BEAR CREEK — Chatham Central head football coach Sherman Howze had a simple message for his Bears club entering the game with rival North Moore on Friday night.
“Play like your life depended on it.”
The Chatham Central players certainly seemed to take it to heart.
On a bone-chilling Senior Night in Bear Creek, Chatham Central overwhelmed North Moore 38-20 to capture its first win of the season on the final contest of the 2019 campaign.
The Bears, 19 point underdogs entering the contest according to the Simmons Ratings, closed the season at 1-5 in the 1A Yadkin Valley Conference and at 1-10 overall.
North Moore, meanwhile, ended the year at 1-5 in the league and 3-7 overall.
“We finally put four quarters together,”said Howze after the big win. “I think we showed what kind of team we really had when we were healthy. These guys suffered through so many injuries that we never could get on track. Tonight we showed what kind of team we really had.”
The Mustangs certainly found out the hard way as the Bears dominated from start to finish in a game that wasn’t even close as the eleven CC seniors went out in style.
Nick Wilson, Aba de la Sancha, Zach Ritter, Caleb Lytton, Riley Lagenor, Noah Rinell, Shyheed Williams and Taevon Clay all had big games defensively in their career finale for the red and black while Lagenor, Micah Gurley, and Hunter Strickland all played well offensively.
Sancha rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries while also booting a 39-yard field goal, connecting on all five PAT kicks, punting for a 44.6 yard average, and collecting 12 tackles on defense.
“Abad is just a football player, I say it all the time, he’s not just a kicker,” Howze exclaimed on Sancha who appears to be headed to Elizabeth City State University to continue his football career at the collegiate level. “He can do it all, he has all season, and what a game to end his career here at Chatham Central.”
Lytton added 13 tackles, Ritter 11, Wilson eight, Rinell six, Strickland four, and Clay and Williams three apiece. Collin Lagenor, a junior, also had a big game with an interception of North Moore quarterback Gage Pennington while also adding 11 tackles, and Clay and Hasten Paige both recovered a fumble.
“Those guys got after it tonight; they were relentless and refused to be denied this win,” added Howze. “They were aggressive and played with an edge, and I think just had fun.”
Michael Moore had a strong night offensively as the CC junior quarterback went 9-of-12 for 127 yards and three touchdowns, finding three different receivers in Gurley, Strickland and Tyler Oldham for scoring connections. Moore also had key runs of 14 and seven yards to extend drives which resulted in touchdowns later in a pair of Bears offensive marches.
Strickland closed the evening with four catches for 40 yards including a nifty catch in the right corner of the end zone for a score. Gurley caught two passes for 40 yards including a 30 yard touchdown while Oldham hauled in two passes for 12 yards including an eight yard TD reception in the left corner of the end zone. Riley Lagenor added a pair of receptions for 37 yards with one coming on an important third down and resulted in a 22-yard gain.
North Moore, meanwhile, was led by Pennington who did his best Doug Flutie impersonation the entire night. The Mustang senior displayed some nifty footwork in scrambling for 146 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on 23 carries while also completing 7-of-13 passes for 62 yards.
Jaleak Horne added 92 yards on 13 carries while also hauling in four passes for 33 yards. Cody Patterson added two catches for 21 yards while Juan Hernandez scored the final touchdown for the Mustangs in the loss with a short rush of four yards.
Defensively, Chris Sheffield had a pick for the Mustangs while Logan Pennington added a fumble recovery, and Hernandez and Trace Wilson chipped in three tackles including one for a loss apiece.
Jatorious Brower was all over the field from his defensive end spot for North Moore as the junior recorded six tackles including three for losses while freshman Nathan Upchurch added a sack.