WHAT WE SAW: Run Game, Defense Lead Catawba Ridge To Opening Win

Brandon Stockdale August 19, 2022 @ 11:00 PM

As Fort Mill and Catawba Ridge kicked off the 2022 season on Friday night, they both had one thing in common: A new starting quarterback. And that comes opportunities to show what each of them have. In the end, it was the run game and a strong defensive showing for the Copperheads that helped them secure a 31-7 win over Fort Mill.   Tyler Fikis got the start at quarterback for the Copperheads and took advantage right away. He completed a pass over the middle to Brady Ambrose for 12 yards before capping off the opening drive with a 1-yard TD run on the QB sneak to give Catawba Ridge a 7-0 lead with 5:45 to play in the first quarter.   Fikis also showed his ability to keep plays alive on scrambles and with his speed, making things more difficult for the defense to defend. His second score of the night came in the third quarter towards the left sideline to go up 17-0.   “He does a really good job of getting us right when things might not be right. When you got legs like that, you can make a lot of plays happen. And then when we got things going in the RPO game, he made some really good reads,” Catawba Ridge coach Zac Lendyak said.   Both teams traded turnovers in the first quarter as Grant Lovette picked off Fort Mill quarterback Isaiah Haynes and Fort Mill's Braylen Thomas picked off Fikis, stepping right into the throwing lane. Thomas also had a nice pass breakup on a designed rollout for Fikis where he displayed perfect technique and almost made the interception.   Friday night also featured the return of Brody Teismale for Catawba Ridge, who missed the majority of the 2021 season with an injury. He wasted no time letting everyone know he was back as he made one of the first tackles of the season against Fort Mill's new spread option offense.   “He is a tackling machine. We missed him greatly last year, all-Region player when he went down. He's the heart and soul of the defense, heart and soul of the team. He's a captain, a four-year starter at linebacker so that's impressive in itself,” Lendyak said.   Catawba Ridge's [player_tooltip player_id='351791' first='Evan' last='Hamilton'] had a sack in the first quarter that made it seem like he was shot out of a cannon on a blitz. [player_tooltip player_id='202755' first='Brandon' last='Raysor'] was a guy that stood out to us with his route running and catches towards the sideline.   Kohen Kozel knocked through a 35-yard field goal to kick off the second quarter scoring to extend Catawba Ridge's lead to 10-0. Fort Mill made things interesting with a strip sack which was recovered by TJ Vanstocken.   [player_tooltip player_id='262619' first='Tyler' last='Jones'] was the star of the second half as he ran hard with power in the inside run game throughout the evening. He opened the season with two rushing touchdowns, highlighted by a 17-yard score in the third quarter.   Haynes would connect with Jason Moran for a 49-yard TD on a vertical route with 3:58 to play in the fourth quarter to prevent the shutout.

As Fort Mill and Catawba Ridge kicked off the 2022 season on Friday night, they both had one thing in common: A new starting quarterback. And that comes opportunities to show what each of them have. In the end, it was the run game and a strong defensive showing for the Copperheads that helped them secure a 31-7 win over Fort Mill.