South Pointe defends home turf in football season opener, downs Catawba Ridge

The South Pointe Stallions scored 24 first-half points and held off the Catawba Ridge Copperheads on Friday night, 31-14, in a much anticipated season-opening win in Rock Hill.

Stallions quarterback O’Mega Blake passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third. Blake was 8-for-16 passing for 118 yards and carried the ball eight times for 81. Nygel Moore had 92 yards on 18 carries and the opening touchdown of the season on a one-yard run with 5:22 left in the first quarter.

The Stallions played two quarterbacks in the first half and Nebanye Moore was 3-for-6 for 51 yards. Waymond Jenerette had four catches for 99 yards for South Pointe.

Catawba Ridge freshman quarterback Jadyn Davis was 12-for-24 for 113 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Isaiah Steele and Jordan Mahoney came up with the picks for South Pointe, both on passes that were tipped into the air.

The Stallions scored 17 points in the final 5:20 of the first half to blow the game open. Collin Karhu started it with a 23-yard field goal.

On the next play from scrimmage, Mahoney came down with his interception. Blake hit Caleb Rayner for a 28-yard score and then the QB ran it in from 15 yards out with 6.7 seconds left before halftime to give the Stallions all the momentum entering the locker room.

Catawba Ridge struck back in the second half. Davis hooked up with Quinton Jackson for a five-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and hit Jacobie Henderson for the two-point conversion.

With 5:13 left in the game, Davis found Ben Hudgins in the end zone on fourth-and-eight for a 10-yard score to cut the deficit to 24-14. After the onside kick went out of bounds, Blake scored on a 23-yard run with 3:06 left to ice the game.

Notable: South Pointe, Catawba Ridge penalities

South Pointe was penalized 20 times for 175 yards and the Cooperheads amassed 105 yards on 11 penalties. There could have been a combination of factors, such as first-game jitters, starting a month late, limited scrimmages and the officials getting back in the swing of things.

Quotable: ‘It’s a blessing’

“I told the kids it’s a blessing,” South Pointe coach Devonte Holloman said about finally playing. “Kids all over the country would do anything to trade places with them right now.”

The Stallions will host Lancaster next week and Catawba Ridge will get a visit from York.

This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 11:22 PM.