Written by JEREMIAH ARTACHO
It was opening night for both East Chapel Hill High School and Cedar Ridge High School’s football teams on Friday, August 23. The two teams who finished the 2023-2024 school year winless in football, but that changed after the fourth quarter ended for Coach Larry Stroud and his Wildcats. The team in black and white won by a score of 32-12 against Cedar Ridge away from home.
Junior wide receiver A’maree Evans led the way with a two-touchdown performance. During the second drive in the first quarter, he caught and ran the ball for his first touchdown of the season — with the courtesy of senior quarterback Jackson Weinstein.
The following drive, Evans proceeded to score yet again – this time a 53-yard run to the house, zooming past every defender in his way.
After the conclusion of three drives, the Wildcats stood at 13-0 — as a blocked field goal attempt prevented an even 14 points on the scoreboard.
Weinstein threw his first passing touchdown on drive number four, completed by junior wide receiver Noah Muhammad in the endzone. The converted field goal afterwards boosted the Wildcats’ score up to 20 points.
On the defensive side, East Chapel Hill served problems for the Red Wolves — forcing a fumble during their second drive of the first quarter. It was junior Brian Tedder with the recovery.
It was not until the first drive of the second quarter that Cedar Ridge scored touchdown number one of the season — result of their own fumble recovery at the 20-yard line. Senior running back Jordan Oliva ran the ball in from the 1-yard line, making the scoreboard read 20-6 — a bobbled field goal attempt ended that scoring drive.
To begin the second half, the Wildcats’ first drive ended with a quarterback run from Weinstein for a touchdown. The following play saw Coach Stroud electing to go for two points but the pass was deflected, ending that series with a 26-6 score advantage.
At the start of the fourth quarter, it was a pair of different Wildcats for Coach Stroud who entered points into the box score. Sophomore quarterback Jaden Nichols’ pass to junior wide receiver Elliot Forbes in the endzone raised the score to 32-6.
The Red Wolves entered the scoreboard a second time with a massive 93-yard touchdown run by junior tight end Mason Hughes all the way to the endzone — with the pass thrown by junior quarterback Thomas McDermott. All of the fans for Cedar Ridge burst out in celebration following the play.
After the game, Coach Stroud talked about his feelings following the victory.
“It’s great, Stroud said. “The kids worked hard, the coaches worked hard and we just put everything together that we’ve been working through the spring and the summer. The guys were just ready to play.”
When asked about what it’s like to have a player like Evans, he praised the junior receiver.
“It’s awesome,” Stroud said. “He has grown and developed throughout our program over the last couple of years and I just can’t wait to see what he does as the season goes on.”
“My team, I can’t do it without them,” Evans stated of his performance on Friday. “Especially my QB — this is the dude that handed me the ball — I’m not giving any credit to myself, it’s all my team.”
In addition, Evans was asked about what he could improve on, he had an extended response.
“Everything,” he said. “I could improve my speed, tucking — I’m not the best right now, that was not a good game. I could’ve done a lot better.”
Weinstein discussed what it meant to get win number one of the season for East Chapel Hill High, saying there’s room for improvement but that it was good to already notch a win.
“I feel really good,” he said. “I think there’s some pressure from having a rough season last year and feels really good to start at 1-0 — coming out here with a good game.”
“I’m really happy for my team,” Weinstein added. “They all played great, it wasn’t just me. It was a team effort, everyone was playing well.”
Next week, the East Chapel Hill Wildcats will continue their road trip by entering Montgomery Central High School on August 30 at 7:00 p.m.. They look to bump their record to 2-0 before their first home game against Carrboro High School on September 6.
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