Rally carries Tarpons past Red Knights
Charlotte hadn’t been challenged much through the first six games of this season. Then again, they hadn’t faced a runner as dynamic as North Fort Myers tailback Zaquandre White.
White scored three touchdowns to give North the halftime lead before the state’s No. 6 rated Class 6-A team took control.
Elijah Mack scored four times and rushed for 140 yards on 24 carries, Dee Hicks caught a 39-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give Charlotte the lead for good, and the defense put up a huge goal-line stand in a 35-21 victory Friday night at Moody Field in a District 6A-10 matchup.
Charlotte remained unbeaten at 7-0 (3-0 in district play) despite trailing 14-0 early. North’s flicker of hope burned out in the second half as they couldn’t capitalize on opportunities.
“We had chances in the second half, but it’s the same thing we’ve done all year. We had a chance and didn’t get it done,” Red Knights coach Earnest Graham said. “You can’t give back plays against a good team like Charlotte.”
Up 21-14 after the break, the Red Knights (2-5, 0-3) appeared to have their 14-point lead back following an 85-yard punt return by White that harkened back to his YouTube run in the spring, but it was called back for a penalty.
It proved costly. Charlotte stood on defense and blocked the punt, leading to Mack’s third score to tie the game.
After Max Ferris missed a field goal for North, the Tarpons drove 80 yards on eight plays, with Hicks catching Brennan Simms’ pass and diving for the pylon for the score to make it 28-21 with 10:19 left in the game.
North stormed back.
J’Ravien Andersen found Brandon King for a 69-yard pass play to put the ball inside the 1. Charlotte kept the Knights out of the end zone and D’Vonte Price got the first of his two interceptions to end the threat before going on a 13-play, 97-yard drive that ate up more than six minutes on the clock. Mack’s short TD run iced the game.
“They made some plays on us in the first half and we kept grinding for 48 minutes and our kids were determined in the end,” Charlotte coach Binky Waldrop said. “We had to overcome a lot of things. They’re a lot better than a 2-5 team.”
Charlotte came into the game having scored at least 40 points in every game while allowing just 29. That mattered little to the Red Knights, who put up two quick touchdowns in the first quarter on two short White runs for a 14-0 lead.
The Tarpons, faced with their first deficit all season, rallied in the second quarter on Mack runs of 5 and 21 yards to tie the game with under four minutes left in the half.
The Knights fought back with a nine-play drive, highlighted by a 30-yard bomb from Andersen to Austin Watkins. Andersen found White cutting across the middle for his third score of the night to give North a 21-14 lead at halftime.