ST. MATTHEWS -- A week after opening the season in impressive fashion against Patrick Henry, Holly Hill Academy wanted to continue to make a strong statement in the SCISA 11-man ranks Friday night against the Calhoun Academy Cavaliers.

The statement was strong but didn’t convey quite the meaning head coach Don Shelley’s team was looking for as Calhoun Academy used its special teams to score 17 points en route to a 44-6 rout of the Raiders.

Trez Wienges led the individual scoring for the Cavaliers with three touchdowns on the night -- one rushing, one receiving and one punt return score. Jimmy Reed also had a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“Just whatever could go wrong, did go wrong,” said Shelley. “Give Calhoun credit. They came out and they just swamped us from the get-go. Those two punt returns just kinda set the tone for the night.”

Calhoun Academy scored first with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter on a 10-yard run by Bryan Love. The score came at the culmination of a three-play drive that was set up when the Raiders turned the ball over on downs at their own 31-yard line. Placekicker Jake King made the extra point attempt to make it 7-0.

The next two touchdowns for the Cavaliers came courtesy of two consecutive punt returns. Wienges put his team up 14-0 with 5:15 remaining in the first quarter on a 68-yard punt return. Holly Hill then took possession of the ball on its own 20 yard line following the kickoff but went four-and-out. Reed’s punt return came after a 46 yard rolling punt by the Raiders, putting Calhoun Academy up 21-0 with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Holly Hill’s only score of the night came with 47 seconds remaining in the first half. Starting at its own 40-yard line, the Raiders’ used a 37-yard strike from quarterback Zack Brownlee to Brian Watkins and the hard-nosed running of back Nick Martin on a five-play drive, with Martin punching the ball in from 11 yards out. The two-point conversion attempt was fumbled by Brownlee, making the score 28-6.

King had the shocker play of the night as the Cavaliers followed up the Raiders’ score with a two-play drive from their own 40-yard line. Quarterback Andrew Robinson, who was 3 of 5 for 117 yards, hit Wienges with passes of 19 and 26 yards to drive the offense down to the Holly Hill 33-yard line. King hit a 40-yard field goal with no time remaining to make the halftime score 31-6 in favor of the Cavaliers. King also hit on 6 of 7 extra points during the contest.

“We executed well on offense but we got some breaks on special teams and that was the difference,” said Cavaliers’ head coach Adam Jarecki. “A couple of punt returns definitely made the difference. Coach Shelley’s kids do things right like I knew they would. They’re very well coached and they have good, strong skill people. We just had a little more size in some spots.”

While Calhoun Academy was getting the breaks on special teams, the same couldn’t be said for the Raiders. With the Cavaliers leading 38-6 with 10:04 remaining in the game, the snap on a punt from the Holly Hill 30-yard line was mishandled, resulting in a recovery at the Raiders 5-yard line. One play later the Cavaliers’ Taylor Culler blasted into the end zone for the final score of the night. King missed his only extra point of the evening following the touchdown.

Next week the Cavaliers (1-0) take on W.W. King Academy at home while Holly Hill (1-1) travels to Clarendon Hall.

You must be logged in to comment.