Catawba Ridge ends Fort Mill’s unbeaten streak in SC high school football
Catawba Ridge spoiled Fort Mill’s unbeaten season.
Despite struggling to sustain drives on offense for the majority of the game, the Copperheads’ defense kept the Yellow Jackets at bay as Catawba Ridge won 14-10 on Friday night.
Catawba Ridge got the winning score when quarterback Will Griggs tossed a 65-yard post to Joshua Dobson that got the Copperheads’ fans on their feet as Catawba Ridge took the 14-10 lead.
“This is pretty much what I was expecting,” Catawba Ridge coach Zac Lendyak said. “I know we both had really good defenses and offenses that are kind of finding their way. They put up a lot more points than we did this year. We just need to find a rhythm.”
Lendyak said even after Fort Mill went up 10-0, there weren’t a lot of adjustments made. He and the coaching staff felt the gameplan they had in place would eventually work, and they stuck with it. It proved to be the right decision.
“There weren’t a whole lot of adjustments,” Lendyak said. “We wanted to just keep doing what we were doing, and being able to put Josh (Dobson) on their No. 1 receiver. It is nice to have a defensive back like him that can take that element away, force them into doing some things that they maybe didn’t want to do, and then the rest of the defense just rallied.”
Dobson said that he was proud of how the defense rallied and didn’t lower their heads when they got scored on early.
“We played great defense,” Dobson said. “I’m proud of our defense. We’re gonna go back to the lab, we’re gonna get the offense right. I told Coach last Sunday, I texted him. I said, ‘Coach, I want their No. 1 receiver. I feel like I can take him away every time.’”
Dobson did that. He gave up zero receptions to his matchup the duration of the game, showing why he is the No. 5 ranked player in the class of 2027.
Dobson added that there is no time to celebrate because they next face a hungry Nation Ford team that suffered a 75-21 loss to Northwestern this week.
“We have to have the same preparation,” Dobson said. “Practice how you play, that is what we do. The script is the script. I’ll be following their No. 1 receiver, so I’ll be sure to lock down my side of the field.”
Three who made a difference
Nolan Jones, Catawba Ridge: Jones intercepted the Yellowjackets in the third quarter. The interception came at a critical time in the third quarter after the Copperheads had a bad punt that set Fort Mill up with good field position.
Damien Ashcraft, Catawba Ridge: The Copperheads defensive lineman had two sacks, one coming late in the fourth quarter to put the Yellowjackets in a fourth-and-long, which they didn’t convert.
Broden Mitcheson, Fort Mill: The Yellowjackets running back helped set the tone early in the first quarter by breaking off a few long runs. His best came on a play where when he seemed dead to rights, but he spun out of a tackle and ran 180 degrees in the other direction and picked up 32 yards.
Notable
The Yellow Jackets forced a fumble on Catawba Ridge’s first drive of the game, but failed to take advantage of it, missing a 42-yard field goal.
Fort Mill appeared to be putting together a scoring drive late in the first half with 4 minutes to go before Copperheads’ defender Tyler Robinson jumped a route and intercepted Quinn Kelly’s pass at the Catawba Ridge 14-yard line.
Catawba Ridge’s first drive of the second half was stymied by an interception by Fort Mill’s Jeremiah Young.
Fort Mill did not get a first down in the second half until the 4-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
Game summary
Fort Mill 10 0 0 0 — 10
Catawba Ridge 0 7 7 0 — 14
First Quarter
FM: 53-yard field goal by Noah Hardy
FM: Quinn Kelly 17 pass to Josiah McKinzie (Hardy kick)
Second Quarter
CR: Will Griggs 12 rush (Declan Hogan kick)
Third Quarter
CR: Griggs 65 pass to Joshua Dobson (Hogan kick)
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 11:31 PM.