Week 1 was one to forget for the four Chatham County high school varsity football teams, as they combined to go 0-4 while putting up just 26 points and allowing 199.
Two teams were shut out and all four teams lost their first games of the 2022 season by 30 or more points. Here’s an extended look at three of the four games:
Week 1 action actually kicked off Thursday night, as Seaforth traveled to Purnell Swett for a JV-varsity doubleheader with rain in the forecast for Friday. Playing in their first varsity game ever, the Hawks were shut out by the Rams, 32-0.
Purnell Swett jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, extending the score to 25-0 just ahead of the halftime break. It was Purnell Swett’s first win in a season-opening game since the 2017 season.
Despite the result, Seaforth head coach Terrance Gary told the News + Record that he was encouraged by his team’s effort Thursday night.
“They played really hard, and I’m proud of them,” Gary said. “The scoreboard doesn’t really show how hard we played. We played our butts off the best we could, and that’s all I can ask from the guys. We’re playing varsity now, so we just have some things we need to execute a little better.”
Seaforth is competing in its first varsity season after playing as a junior varsity team for the first time in 2021. The Hawks went 6-3 under Gary last fall and ended the year on a four-game winning streak.
The Hawks only lost a handful of players over the offseason, meaning most of the team’s core from 2021 is back, now with a full year of experience under their belts. Gary said the program has made a lot of progress in a short amount of time.
“I’m very pleased (with our returning players,” he said. “Last year was about teaching them our standard of effort and how we play football, and this year compared to last year, the first game was like night and day. Guys were flying around. Our guys got a little gassed, but it is what it is. I didn’t have to tell them too much. They know what to do — pull your britches up and play ball.”
Northwood began the season on the road at Lee County, and the Chargers had trouble getting anything going against the Yellow Jackets, who also defeated Northwood by a score of 61-0 in both teams’ season-opener a year ago.
After forcing a punt on Northwood’s first drive, Lee County drove down the field and scored on a 23-yard touchdown run by junior Bradley Brown, who finished the day with 222 yards and two scores on 18 carries. After intercepting a pass on Northwood’s ensuing drive, the Yellow Jackets found the end zone again and entered the second quarter with a 13-0 lead.
“I saw a few positives to take away from it,” said Northwood head coach Chris Kenan. “The kids didn’t quit. It seems no matter how bad things got or how big the deficit was, the kids continued to fight until the end, and that was so encouraging to see ... I want to see the kids execute. That was probably the biggest negative takeaway from the game. No matter what the scoreboard entails Friday night, I just want to see my kids finish and execute every play the whole game.”
The Chargers gave up another touchdown on the ground on Lee County’s third drive, but Kenan’s team gained some momentum on the Yellow Jackets’ next possession. After Northwood forced fourth down, the ensuing snap went over the punter’s head. He was tackled at the Lee County 9-yard line, where the Chargers took over.
Northwood ended up capitalizing on the advantageous field position, as senior quarterback Will Smith found sophomore tight end Gus Ritchey for a six-yard touchdown to cut the score to 20-7. Ritchey had a strong game, catching three passes for 46 yards and the score and picking up a sack from the defensive end position.
Things quickly turned back in Lee County’s favor, though, as the Yellow Jackets marched downfield and scored on their next drive. And on the following Northwood possession, Lee County forced a fumble and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to make it 32-6 midway through the second quarter.
After halftime, Lee County scored on three of its final second-half possessions, the last of which came one play after a bad snap on a Northwood punt gave the Yellow Jackets the ball at the Chargers’ 23-yard line.
Northwood was led offensively by the duo of Smith and junior Carson Fortunes, who combined for 160 rushing yards on 38 carries. Smith had 110 yards and scored the final touchdown of the game on a one-yard keeper with 3:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“We’re going to try and take what the defense gives us every week, whether it’s run or pass …” Kenan said. “I thought Will Smith displayed a lot of guts. He’s playing a lot of snaps offensively and defensively, but he was still willing to tuck it and run it through the duration of the game.”
The Chargers will try to turn things around Friday as they face Jordan-Matthews at home. Northwood defeated the Jets, 72-0, last season and has won eight straight games in the all-time series between the two teams.
Jordan-Matthews found itself in the path of a buzzsaw from the beginning of its Week 1 game Friday night, as Southwestern Randolph scored 35 points in the first quarter en route to stunning the Jets.
“We have a very young team, so when you come out and try to execute and things go south really early, it’s hard to kind of reel things back in,” said Jordan-Matthews head coach Ryan Johnson. “We have a lot of youth, and when you get down early it can be hard to get their mindset back to where it needs to be to compete.”
J-M had a hard time containing senior quarterback Easton Clapp, who ran for over 100 yards and two touchdowns and threw for two more scores. Clapp’s 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter answered the Jets’ only touchdown of the game — a six-yard touchdown pass from freshman Nick Glover to junior William Brewer.
The Jets gave up another touchdown before half, ultimately entering the locker room with a 56-6 deficit. Southwestern Randolph scored just once in the second half, which featured a running clock for the entire 24-minute duration.
Offensively, Jordan-Matthews was held to less than 100 yards of total offense — 79 rushing and 18 passing. On the other side of the field, the Cougars gained 472 yards of total offense, 348 of which came on the ground.
Johnson was pleased with the play of Glover, who filled in at quarterback for Brewer in the second half. The Jets’ coach hinted that the team is going to try and work in a package involving Glover at quarterback more often going forward.
“(Glover) was one of our bright spots,” Johnson said. “We didn’t start him on offense and just kept him on defense (at first) to get his feet wet … I think he showed some glimpses of his athleticism and his decision-making. Going forward we’re going to make the game really easy for him, just give him a couple of things to look at so he can play fast.”
Despite the loss, the Jets hope to avoid a similar start to last season, when they lost their first nine games before defeating East Chapel Hill in their season finale. One glimmer of hope is that Jordan-Matthews scored points Friday, something it took them until the fourth game of the season to do in 2021.
The Jets travel to Northwood next week in what will be another tough matchup. Last fall, the Chargers defeated J-M, 72-0.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.