Catawba Ridge takes home ‘title of Fort Mill.’ QB Jadyn Davis, defense lead the way

The storylines seemed endless as Catawba Ridge and Nation Ford took to the Nation Ford Stadium turf. Two of the top quarterbacks in the Palmetto State were set to do battle. Catawba Ridge coach Zac Lendyak returned to the field where he — along with several of his assistants — wore the red and black under Nation Ford coach Michael Allen.

In the middle of those storylines, Allen summed up those stories in one simple comment.

“Tonight, we just got our butts kicked,” Allen said.

Lendyak’s Copperheads turned a 7-7 halftime tie into four scores in the first five second-half drives, with quarterback Jadyn Davis accounting for three of those through the air, helping Catawba Ridge coast to a 35-14 result Friday night.

“We’ve got a whole list of goals, and the first one was to win the title of Fort Mill,” Lendyak said. “We wanted to do that. These are two great programs, but we feel like we’ve established ourselves and we’re ready to take that spot where we can be in the conversation as the team from Fort Mill. My guys did exactly what we wanted them to do tonight.”

Following a Nation Ford punt on its first drive, Catawba Ridge (2-0) quickly cashed in. The Copperheads went 39 yards in seven plays, with a three-yard toss from Jadyn Davis to Lane Boutwell putting the visitors ahead 7-0.

Nation Ford (0-2) then saw the ensuing 13-play drive end on downs before compelling a Catawba Ridge punt. The Falcons then marched 88 yards in 12 plays, capping that series with a 12-yard scoring strike from QB Carson Black to Brooks Johnson to level the contest.

Both defenses clamped down over the final 7:36 of the opening half. The home-standing Falcons forced consecutive Copperhead drives to end on downs, with the second of those series culminating in a Falcon sack at their 11. The Copperheads were equally stingy, allowing the Falcons just six offensive plays in those final minutes.

The Copperheads wasted no time emerging from the locker room and seizing a lead they would never surrender.

Davis led Catawba Ridge on a six-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in a 32-yard Trevor Testerman touchdown grab to afford the visitors a 14-7 lead. Following a forced punt, Davis connected on a 61-yard dime to Jacobie Henderson that put Catawba Ridge ahead 21-7 and placed Nation Ford in a sizable hole.

“We were one thing off on both sides of the ball,” Lendyak said of the halftime adjustments. “The coaches went in and coached them up great, and the defensive guys made a couple of adjustments there. Offensively, we didn’t feel like we had to make too many changes. We just had to execute better.”

“(Lendyak) told us to just calm down and play our game,” Davis said. “I told the guys that everything was there, that they weren’t taking anything away. I said, ‘When it’s gonna pop, it’s gonna pop.’ It popped in the second half, and we went on a good run.

“There are still some things to clean up on the offensive side of the ball, but the defense played lights out. We’re just going on to the third week and happy to get the W.”

That lights-out defense resulted in a turnover that set up the penultimate Copperhead score, as it dove on a fumbled lateral to set up the offense at the Nation Ford 48. Henderson capped a brisk four-play drive with a 10-yard gallop to the end zone to extend the lead to 28-7. Davis found Jairus Frank from 14 out on the ensuing drive to push the margin to 35-7.

Carson Black then called his own number and closed the next-to-last Nation Ford drive with a one-yard jaunt to pull his club to the score that eventually proved final. The Falcons went 67 yards in seven plays on that drive.

Both standout quarterbacks completed 17 throws for their sides on the evening. Black finished the night 17-of-24 for 191 yards, accounting for both touchdowns. Davis hit 17-of-25 tries for 305 yards, including four aerial scores.

Brooks Johnson secured seven grabs for nearly 90 yards for Nation Ford, while Henderson and Testerman accounted for eight combined snags and just shy of 200 total yards.

Catawba Ridge will host Greenwood next Friday. Nation Ford is slated to host River Bluff. Both games are set to kick at 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 11:47 PM.