Mallard Creek tops Cardinal Gibbons in matchup of NC high school football powers

Mallard Creek finally solved the Cardinal Gibbons defense, and did so in the timeliest of moments.

Sophomore quarterback Zayden Paylor found Khalil Price on a crossing route, and Price scampered more than 40 yards with fewer than three minutes to play in the fourth quarter to lift Mallard Creek past Cardinal Gibbons, 20-16, in a matchup of two of North Carolina’s top high school football teams Friday night in Raleigh.

The score was the Mavericks’ only one of the second half and capped a back-and-forth battle worthy of the game’s top billing.

The second half alone featured a successful fake punt, a successful field goal, a blocked PAT, a blocked punt, a fake field goal for a touchdown that was then called back, and, of course, the Paylor-to-Price game-winner. That followed a first half that saw the Crusaders lose Wake Forest-bound quarterback Gannon Jones to a collarbone injury.

Wild fourth quarter

The Crusaders (4-1) trailed at halftime, 14-7, and after a fake punt and successful field goal in the third made it 14-10, entered the final quarter with a chance at a comeback.

And it looked like they’d be successful, after backup quarterback Conner Lindsey found Connor McGeehan on a strike in the end zone early in the fourth to put Cardinal Gibbons ahead for the first time since the middle of the first. The Mavericks (4-1) blocked the PAT to remain down just two at 16-14.

Mallard Creek’s next drive stalled after a series of penalties — ranging from holding to unsportsmanlike conduct — backed the Mavericks up inside their own 5-yard line. On a fourth-and-long, the Crusaders blocked a punt and took over inside the 10 with a chance to salt the game away.

Instead, it was Mallard Creek’s turn for a stand, and the Mavericks forced a field goal try. On the ensuing play, the Crusaders ran a fake kick, with a pitch back to the kicker, who ran it untouched into the corner of the end zone.

But, officials quickly blew the play dead after they determined the holder, who received the initial snap, never took his knee off the ground before pitching the ball backward, which meant he was automatically down and the Crusaders had turned the ball over on downs.

Mallard Creek, momentum now firmly in tow, ground its way to midfield before the Paylor-to-Price strike capped the scoring. Cardinal Gibbons snuffed out the two-point conversion but still needed a touchdown to win.

The Crusaders had one last drive to try and answer, and crossed midfield, but the Mavericks stuffed a fourth-and-17 from near midfield to seal the win.

Trading scores through three quarters

Noah Terry put the Crusaders on the board first with a rushing touchdown to cap an efficient opening drive, but the injury to Jones put a damper on the early excitement.

Mallard Creek didn’t trail for long, and after tying the game up later in the first quarter, the Mavericks took their first lead late in the second quarter when Xzavier Edmond bowled his way into the end zone, pushing his personal rushing totals past 50 yards, and his team’s over 100 in the first half. The extra point put the Mavericks on top, 14-7.

The Cardinal Gibbons offense, with the senior Lindsey thrust under center, had a hard time getting untracked before the break, as the Mavericks’ defense clamped down on the backup and keyed on Terry, the Crusaders’ workhorse running back who’d scored the opening TD.

Lindsey looked far more comfortable after the break, and helped move the Crusaders across midfield before Mallard Creek forced a fourth down. The Crusaders successfully executed a fake punt to move the chains, and a few plays later Evan Windley split the uprights with a towering kick from 39 yards to pull Cardinal Gibbons to within four at 14-10.

This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 11:05 PM.