quarters.
While Weddington coach Andy Capone was pleased with the victory, he wants his team to come out faster.
“We knew it was going to be a fourth-quarter battle,” said Capone. “We kind of stressed to come out early and get going fast. We played hard from the get-go but these first games are always tough trying to figure out your identity offensively.”
THREE WHO MATTERED:
Charlotte Christian sophomore Micah Gilbert had a big second half for the Knights with six catches for 60 yards including a 44-yard grab.
Weddington junior defensive back Sam Neely had a crucial interception with five minutes left in the game to halt a Christian game-tying drive.
The Warriors’ defense limited Christian to only 247 yards for the game including just 27 yards rushing while snagging one turnover. (Interception)
WORTH MENTIONING
Weddington moved up this season from Southern Carolina 3A Conference to Southern Carolina 4A……Christian coach Jason Estep coached his son, Cameron, for the first time as the Knight’s starting quarterback……For the Warriors it as the first time since the 2019 season that they were able to play a football game in the normal fall season due to the covid crisis in 2020. The Knights were able to play an abbreviated schedule last fall.
THEY SAID IT
“People told me to be in the moment and I’m trying to protect my relationship with him so I moved to the defensive side of the ball during the week. I still want to be dad at home and there were times when I wanted to put my arm around him. He’s got to grow up on his own. He’s grown up in the locker room and I’m excited for that.” Christian coach Jason Estep on coaching his son as the Knights’ starting quarterback for the first time.
RECORDS: Christian (0-1, 0-0), Weddington (1-0, 0-0)
WHAT’S NEXT: Weddington will host Providence Day next Friday at 7:00 p.m. while Charlotte Christian is idle. The Knights plays next on Friday, September 3 hosting Cuthbertson at 7:00 p.m.