Cardinal Gibbons advances to NC high school region final with win over Panther Creek

In the fourth round of the 4A state playoffs, Cardinal Gibbons defeated Panther Creek 42-14 on Friday, advancing to the regional final round of the 4A state playoffs.

After a few drives stalled out for both teams in the first quarter, Cardinal Gibbons took the initial lead as junior quarterback Connor Clark found senior tight end Jake Taylor open for the score. On their next possession, the Crusaders added to their lead with another score through the air. Clark found junior running back Blake Raphael for the touchdown to make the score 14-0 after the extra kick.

Cardinal Gibbons nearly added to the score even further at the end of the second half after Panther Creek quarterback Amari Odom was forced to scramble backward toward his own end zone. He was tackled at the 1-yard line, and two plays later, he escaped more trouble by finding senior wide receiver Jesse Powell at the opposing 48 to put the ball out of harm’s way.

The Catamounts didn’t score to end the half, though, and the Crusaders entered the third quarter already up two scores.

“We felt like if we could come out in that second half and take the opening kickoff and drive down the field and score, we’d really put ourselves in a good position,” Cardinal Gibbons head coach Steven Wright said.

After Panther Creek’s first drive stalled out, Cardinal Gibbons senior running back Donovan Shepard picked up some long runs, as he did throughout the game, to put his team in scoring position. The drive was closed out by junior Joshua Stoneking for the one-yard touchdown.

“O-Line blocked great, tight ends blocked great,” Shepard said after the game. “We had a little struggle with penalties in the beginning, but we just kept running our scheme and kept pounding the ball well.”

From there, the Catamounts could not regain any control of the game, and the Crusaders continued to pile on from both sides of the ball.

Cardinal Gibbons hounded its opponent in the backfield all afternoon, with an abundance of sacks and negative run plays for Panther Creek making it hard to advance down the field.

“The defense set the tone early,” Wright said. “We wanted to see if we could come out and get after their quarterback a little bit with our defensive line. We were able to do that.”

Panther Creek turned it over on downs following the Stoneking score, and Cardinal Gibbons made them pay on the other end. Raphael scored his second touchdown of the game, this time on the ground, to put the Crusaders up 28-0.

The Catamounts seemed to have their best possession of the game after falling in the four-touchdown hole, steadily driving down the field into the start of the fourth quarter. A defensive pass interference and a big catch from sophomore Kalen Luten got the ball down to the Cardinal Gibbons 26.

Later in the drive, however, the team faced a fourth-and-3 that resulted in Odoms throwing an interception. He was initially picked off by junior Oliver Evans, who handed the ball off to senior Will Mason midway through his return, and Mason completed the runback with a touchdown.

At 35-0, the game was out of reach for the Catamounts, who tacked on a pair of late touchdowns, but ultimately fell 42-14.

The Crusaders advance to the regional round of the 4A state playoffs, where they will face the winner of Leesville Road and Rolesville.

With the matchup still up in the air following their game, the Crusaders were more focused on themselves rather than their potential opponent.

“Coming out with energy, and just staying disciplined,” Shepard said of the team’s keys for next game. “Doing our job and just focusing on our responsibilities and not trying to come for anybody else.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 3:18 PM.