West wins chippier-than-normal Queen City Senior Bowl on Saturday
The Queen City Senior Bowl typically has been a well-mannered event.
Saturday’s fifth annual Senior Bowl? Not so much.
“It got a bit chippy out there,” said East offensive lineman Cash Topinka of Providence High, after his team dropped a 21-14 decision to the West at Olympic High.
At the end of the day, all was well again in the world of Charlotte-area high school football. Players from both teams patted one another on the back, posed for photos together, and talked about the game.
But during the 48 minutes of play, it was another story.
“These are the best players in the area, and we’re all trying to win,” Topinka said. “Sometimes it can get a little intense.”
There was plenty of trash-talking from each sideline at players on the field. West defensive back Joshua Truesdale of Palisades came under heavy verbal fire from East players during the second half. Most of the exchanges ended in laughter from both sides.
“We all know each other and respect one another,” said West running back Braylon Vinson of Chambers. “But we’re also competitive.”
At one point in the second quarter, pushing and shoving broke out near midfield after a West pass completion.
“That’s going to happen sometimes,” Topinka said. “It was a tough, hard-fought game. But we all have respect for one another.”
Some of the past Senior Bowl games have been wide-open offensive battles. Saturday’s contest was dominated by defense.
Two of the five touchdowns were scored by defense.
In fact, the game-winning score came with 2:51 left, when West Charlotte’s Julian Carmichael jumped in front of an East receiver, picked off a pass, and returned it 58 yards for a score.
Earlier, Berry Academy’s Chris Heartley picked up a fumble and ran 75 yards for a West score. Each team picked off three passes, and each team lost a fumble.
Suburban players had a big role in the scoring, with quarterbacks from East Gaston and Sun Valley throwing touchdown passes. Forest Hills’ Christyan Washington caught the 45-yard scoring toss from Sun Valley’s Brady Turriff late in the second quarter, tying the game at 14-14.
“It’s a lot of fun for someone like me to play against guys from schools we don’t face during the regular season,” said Cannon School center Grant Mills, who will play next fall at North Carolina as a long-snapper. “I got to know a lot of guys a lot better during our week of practice. That’s what makes this game fun.”
Three who mattered
A.J. Jenkins (West): Jenkins, a defensive back from Harding, picked off two passes. He was named defensive player of the game.
Christyan Washington (East): A wide receiver from Forest Hills, Washington caught four passes for 104 yards. That included a 45-yard second-quarter touchdown.
Reggie Daniel (West): A wide receiver from Mountain Island Charter, Daniel had six catches for 53 yards.
Notes
▪ Jay Jackson scored on an 8-yard run in the second quarter and made Senior Bowl history. Jackson, from North Stanly, became the first Stanly County player to score in the game’s five years.
▪ West quarterback Trenton Sherrill (East Gaston) completed 8-of-17 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. Teammate Wendell Thompson (Myers Park) completed 5-of-10 for 102 yards, with one interception.
▪ For the East, Brady Turriff (Sun Valley) completed 8-of-15 passes for 139 yards, with two interceptions. Kaden Kline (Central Cabarrus) connected on 6-of-14 passes for 134 yards, with one interception.
East wins N.C. Coaches Association all-star game
Javon Cowan of Triton High ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as the East trounced the West 35-7 in the N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game.
The contest had been played in previous years in July but was moved to December this year because a number of players in recent years had already reported to college training camps and couldn’t play in July.
This year’s contest, played at Grimsley High in Greensboro, had been scheduled for Sunday but was moved ahead one day due to Sunday’s weather forecast.
The East led 14-7 at halftime, but Tyhere Crudup of Laney High in Wilmington scored the second of his two touchdowns late in the third quarter. Cowan then added scores of 67 and 48 yards.
The East piled up 514 yards of total offense, to just 159 for the East.
The West’s only score came in the first quarter, on a 42-yard pass from Elijah Tillery (Draughn) to Cassidy Harvin (Reagan).
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Queen City Senior Bowl summary
West 7 7 0 7 – 21
East 0 14 0 0 – 14
W – Jahari McDonald (Myers Park) 40 pass from Trenton Sherrill (East Gaston); PAT: Michael Buck (Lake Norman) kick
E – Jay Jackson (North Stanly) 8 run; PAT: Dawson Jones (Marvin Ridge) kick
W – Christ Heartley (Berry Academy) 75 fumble return (Buck kick)
E – Christyan Washington (Forest Hills) 45 pass from Brady Turriff (Sun Valley) (Jones kick)
W – Julian Carmichael (West Charlotte) 58 interception return (Buck kick)
