North Lincoln topples previously unbeaten West Lincoln

North Lincoln 7, West Lincoln 6

Jake Soorus scored on a 99-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and the Knights held off West Lincoln in the second half for a 7-6 win in Pumpkin Center in the South Fork 2A opener for both teams.

Seth Willis’ 2-yard scoring run got the Rebels on the scoreboard late in the first half, but the extra-point kick was no good.

With the Rebels driving in the fourth quarter, the North Lincoln defense forced a turnover on a sack and took over in West Lincoln territory.

After a missed field goal attempt by the Knights, West Lincoln had one last shot with under a minute to play, but and interception sealed the win for North Lincoln.

For West Lincoln (4-1, 0-1), it was their first loss of the season while North Lincoln improved to 3-2, 1-0 in conference play.

East Lincoln 56, Lake Norman Charter 7

The Mustangs forced six Lake Norman Charter Knights turnovers and allowed only 20 total yards of offense en route to a runaway victory in Huntersville.

Quarterback Chase Jones went 6-for-7 for 148 yards, rushed for one touchdown and threw for four touchdowns for the Mustangs (3-2). Running back Cole Barber rushed for 105 yards on seven carries and one touchdown as the Mustangs led 50-0 at the half.

Newton-Conover 34, Lincolnton 7

The Red Devils (3-2, 1-0) scored on the opening play from scrimmage for 49 yard touchdown pass and never looked back as they defeated Lincolnton (1-4, 0-1).

The touchdown strike came from quarterback Justice Craig to receiver Kyjuan McClain.

The Wolves lone touchdown came from James Woods who scored from 13 yards out and was set up by a 35 yard run from Jamal Littlejohn. 

Next week, the Wolves will host county rival East Lincoln and Newton-Conover hosts Bandys.

Irmo 42, Clover 34

The first 12 minutes were full of defense as neither offense was able to get into a rhythm. Irmo was denied on a 4th and 1 with 5:44 left in the opening quarter. Clover quarterback Gabe Carroll was intercepted on the next play. A few drives later, Carroll was intercepted once more by E.J. Grigsby and he returned it to the Clover 1. Irmo made him pay with a John Ragin Jr. 1-yard touchdown run to go up 7-0 late in the 1st quarter.

On the next drive, Clover made the 1st big play of the night  on a slant play. The Eagles found themselves in a 4th and short again and didn’t convert but an Irmo penalty extended the drive.

Clover marched it to the 1-yard line with an opportunity to tie, but the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Yellow Jackets for a 99-yard touchdown that extended their lead to 14-0 in the 2nd quarter.

Gabe Carroll was able to settle in and put a drive together with a nice mix of run and pass. Carroll got the Blue Eagles into the endzone, connecting with Heze Massey on a 15-yard touchdown pass to cut Irmo’s lead to 14-7 with 6:11 left before the halftime horn.

Clover blocked an Irmo punt, which set the Blue Eagles up with great field position with 5:04 left before halftime. David Hall punched it in on a 1-yard touchdown run to tie things up at 14 with 2:42 left.

Following an Irmo punt, it didn’t take Clover long to score. Gabe Carroll connected with Jaylin Lane on a 50-yard touchdown pass to take their 1st lead of the game at 21-14 into halftime.

Irmo came out of the halftime locker room with a big kick off return. A few plays later, Irmo ran it in on a Jansen McGahee 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21 with 12:34 left in the 3rd quarter.

Following a partially blocked punt by the Blue Eagles, Gabe Carroll led the offense on a drive that went to the 1-yard line. David Hall scored his 2nd touchdown of the night on a 1-yard touchdown run to retake the lead at 28-21 with 5:08 left in the 3rd. Both defenses stiffened towards the end of the 3rd quarter, and neither offense was able to get much going early in the 4th.

Irmo had the ball with 7:07 left as they converted a 3rd down to keep the potential game tying drive alive. The Yellow Jackets tied the game at 28 on a Omarion Dollison 12-yard run with 5:41 left in the game. Following a punt return to the Clover 14 yard line, Irmo took a 35-28 lead with a similar play to what they scored on earlier with 4:05 left.

Gabe Carroll completed a 54-yard strike to Jaylin Lane to move into Yellow Jacket territory to the 29-yard line. A few plays later, Carroll connected with Nygle Biggers for the touchdown. Brian Lane elected to go for two, but it fell short. Irmo still lead 35-34.

Omarion Dollison iced the game with a 28-yard touchdown run, his 4th of the night to go up 42-34 with 1:31 left in the game. Dollison ended the game with an interception and secured the win