Written by JEREMIAH ARTACHO
Chapel Hill High School (1-5) was having a hard time on the football field two weeks removed from its Week 5 shutout against then-ranked No. 2 football team in North Carolina, Weddington High School. Head coach Ryan Horton and the Tigers took a trip to Durham and faced Jordan High School (4-2) on Friday night. It was head coach Antonio King’s Falcons that left the field victorious, winning by a hefty margin of 44-13.
The Tigers were unable to reach the opposing end zone until the first drive of the fourth quarter. Senior running back Tyler Jackson bolted past defenders down the right side of the field for a 37-yard touchdown. However, senior kicker Mattheus Hobler’s extra point attempt was blocked — leaving the scoreboard at 37-6 with five minutes remaining.
Despite the struggles, Horton brought back one of his true quarterbacks in senior Jonah Berman, which was his first appearance since Week 2 due to an injury. This was with junior Samuel Zimmerman out since the season opener due to injury as well. The result of those circumstances led to senior running back Josh Roberson playing out of position — taking snaps in the backfield. In his return, Berman tossed a 20-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Tyler Oliaro at the end of the fourth quarter with six seconds left to spare.
“Not just him but our whole offense — me included, we’re all trying to find our rhythm,” Horton said about bringing one of his true quarterbacks back. “We had some good plays and then we took a step back after that. Just trying to get back into a different style of offense that we haven’t been running recently. It took us a little bit to get going.”
Horton’s defense held its ground against the Falcons with a scoreless first quarter but that did not hold up for much longer.
The Falcons opened up the scoring with a quarterback keeper from inside Chapel Hill’s 5-yard line during the second quarter, as junior Landon Melton ran in for the touchdown. To finish the drive, junior kicker Asher Holland knocked in an extra point — his first of six total makes on the night.
Jordan High School’s highlight of the night came during the fourth quarter — a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Omaris McMiller Jr. caught the ball and zoomed through the Tigers’ defense toward the left side of the field with blockers carving a path to the end zone. The following PAT went through the uprights — reaching the Falcons’ 44-point mark.
Horton’s team has struggled to put points up on the scoreboard after its last two games. Its Week 4 victory against Carrboro found them scoring 35 points — more than the last two games combined. Although its last two opponents were no piece of cake.
“I think context matters,” Horton said. “Jordan’s going to be a team that goes deep in the playoffs. Weddington just won a state championship. If you look at it that way, there’s some tough defense that we just played. Along with the fact that we’re still trying to find our balance between who we are. I feel good about the pieces moving forward.”
Chapel Hill High School will host Riverside on Thursday, October 10. The kickoff is set to 7:00 p.m.
“Riverside is another good team — it will be homecoming,” Horton said about his next contest. “We will be back at home and I feel good about what we can accomplish.”
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