High School Football Recap: Forest Hills incident mars rivalry game with Monroe

For the second straight year, a fight broke out in the Monroe High-Forest Hills high school rivalry game.

At halftime of Friday's game, played in Marshville, a fight broke out near the concession stands in Forest Hills between several students and a community member, Union County Schools spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte told The Observer.

After the fight ended, school and game officials directed fans who had gathered near the area back to the stands.

The game continued and Monroe eventually won 34-9.

“Law enforcement and school administrators responded immediately and the dispute was resolved,” Stalberte said. “The students involved will be disciplined in accordance with the UCPS Code of Conduct. The game continued and all guests remained safe.”

A year ago, the game played at Monroe High was interrupted by a series of fights in the third quarter. Monroe was declared the winner.

Last year's incident came a week after a similar brawl broke out in the stands during a game between North Mecklenburg and Harding and between West Charlotte and West Mecklenburg. The fight at the Harding game occurred during the game that was being played to completion. The incident in West Charlotte occurred after the game ended. These incidents prompted Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Superintendent Crystal Hill to write an op-ed in The Observer calling on the community to stop violence at games.

And just two weeks ago, a game between the Lions and Mallard Creek had to be ended without fans in attendance due to a brawl at West Charlotte High School.

No. 8 Mooresville 18, Providence 6: Mooresville (5-1) had to fend off a Providence (1-4) team that pulled off a major upset just days after the Blue Devils cracked the top 10 of the Observer's Sweet 16 poll.

Mooresville took a 9-0 lead after Ja'darius McComb had a 1-yard score and a safety in the first quarter. Providence QB Jackson Debe threw a 30-yard scoring pass to Keland Shelton in the third quarter to cut the lead to 9-6, but Mooresville got a 3-yard score from QB Brody Norman and a 26-yard field goal from Andrew Cummings to take the away win.

No. 11 Charlotte Christian 48, Cleveland (TN) 27: The Knights earned an impressive win at home against a top-25 Tennessee team. The Knights (4-2) play at arch-rival Providence Day on Thursday. Charlotte Christian had a 14-14 tie with the Blue Raiders (5-1) early in the second quarter when Owen Farrell scored the go-ahead touchdown. The Knights made it 28-14 just before halftime when Farrell threw a goal to Brandon Hettwer.

Two touchdown runs from LJ Porter, including one of 50 yards, and a scoring run from Farrell added to Charlotte Christian's total in the second half.

West Cabarrus 23, #13 Lake Norman 16: West Cabarrus pulled off perhaps the biggest upset in the region on Friday, ending Lake Norman's three-game winning streak.

Lake Norman fell to 4-2. After losing four straight games, West Cabarrus rebounded with a two-game winning streak to improve to 3-4.

South point 27, ridge 26: Patrick Blee rushed 72 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 left and then scored a two-point conversion to give the Raiders a decisive Big South 3A victory in a battle of the undefeated.

Crest (4-1, 3-1) had taken a 26-12 lead late in the third quarter on Tank Ruff's 22-yard run, but South Point got within 26 on a 16-yard pass from Blee to Garrett Tidd :19 approaching 8:52 to play. The Raiders got the ball back with 3:05 left and scored on Blee's long run.

AL Brown 21, Cox Mill 14: The Wonders held off a surprise attempt by winless Cox Mill when CJ Gray fired a 50-yard touchdown pass to Maddox Langley with 15.7 seconds remaining for the winning points.

Butler 46, East Mecklenburg 0: Damorian Thomas-Wright returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and teammate Dequadre Currence returned a punt for a score just three minutes later as the Bulldogs earned a Southwestern 4A victory. Jayden Williams ran for two scores, and Tyler Druzbik passed for a touchdown and ran for another.

Charlotte Catholic 28, Rocky River 6: Jake Anderson scored three touchdowns and Charlie Smith threw another, helping the Cougars improve their Southwestern 4A record to 3-0 and remain tied for first place with Butler. Anderson scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter, a 2-yard run just before halftime and a 1-yard run in the third quarter. Midway through the second period, Smith fired a 26-yard scoring pass to Nick Bierman.

Hough 44, West Mecklenburg 0: Trey Blakeney threw for 210 yards and a touchdown, helping the Huskies (5-1, 3-0) earn a lopsided 3A-4A win over Queen City. Jycen Anciso scored touchdowns on a run and a pass, and Karmel Quick recovered a fumble for a Huskie touchdown.

Sun Valley 14, Cuthbertson 13: The Spartans held Cuthbertson running back Mason Iovino to 56 yards on 18 carries in a narrow Southern Carolina 4A victory. Sun Valley improves to 6-1, 1-0 while Cuthbertson falls to 4-2, 0-1.

South Iredell 32, Hickory Ridge 27: Tyler Johnson completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Brody Hunt with five minutes left to lead South Iredell (4-2, 2-0) to a come-from-behind Greater Metro 4 4A victory. Hickory Ridge (0-7, 0-3) took a 27-26 lead late in the third quarter with a touchdown pass and a conversion kick.

Corvian Community 42, Bishop McGuinness 0: Cam Johnson scored on runs of 85, 45 and 6 yards as the visiting Cardinals (6-0, 3-0) earned an easy 1A-2A victory for Catawba Shores. Noah Best added touchdown runs of 90 and 2 yards, and AJ Jackson returned an interception 32 yards for another Corvian score. The host Villains fell to 4-2, 1-2.

Independence 68, Garinger 7: The Patriots (5-1, 1-1) exploded for 49 points in the first quarter to secure a Southwestern 4A victory. Quarterback Justin Little completed all seven of his passes for 135 yards and four touchdowns. Jayden Jones, one of North Carolina's best rushers, gained 209 yards on just five carries. He scored twice and Independence accumulated 367 rushing yards. Garinger fell to 0-7, 0-3.