Comets crash down on Bears in win

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NEW LONDON — There’s no question North Stanly has dominated Chatham Central on the gridiron throughout a series that began in 2003, winning all 10 of their previous matchups by an average of 47 points, but Friday evening’s annihilation of the Bears was in a class all by itself.

The Comets put points on the board nearly every way imaginable – running, passing, two interceptions and a punt return for a score, a field goal plus a safety – while tallying nine touchdowns prior to halftime en route to registering a record-setting 74-0 Yadkin Valley 1A Conference triumph in front of a huge Homecoming crowd at R.N. Jeffrey Stadium.

Playing its league opener, North Stanly climbed to 2-4 for the season, while Chatham Central dropped to 0-2 in the conference and 0-7 overall.

The margin of victory was the Comets’ largest in school history, surpassing last year’s 70-0 whitewash of Louisburg in the first round of the 1A state playoffs, while the winners’ point total came within one of their all-time high for most points scored in a game when North Stanly dealt South Davidson a 75-7 drubbing on September 19, 2014.

The setback marked the Bears’ most lopsided defeat since a 79-0 loss to Albemarle on September 20, 2013 and resulted in the most points allowed by Chatham Central since losing 82-48 last October 5 to West Montgomery.

The Comets piled up 419 yards of total offense, including 202 rushing yards and four touchdowns from Christian Barber – all in the first half.

Luke Shaver completed five-of-seven passes for 69 yards and one touchdown with one interception, with Karee Dykes hauling in Shaver’s TD toss besides adding a pair of scores on the ground.

“We knew we had to contain Chatham Central’s quarterback while putting pressure both on the outside and up the middle to stop the run,” said North Stanly coach Scott Crisco. “I thought we played a complete game tonight by scoring on offense and defense plus special teams. Not only did we take advantage of turnovers, but we kept drives alive by avoiding penalties while the offensive line did a great job opening up holes for our running backs.”

An aggressive Comets’ defense harassed Bears’ QB Michael Moore the entire evening, resulting in the junior signal-caller only managing to connect on two-of-16 aerials for 10 yards while throwing a pair of costly pick-six interceptions, as Chatham Central was limited to two first downs and minus-12 net total yards of offense.

“I really don’t have much to say,” said Bears’ coach Sherman Howze as he made his way off the field following the outcome. “We just got off the wrong bus tonight. North Stanly shut down every aspect of our game and controlled both sides of the line, while we continue to have difficulty tackling. But I like the character of this team, and I told the players afterwards they need to dig down deep inside and find themselves because we still have some winnable games on the schedule.”

Following a three-and-out series by Chatham Central on its opening possession, the Comets went 44 yards in four plays to seize a 7-0 advantage when Barber capped the drive with a 28-yard gallop up the middle before Dawson Hunt booted the point-after with 9:10 left in the first quarter.

Another three-and-out series by the Bears paved the way for North Stanly to extend its lead to 14-0 when Barber climaxed a four-play, 38-yard march by sprinting the last 26 yards over right tackle prior to Hunt’s conversion with 5:50 to go in the initial period.

With Chatham Central continuing to struggle moving the football, the Comets next drove 60 yards in five plays to score when Dykes carried the final 15 yards up the middle before Bears’ defensive end Nic Wilson blocked Hunt’s extra point attempt, leaving the count at 20-0 with 2:46 left in the opening stanza.

Barely a minute-and-a-half later, on the first play from scrimmage after Cooper Hogan’s 24-yard punt return to the Chatham Central 15, Shaver completed a pass to Dykes in the left flat prior to the receiver following his blockers to the front corner of the end zone before Hunt kicked the first of seven straight point-after attempts to boost North Stanly’s advantage to 27-0 with 53.4 seconds remaining in the first period.

The Comets proceeded to rack up 37 points over the final 5:18 of the second quarter, scoring on Barber’s 56-yard scamper untouched down the near sideline, a 35-yard interception return by defensive back Stephan Harris, a two-yard run over right tackle by Dykes, a safety when Bears’ running back Abad de la Sancha was tackled in the end zone, Barber’s one-yard plunge over right guard and linebacker Dylan Eudy’s 23-yard interception return to stretch their lead to 64-0 at intermission.

North Stanly then increased its advantage to 71-0 when Hogan gathered in a Chatham Central punt at the Bears’ 42 and sped down the left sideline to pay dirt with just under six minutes to go in the third stanza prior to the Comets adding their final points when Hunt drilled a 36-yard field goal through the uprights with ten-and-a-half minutes remaining in the contest.