Harrells Christian Academy (3-2) defended its home turf Friday with a 33-7 victory over Covenant Day.
The Crusaders got on the board early with a touchdown to put themselves up 8-0 thanks to a 70-plus-yard rush from senior halfback Jeremiah Davis. Covenant Day looked to answer when it moved the ball quickly into Harrells territory. But the home side refused to bend, as the Crusaders stifled the Lions offense on four consecutive downs to keep Covenant Day out of the end zone.
It didn’t take long for the Crusaders to add to their lead, as they scored on their next possession to put their opponents down 14-0 on a rush from Harrells quarterback DJ Davis.
But Harrells had just gotten started. Another defensive stop got the ball back to the Crusaders offense, and they went to work. Davis pitched the ball to wingback Riley Falatovich, who broke a huge first-down run to get into Lions territory. That’s all Harrells senior Demetrius Jones needed, as he punched in a short-yardage touchdown to add to the lead. Davis followed suit on the two-point conversion as the score sat at 22-0.
The Covenant Day offense didn’t manage much on its next possession, as Harrells refused to give its opponents any quarter. With the ball back, the Crusaders continued the ground-and-pound strategy. This time, it was wingback Matthew Wilson’s turn to get into the end zone, as he kicked it into gear on an end-around run to score six. The Crusaders converted another two-point try to go up 30-0.
Halftime didn’t give Covenant Day any relief. Its first drive of the second half ended in a Harrells sack by Lathen Cashwell to force a punt. The Lions defense did manage to stop the Crusaders offense on its next possession but couldn’t capitalize.
Both sides held up defensively to keep the start of the fourth quarter scoreless. Another Covenant Day drive was stopped short when Cashwell hunted down the Lions quarterback for his second sack of the night.
The Crusaders managed to move the ball down the field in the middle of the fourth on their following drive. As they did throughout the night, the run game continued to prove effective against the Lions defense. Harrells was held out of the end zone, but a converted field goal from kicker Sam McKeithan put three more points on the scoreboard for the home team.
Covenant Day finally managed to move the ball down the field to the Crusaders’ 5-yard line before punching in a short run to avoid being shut out.
“I think we played really well,” Harrells head coach Clayton Hall said postgame. “Our offense was really clicking in the first half. It kind of got muddied up in the second half. We were able to get the ball into different people’s hands, and a bunch of kids were able to make plays. We played a really tough schedule, so it was good to come out here and take care of business tonight and get subs in to let the younger kids play. All in all, it was a great play for us.”
Hall was impressed with the effort his defense showed to keep Covenant Day out of the end zone for the majority of the game.
“We did a really good job tonight, and we really needed a good night,” Hall said. “We faced some really tough offenses, and our defense set the table for us the first half. They shoved us around here in the second half. All in all, you give up a garbage-time touchdown late in the game, and that’s the only time they score, it’s a pretty good night for you.”
The win against Covenant Day snapped a two-game losing streak for the Crusaders, which included a 42-41 defeat at the hands of Christ School and a 41-14 loss to Ambassador Christian. The games helped give Harrells some lessons to adjust to.
“We played Christ School to the nail, and probably played one of the best football teams I’ve ever seen last week (ACS),” Hall said. “And so, you can only continue to use that and learn from your mistakes and toughness and those types of things. It’s definitely helped us. We’ve got North Raleigh coming into town next week, and that’s a big game for us. We’re definitely battle-tested.”
Harrells will take on NRCA on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m., as the Crusaders look to improve their conference record to 2-0.