The football season has finally begun for Mooresville. After a week one cancellation the blue devils were in action Friday night to face the Hough Huskies at Coach Joe Popp Stadium. Although it was a 48-9 Hough victory, the score didn’t indicate the play of the Mooresville Blue Devils.
We mentioned two weeks ago how the Jamboree felt like a football game again and a normal environment. Friday night at Mooresville put that night to shame and many simply forgot what a full stadium was like. The student “out” was a USA theme, (photo) and they came to put on a show of their own and succeeded in doing so. The fans, the band, the students, the parents, and community were once again out in full strength and the atmosphere was fantastic!
Most of the sports writers predicted this game to be a win by 50 and right after kickoff, you could tell this was a different Mooresville team. Hough didn’t start scoring points right out of the gate, they had to earn them. Their first scoring drive ended with a hard-fought field goal about mid-way through the first qtr. Hough followed it up with a long drive which resulted in a one-yard touchdown.
Upon possession of the football, Mooresville could not get anything going on the ground. There were some good looks in the passing game and our receivers created space, but it was punt after punt. At this point many in the crowd were beginning to wonder if this was going to be a long night. However, the defense started to play even better, resulting in a late 3rd and long stop deep in the Huskies own end.
Ziquel Adams (photo) decided he wanted to give everyone something to cheer about, and broke free on the 4th down punt attempt by Hough, blocking it through the back of the end zone. The sophomore defensive back exploded up through the line, and solidly got a hand on the ball resulting in a 2-point safety for the devils.
The second quarter was dominated by Hough but not a rout. Again, they scored but it was not easy nor were they the usual long receiving out routes Hough is known for. Their receivers were covered, the Mooresville defense made plays, but the Hough offense was just too good. There were many occasions where the blue devil defensive backs were in the proper position, when a Hough receiver or running back just made a great play.
They finished up the second quarter with 2 td’s of 30 plus yards and a field goal.
Coming out of the locker room for the second half, Mooresville made a huge defensive statement. For the majority of the 3rd quarter, they didn’t give up a point and held the Hough offense until Hough QB Tad Hudson found receiver Andrew Kryshtalowych in the back of the endzone for a 6-yard TD pass. This was the only scoring drive for Hough.
In addition, this is where the devils had some offensive success. Senior quarterback Sebastian Brown did an excellent job of looking off his two prime targets and hooked up with wide receiver LaTron Jackson with a HUGE 78-yard touchdown pass. (photo) The Mooresville faithful are starting to get used to this talented wide receiver wearing number 8, for he has two big scoring plays in as many games already this season.
Matt Dean was perfect on the night with an extra point good making the score 34-9 Hough at the end of 3.
Hough went on to score a few times in the 4th quarter and simply played good football. We have to give them credit for they are a very good football team and did a lot of great things all night. Kryshtalowych and Hudson were just stellar all night along with Nolan Hauser, the huskie kicker who was perfect on the night.
Dayvn Reid excited the Mooresville crowd all evening as they waited for that big time play. Specifically with a huge over the shoulder catch early in the game (photo) and a stunning kick return late in the game. He was tripped up slightly or was taking it all the way for 6. He played impressively even though being keyed on by Hough all night. It was clear and evident Hough spent a lot of time in the film room doing their homework. They specifically paid some extra attention to senior receivers Kaden Pigeon and Reid and at some points double teaming the talented duo. Dayvn Reid led the devils in total all purpose yards at 127 , followed by LaTron Jackson, 78 yards and Kawarn Howell with 34 yards.
On the Mooresville defense, sophomore middle linebacker Caleb Edstrom (photo) made a few big plays and came ready to play. At one point, having been knocked down by a senior Hough Huskie offensive tackle, got back up, and ran down the Hough running back from behind getting in on the tackle. If this sort of “never give up play” continues for Mooresville, big things will happen in the near future. Edstrom ran the defense all night and did so for the first time in his Mooresville career. The excitement shown on the field was definitely an excellent sight to see.
The entire defense really played a great game from our standpoint. Treyvon Birchett stepped up in the secondary earning defensive player of the game. As we mentioned previously the defensive backs played very well all evening, combined with Hough’s experience and ability, and being their second game of the season, gradually wore down the Mooresville defense.
We are not going to make excuses but at the end of the night it was a lot better play compared to what we last saw on the field. This is a different team and a different year even though only months ago we were playing football. The defense is exciting and made some great plays against the 2 ranked team in the state. Watching these sophomores step up and play big roles is absolutely outstanding for Mooresville and they will only get better from here.
Not having Steven Young or Elijah Wilson ready also hurt the devils. When these two return soon, it will be an added bonus.
Mooresville needs to get better on the offensive line, and this is not shocking information to the fans. The game is won in the trenches and at this point is not changing anytime soon at the high school level. If you don’t control the line of scrimmage you are destined for failure. There are many players currently out, make no mistake about it, and there are many players in different roles because of it. We are not going to get in to the why’s and why not’s but it is evidently clear what is happening in the world with the pandemic, and it is hurting schools across the country.
We have great offensive lineman, we have 3 great quarterbacks, multiple running backs and receivers. There is talent all over the field we just need something to bring it all together. Friday night was a positive and new step forward to bigger and better things. There were not the dumb mental mistakes we had in the past, massive penalties, negative yardage, and certainly nobody out there gave up. The vibe was different and so will this season, just give it time.
Next up Mooresville heads to West Rowan to face the 0-1 falcons who are coming off a high scoring shootout loss to Davie County.
*Thank you to David Ramsey for statistics and contributions to this story.
