State Bound! Whirlies exploded for 35 second half points, defeat Weddington in thrilling comeback win.
Grimley outscored Weddington 35-13 in the second half behind the incredible playmaking of Fazion Brandon and his wide receivers. Patrick Carter, Khyan Battle, Kaden Catoe all made fantastic catches in clutch moments. Catoe finished with three receiving touchdowns. Summers, who started slow, finished with over 100 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
The turning point of the game was turned in by the Grimsley defense. After, Fazion Brandon was sacked from behind, Weddington recovered the fumble and setup shop on the Grimsley 17 yard line. Up by ten, midway through the third quarter, the Warriors smelled blood in the water. But the ensuing drive for Warriors is one that not only changed the trajectory of the game but their season. Instead of getting points and pushing the advantage, Weddington only went backwards. Three straight times. A five yard loss, another loss and then a sack. Weddington was forced to punt. It was a Grimsley defensive stand for the ages, the turning point in the game.
The defensive stand gave the home crowd something to cheer about. Grimsley’s offense seized the momentum and responded to the tune of three straight touchdowns. The first, a 55 yard touchdown catch by Kaden Catoe to cut it to 17-14. Then early in the fourth quarter, Brandon found Catoe again from 46 yards away as Grimsley took their first lead 21-17. Three minutes later, Mitchell Summers broke free for a 46 yard touchdown run. The dam had burst open. In a blink of an eye the Whirlies were up two scores at 28-17. With 5:33 left in the game, Weddington would score from 40 yards away to make 28-23 as their 2-point try was not successful. Grimsley went right back down the field, 65 yards in total, as Summers scored his second rushing touchdown of the game with 1:50 to play to make it 35-23.
In what was a tale of two halves, the first 24 minutes belonged to the defending state champion Warriors. Their vaulted defense had held Grimsley to just 76 yards and more importantly zero points. Weddington was getting 5-7 yards a carry on the ground and looked to be in firm control.
Weddington scored a field goal on their first drive, missed a field goal on their second and scored a touchdown on their third to take a 10-0 lead into the intermission. On the other hand, the Whirlies had punted twice and were turned away on fourth down and three. Just as concerning was the fact that outstanding Grimsley running back Mitchell Summers was being bottled up. After rushing for 302 yards a week ago, Summers had just 37 yards on 10 carries on their three opening drives.
A packed Jamieson Stadium didn’t have much to cheer about. With 24 minutes remaining in the Whirlies season and Grimsley set to kick off to Weddington to start the second half little did we know what kind of game we would get. And it all started with the Grimsley defense.
Starting from their own 31 yard line, Weddington opened the third quarter just like they had in the first two quarters, running the ball inside. But less than 2 minutes into the quarter, Nick Diamond had the ball stripped from hands and the Whirlies were able to recover the fumble on their own 41. The first turnover of the game was cashed in two plays later on a 39 yard Brandon to Catoe touchdown pass to make it 10-7. After not doing anything all first half, all of a sudden, the crowd was going crazy, and it was a three-point game.
But the momentum was short-lived. Weddington responded with a 67 yard touchdown drive on their next drive to push the lead back to ten with 9:47 to play in the third. Not only that, on the next Grimsley drive, Fazion Brandon was stripped sacked from behind. With Wedddington starting in the Grimsley redzone and the season on the line, the defense made big play after big play.
It was a thrilling second half comeback that won’t soon be forgotten. Grimsley will now face Rolesville for the state title next Friday.
All I got to say is wow just wow what a team. No quit all fight .