Football season is here and the team is off to a great start. The Crusaders are 3-1 through non conference play and are ready for Cap-6 Conference play. With a tough loss to Rolesville in overtime, the Crusaders bounced back against Hillside for a big win to finish off out of conference play. As the Crusaders head into conference play, here is a recap of the last four games.
Week 1 @ Jordan | W 42-24
In week one, the Crusaders headed west to Durham to face the Jordan Falcons. The Crusaders started off hot, scoring 36 points in the first half, adding one more touchdown in the fourth quarter. Junior quarterback Gannon Jones threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns. Jones also rushed for 78 yards and one touchdown on nine attempts. Junior running back Noah Terry rushed for 49 yards and added two touchdowns for the Crusaders. Touchdowns were caught by junior wide receiver Connor McGeehan and senior wide receiver Sam Dodd with two. On defense, junior linebacker Billy Turner led the team with nine total tackles and also added a sack. Along with Turner, senior defensive lineman Chris Pinder added two sacks and sophomore edge rusher Griffin Cockerham added a half-sack. The Crusaders ended up beating the Falcons 42-24 ahead of a big game against Mallard Creek.
Week 2 @ Mallard Creek | Canceled
Unfortunately week two’s highly-anticipated matchup against Mallard Creek in Charlotte was canceled due to a storm. This game did not count against either team.
Week 3 vs Richmond | W 31-13
The Crusaders came out hot in their home opener in week three. The Crusaders opened up the game with an early passing touchdown from Gannon Jones to Sam Dodd. Junior kicker Evan Windley added three to the Crusaders score with a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter. A late second quarter touchdown from Jones to Karras brought the score to 17-7 with an extra point from Windley. Two more touchdowns were scored in the fourth quarter, one 4-yard rushing touchdown by Conway Kelly and a passing touchdown from Jones to Sean Manuel. The Crusaders made a statement in this 31-13 win over Richmond. Jones had another great game throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Sam Dodd led the team in receiving with 120 yards and one touchdown. Griffin Cockerham led the team in tackles with 11, followed by senior safety Matthew Greene and defensive lineman Conway Kelly with nine each. Cockerham also finished with one sack. The Crusaders ended on a high note with a big test versus Rolesville looming.
Week 4 vs Rolesville | L 30-27 (OT)
The Crusaders entered week four with their biggest test ahead. Last season, Rolesville beat Gibbons in the regular season, but the Crusaders answered in the playoffs with a big win to split the series 1-1 on the year. This game did not disappoint. The Crusaders started the scoring with a late first-quarter passing touchdown from Gannon Jones to Brayden Karras. The Crusaders attempted a two-point conversion, but did not convert. Rolesville answered that touchdown with a rushing touchdown of their own making the score 7-6 following the PAT. The Jones-Karras connection continued with another touchdown in the second quarter. Evan Windley made the PAT making the score 13-7. Rolesville quickly tied it up with another rushing touchdown followed by a missed PAT. Just before halftime, Evan Windley kicked a 31-yard field goal to put the Crusaders up by three going into halftime, 16-13. Windley kicked another field goal, this time from 43 yards, to put the Crusaders up 19-13 midway through the third quarter. Rolesville answered those two field goals with a late third-quarter touchdown and an extra point to put the Rams up by one. Midway through the fourth quarter, Rolesville threw another touchdown to put the Rams up 27-19. With time running out, Gannon Jones delivered a rushing touchdown to bring the Crusaders within two. The Crusaders opted to go for a 2-point conversion and delivered with a pass to Joey Jonske to tie the game at 27. With no time left and the game tied, overtime was ahead. The Rams went first on offense and ended up having to kick a field goal to bring the score to 30-27, Rams. Unfortunately on the Crusaders’ drive, the Rams caught a game-sealing interception. This gave the Crusaders their first loss and would bring their record to 2-1 overall. With a bye week ahead, followed by a game at Hillside, the Crusaders were able to regroup before their next game.
Week 5 – Bye Week
The Crusaders used their bye week to get better mentally and physically ahead of their game at Hillside to close out non conference play for the season.
Week 6 @ Hillside | W 21-0
Following their bye week, the Crusaders traveled back up to Durham to play the Hillside Hornets to finish up non conference play. The game was moved to Thursday due to inclement weather forecasted for Friday, but the rain still hit hard even on Thursday. Because of the rain, the ball was mostly kept on the ground with the Crusaders only attempting 10 passes. Gannon Jones, Kendall Scotton, and Noah Terry were the ones doing the rushing as they combined for 28 carries, 148 yards, plus two touchdowns from Kendall Scotton. The Crusaders defense played tough as they carried out a shutout while recovering three fumbles. One of these fumbles was brought in for a touchdown by Conway Kelly to make the score 21-0. Junior linebacker Billy Turner led the Crusaders in tackles with nine, followed by Chris Shelton with six. This big Crusaders win helped the Crusaders to a 3-1 record ahead of conference play. Conference play will begin with the homecoming game against Athens Drive.
