The sights and sounds of football were back this evening at Coach Joe Popp Stadium.
Late this afternoon, for some reason, Reagan High School in Pfafftown, NC cancelled due to unknown reasons. Mooresville was looking forward to this game with Reagan high school for our last matchup involved a 3 game baseball series, which propelled Mooresville to their first state championship. There was some talk this week about the hard-fought baseball rivalry and how it played a role. “We don’t often get to play one another” and “it would be nice to beat them in football” were a few phrases mentioned.
Therefore, a sudden schedule change was needed and done to allow our student athletes as much time on the field as possible. The heat index was rather high, so it was somewhat a better situation to get underway at 7pm instead of the previous 6pm.
On to football…
We had Lake Norman, West Forsyth, East Forsyth, and Maiden
Mooresville was not going to play West Forsyth again because of their recent scrimmage. And to the Mooresville faithful who had their hopes up for an early Lake Norman vs Mooresville rumble, we are sorry you did not get your wish. Not only are the two teams in conference but when these two schools play, the city must be ready, and often the National Guard on duty.
East Forsyth up. They are coming off a state championship in 2019 and without COVID, may have contended for another. Many of the fans in attendance have not seen East Forsyth but year after year they are one of the better teams up north. Mooresville did a much better job when it came to preparation. Gone were last year’s delays on field, and rushed confusion just to get lined up, including the lack of communication and poor snaps. All pretty much normal things when beginning a new offense.
Our offensive line has improved with pass protection to a degree but still needs work. Our run blocking needs to improve by the time conference play rolls around just the same. We are confident in the staff to get the kinks worked out and everyone on the same page, for its not a matter of if they can do it, but getting them to believe they can.
Based on the information we received from Wednesday nights scrimmage, and what we saw tonight, the team appears to be much improved and on schedule. Mooresville Sports has seen an increase in play since day 1 of practice without a doubt.
We did see some positives including a 48-yard TD pass from quarterback Sebastian Brown to newly acquired North Meck transfer wide receiver LaTron Jackson. (Shown in story photos)
The Mooresville running game never really got off the ground with huge gains, but at the same rate, weather was approaching. East Forsyth has a fierce front group that is experienced but due to this weather, didn’t have a lot of time to make adjustments and show in game improvement.
One of the most talked about moments of the night, which had drawn the many in attendance to the familiar loud roar of ooo’s and ahhh’s, as Mooresville defensive back Omari Orgertrice made a huge hit on the East Forsyth quarterback. (Shown in story photos) The hit was so hard that the East Forsyth players helmet flew off, and a little bit of extracurricular arguing among players took place.
Shortly after both sides were able to switch and take snaps on both offense and defense, but lighting and mother nature stepped in had other ideas. We saw a lot of heat lighting off in the distance but as it rapidly approached, officials were forced to clear the stadium and cancel football for the remainder of the evening.
At the end of the night, it was simply great to see everyone together again on a Friday night for football, where it actually felt like football. We are looking forward to the upcoming season and hope to see you soon!
*Mooresville Sports will never disclose injury information on student athletes or discuss why said athletes may or may not be dressed and in pads, so please refrain from contacting us about such topics.
