High School Football: Davin Latimer leads Catawba Ridge to win over rival in first start

Heading into the season, Catawba Ridge head coach Zac Lendyak knew he had a quarterback question.

His top two quarterbacks from last season graduated, and he didn’t know who would have the starting job heading into Week 1.

Would it be Davin Latimer, his third-string quarterback from last year, or could it be newcomer Andrew Turner, a transfer from Legion Collegiate.

Friday night, it was Latimer. He got the start and played well in leading the Copperheads to a 38-14 victory over Fort Mill Friday night.

He threw for a touchdown and ran for 119 yards and another score in the win.

“Davin did a great job,” Lendyak said. “He ran our offense the way we wanted him to. He did a great job with his legs, threw the ball when he need to and commanded the offense. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Latimer said he felt great during the game and wasn’t too nervous.

He credited his coaching staff for putting together a great scheme for him to best utilize his talents.

“We just followed the game plan,” Latimer said. “It got a little hectic towards the end of the first half, but overall, I feel like we did a good job.”

Looking ahead, Lendyak said he’s looking for Latimer to continue to develop, though the coach said Latimer is still battling for the starting spot with Turner, who came in the game midway through the second half.

“We want to develop the pass game a little bit more, with more command in that and being more consistent,” Lendyak said. “That’s what (Latimer) struggled with kind of through the jamborees, scrimmages and practices. He’d have a good day followed up with a not-so-good day. That’s where the both of them are; that’s why it’s such a close battle. I want to see them both become more consistent and comfortable in the offense as we move on through the season.”

Besides the quarterbacks, Catawba Ridge senior running back Ira Mister also had a big nght.

Mister ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns on just 24 carries, sparking the offense with several big runs.

“It’s always the o-line first, I have to always appreciate them,” Mister said. “All the work I put in just came out on the field. Definitely blessed to have a good start to my senior year.”

Fort Mill’s offensive struggles

Fort Mill made a strong stand in the first half.

Braylon Thomas returned a fumble recovery 36 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and the Yellow Jackets took advantage of a second-quarter Catawba Ridge muffed punt with a Colin Martin 35-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Mays.

Fort Mill went into halftime down 24-14, but couldn’t maintain its momentum in the second half.

The offense generated less than 70 yards in their five second-half offensive possessions.

Head coach Rob McNeely said that the offense gave the ball away too quickly, leaving the defense on the field more than he would have liked.

“Give (Catawba Ridge) credit,” McNeely said. “They’re a good, well-coached football team. Really big up front on the defensive line. They kind of handled us up front. With the offense that we run, we’re not asking undersized linemen to be block bigger guys for 10 seconds. We just got to be better at being a thorn in somebody’s side.”

McNeely said that the biggest thing for the offense was the inability to stay in front of the chains.

Sacks and negative run plays put the team behind schedule, forcing the offense into some tough spots throughout the game.

“We’re going to do what we do, but we got to be better up front and in pass protection,” he said. “We got to give our receivers a chance to make plays. Tanner (Mays) is going to make plays. He’s going to draw a lot of attention, so other players got to set up and make some plays.”

Catawba Ridge penalty struggles

A trend that Catawba Ridge would not like to see continue is the number of penalties called on Copperhead players.

Multiple big plays were wiped out by penalties, and Catawba Ridge gave up several first downs on penalties committed by its defense.

“We like to get a big play and then crank it up right after that and get some tempo,” Lendyak said. “But when you’re constantly moving yourself backwards, not only does it kill the yardage you got, but it kills the momentum of the play. We got to clean those things up.”

Latimer said that the penalties arose from general nerves, and that it’s something that can’t continue.

The Copperheads had multiple unsportsmanlike conduct or personal foul penalties dealt due to players taking exception with calls from the referees.

“We got to get the penalties under control,” Latimer said. “We can handle a holding or a missed call here or there, but we can’t handle running our mouths, so we got to get that under control.”

Next up

Catawba Ridge opens up the season 1-0 and will host Charlotte Christian, while Fort Mill drops its season opener and will head on the road to face Chester.

Both game are scheduled for August 25.

This story was originally published August 19, 2023 at 6:30 AM.