FOOTBALL

County teams go 0-3, scoreless in Week 9

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Week 9 was one to forget for Chatham County football teams, as Chatham Central, Seaforth and Jordan-Matthews went 0-3 and combined to score zero points last Friday.

For the season, the Bears, Hawks and Jets — along with Northwood — have a combined record of 6-24 so far this fall. The Chargers currently have the best record in the county at 3-4; they had a bye this past week.

Here’s a closer look at the three games from Week 9 and a look ahead to Week 10.

Graham 24, Chatham Central 0

The Chatham Central football team battled hard Friday trying to earn its second win of the season, but despite shutting out Graham in the first half, the Bears fell to the Red Devils, 24-0, to fall to 1-6 on the season.

It was a punt fest in the first half, with both teams failing to find a rhythm on offense in either of the first two quarters. Graham was finally able to take control at the start of the third quarter thanks to a nice return on the second-half kickoff. After a long run set them up 1st-and-goal at Central’s 1-yard line, the Red Devils scored on a fullback dive to go up 6-0 with 10:24 to go in the third quarter.

Chatham Central’s next drive stalled out thanks to penalties, and on fourth down, the Graham rush got to the Bears’ punter and tackled him for a huge loss. The Red Devils took over inside Central’s 20-yard line, but were ultimately backed up to 4th-and-28 thanks to a few flags of their own. Rather than attempt a lengthy field goal, Graham went for it and managed to score on a desperate heave from senior quarterback Carlos Quintanilla to senior receiver Elijah Summers, who out-jumped a defensive back on the sideline before finding his way into the end zone.

Down 12-0 at the start of the fourth quarter, Central couldn’t change the script in the final period, giving up another two touchdowns to the Red Devils. Central is now 1-2 in conference play entering the final two weeks of the regular season.

North Moore 42, Seaforth 0

Seaforth had its hands full on the road against undefeated North Moore, and the Hawks couldn’t keep pace with the Mustangs, losing 42-0, last Friday.

The Hawks (2-6, 2-2 Conf.) fell behind midway through the first quarter on a 35-yard touchdown pass by the Mustangs (7-0, 3-0 Conf.). North Moore added to its lead in the second quarter on a pair of short touchdown runs, and Seaforth entered the locker room at halftime facing a 21-0 deficit.

North Moore scored all three of its second-half touchdowns on the ground, taking the game by a final score of 42-0 to keep its undefeated season alive. The Mustangs currently lead the Mid-Carolina Conference at 3-0 and are looking to make a deep playoff run this fall after falling in the second round in 2021.

Seaforth enters the final two weeks of the regular season at 2-6 overall. The Hawks have performed admirably in their first season as a varsity program, and have already established themselves as the second best team in Chatham County after wins over both Jordan-Matthews and Chatham Central earlier this season.

Cummings 64, Jordan-Matthews 0

Jordan-Matthews suffered its worst loss of the season last Friday, falling to Cummings, 64-0, on the road. The loss drops the Jets to 0-8 on the season and 0-4 in conference play.

Cummings gained 361 yards of total offense. The Cavaliers were led on that end of the field by sophomore quarterback Johnniyus Sharpe, who threw for 189 yards and four touchdowns while adding 68 rushing yards and two rushing scores. Junior Jonathan Paylor caught two passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and senior Marione’ Enoch had eight carries for 79 yards and two scores on the ground.

So far this season, Jordan-Matthews has scored 26 points across its eight games, an average of 3.3 points per game. The Jets have been outscored by an average of 46.1 points per game this season and have lost 25 of their last 26 games dating back to the end of the 2019 season.

The last time Jordan-Matthews made the state playoffs was 2013, when the Jets finished the year 5-7 overall. Since that season, the Jets have a total record of 13-76.

Looking ahead

The Week 10 slate sees Northwood return to the field after a Week 9 bye. The Chargers (3-4) will try to get back to .500 on the season this Friday on the road at Orange High, which is currently 1-6 on the season.

Northwood is 6-8 against Orange since the start of the 2005 season. The Chargers have won the last two meetings with the Panthers, including a 34-6 victory at home last season.

Jordan-Matthews will try to earn its first win of the season this Friday at home against Graham. The Jets are 5-6 against the Red Devils since 2007, but they have lost the last five meetings between the two teams. Jordan-Matthews’ last win over Graham was on Oct. 5, 2012.

Chatham Central, meanwhile, faces Bartlett Yancey on the road Friday. The Buccaneers are currently 4-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Bears played Bartlett Yancey for the first time last season and lost at home, 54-6.

Seaforth has a bye in Week 10. The Hawks return to action Oct. 21 vs. Cummings.

Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.