Charlotte Christian vs. Myers Park – Game Observations

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Game 1 of the Turf Kings series of games at Memorial Stadium, Charlotte Christian pulled out a wild 40-37 victory that had a lot of twists and turns. Let's take a look at the standout players from each team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='378962' first='Bryce' last='Young'] - DL - Charlotte Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Young has committed to Norte Dame, and all day long you saw why as he was basically unlockable. When he wasn't getting one of his two sacks in the backfield, he was applying relentless pressure from multiple positions on the defensive line, and shedding blocks and running players down in the run game. At 6'5 and 240 pounds, he was an imposing presence and helped seal the game with a big sack on the last Mustangs drive. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Owen Ferrell - ATH - Charlotte Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ferrell was a game changing player, he had a punt return for a touchdown as well as a kickoff return for a touchdown that were momentum swinging plays for the Knights. He also had some nice runs at the QB spot at times when he stepped in for [player_tooltip player_id='946970' first='Parker' last='Burke'], the Knights main quarterback. Listed at 5'11, he is a Class of 2025 prospect. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274603' first='Micah' last='Gilbert'] - WR - Charlotte Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At 6'4 and 200 pounds, Gilbert has committed to play football at Norte Dame, and he was an imposing figure that the Mustangs paid a lot of attention to defensively. Gilbert made some impressive plays - most notably a big catch and run in the 4th quarter that helped setup the game winning touchdown. But his presence helped open up single coverage on some of his teammates and the Knights coaching staff did a good job of scheming around Gilbert and maximizing their offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='651460' first='Corban' last='Hall'] - TE - Charlotte Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At 6'3 and 220 pounds, Corban caught some nice passes over the middle of the field, including a touchdown pass from QB [player_tooltip player_id='946970' first='Parker' last='Burke'] where Hall was able to beat a linebacker down the seam in single coverage. Corban also stepped in and played some defensive end, helping his team to try and contain a potent Mustangs offense. Corban is a Class of 2025 prospect. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jahari McDonald - WR - Myers Park</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For most people, this was a coming out party for McDonald, who made plays all over the field offensively. I have noticed Jahari since his JV days a few years ago, and his explosive speed and agility will give defenses headaches all year long. At 5'6 and 170 pounds, Jahari will be a big time threat out of the slot, but he showed an ability to high point the football on the outside on a big play as well. He is a huge threat in the quick screen game as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wendell Thompson - QB - Myers Park</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior signal caller had a strong performance, impressively spreading the football all over the field to multiple receivers and showing enough elusiveness to keep plays alive and make throws down field. At 6'1 and 180 pounds, the Class of 2024 prospect also showed strong ball placement against man coverage and a strong throwing arm to put the ball in spots all over the field. I expect this tape to get Thompson on some recruiting boards with college coaches. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->