L.J. Currie rushed for 312 yards to propel Concord past Phillip O. Berry Friday night at Cardinal Stadium. Currie's 312 total is the 3rd highest single game rushing total in Spider history. View records here.

Currie carved through the Cardinal defense for two scores in the first half. Currie ran every play on the first Spider drive and scored on a screen pass on the 2nd possession. 

Berry answered with two quick strike touchdown passes to get within two points. 

The Spiders spent much of the first half in Berry territory but two red zone turnovers and numerous penalties squashed their scoring chances.

Halftime adjustments proved to work for the Spiders. 

Currie and the offensive line continued the rushing assault in the 2nd half. 

The Spiders marched down the field to open the 3rd quarter. Jadon Bell plunged in on a 1 yard keeper to put the Spiders up 21-12. 

Once again Berry hit the deep pass for another score. 

Currie and the offensive line would add 2 more rushing scores in the 3rd to give the Spiders a bit of a cushion. 

Zyion Boger picked off a Cardinal pass in the 4th. 

Jourdan Heilig came on in relief of Currie late and added his own rushing touchdown from 49 yards. 

After the game Currie was quick to credit his offensive line. 

The Spider defense was led by Clint Bost Jr., Emmanual Arias, and Zyion Boger each had 4 stops. Boger added 2 interceptions. Sia Olomua and Louis Williams added sacks. 

Friday night was the first meeting between the schools. 

Paul Hershey

Sep. 1--CONCORD -- Head coach Bobby Cloninger has stressed mental toughness as the key to success for his Jay M. Robinson team.

The Bulldogs showed plenty of that on Friday night.

Despite trailing for most of the game, Robinson continually battled back and pulled out a wild 32-27 victory over rival Concord at Robinson High.

Jason Hampton's 4-yard touchdown run -- his third score of the game -- with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter provided the winning points.

"It gives a whole lot of credibility to what we're trying to do," Cloninger said of the victory. "They're a good football team. Our kids showed a lot of perseverance by the way they came back. I'm going to give them all the credit.

"We earned this one."

Concord, meanwhile, made big strides offensively but saw its second game end in the same way as its opener -- with an interception.

After Hampton's score, Concord got a 15-yard run by quarterback Tony Moore and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Robinson to move to the Bulldogs' 33 with 49 seconds left.

However, Moore's first-down pass over the middle was deflected and intercepted by Robinson linebacker Mike Skiptunas, sealing the victory for the Bulldogs (2-1).

"We finally got a good pass rush, we got a tip on the ball and Mike Skiptunas was there and made a good play on it," Cloninger said.

The Spiders dropped to 0-2.

With the score tied 20-20 at halftime, Robinson took its only other lead of the game on the opening possession of the third quarter.

Hampton ran for 57 yards on the first play from scrimmage and scored two plays later on a 2-yard run. The extra point was blocked.

Later in the third, Concord drove to the Bulldogs' 2 before losing a fumble after a pass reception.

The Spiders' defense held, though, and Concord took advantage of the short field. Tailback Roger Smith scored on a 27-yard run and Branden Barnhardt's extra point gave the Spiders a 27-26 lead with 1:18 left in the third.

The Spiders then put together a drive that took more than half of the time in the fourth quarter and were one play away from just about putting away the game.

Moore's keeper on fourth-and-7 from the Robinson 31 came up a yard short.

The Bulldogs took over with 2:32 left.

Bradley Clay threw to Chris Moon for 10 yards and a roughing the passer penalty two plays later moved the ball to the Concord 45.

Clay then rolled out and hit Cyrus Mojtabai over the middle for a 31-yard catch-and-run to the Spiders' 14.

"Cyrus extended the play and we were able to get them stretched and (Clay) threw back to him," Cloninger said. "(Cyrus) sat down in the hole and waited on it."

After a 10-yard reception by Moon, Hampton plowed in over the right side for the winning score.

Hampton rushed for 169 yards.

Concord led 7-0 before a track meet broke out in the second quarter.

The teams combined for five touchdowns in a span of 2:19.

Hampton had touchdown runs of 12 and 27 yards on consecutive carries.

In between, Dominique Posey returned a kickoff 85 yards for a Concord touchdown. After Hampton's second score, Moore connected with Bryan Franklin for a 72-yard touchdown play that put the Spiders ahead 20-12.

Robinson answered three plays later when Moon took a short pass and turned it into a 43-yard touchdown. Clay then threw to tight end Chris Dudas for the two-point conversion that tied the game.

Smith had a huge night in a losing effort for Concord, rushing for 218 yards and two touchdowns.

Moore completed 8 of 23 passes for 183 yards for Concord.

Clay was 13 of 30 for 163 yards for Robinson, which also overcame the loss of star lineman R.J. Mattes, who was ejected late in the third quarter for a late hit.

"Never giving up," Cloninger said about what the difference was for his team. "Staying after it and showing some mental toughness."

It was Robinson's second straight win over Concord following five straight losses.

Concord opens league play at home against Piedmont next Friday, while Robinson has an open date.

Hampton's TD run with 1:10 remaining completes rally

By Paul Hershey

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CONCORD -- Head coach Bobby Cloninger has stressed mental toughness as the key to success for his Jay M. Robinson team.

The Bulldogs showed plenty of that on Friday night.

Despite trailing for most of the game, Robinson continually battled back and pulled out a wild 32-27 victory over rival Concord at Robinson High.

Jason Hampton's 4-yard touchdown run -- his third score of the game -- with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter provided the winning points.

"It gives a whole lot of credibility to what we're trying to do," Cloninger said of the victory. "They're a good football team. Our kids showed a lot of perseverance by the way they came back. I'm going to give them all the credit.

"We earned this one."

Concord, meanwhile, made big strides offensively but saw its second game end in the same way as its opener -- with an interception.

After Hampton's score, Concord got a 15-yard run by quarterback Tony Moore and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Robinson to move to the Bulldogs' 33 with 49 seconds left.

However, Moore's first-down pass over the middle was deflected and intercepted by Robinson linebacker Mike Skiptunas, sealing the victory for the Bulldogs (2-1).

"We finally got a good pass rush, we got a tip on the ball and Mike Skiptunas was there and made a good play on it," Cloninger said.

The Spiders dropped to 0-2.

With the score tied 20-20 at halftime, Robinson took its only other lead of the game on the opening possession of the third quarter.

Hampton ran for 57 yards on the first play from scrimmage and scored two plays later on a 2-yard run. The extra point was blocked.

Later in the third, Concord drove to the Bulldogs' 2 before losing a fumble after a pass reception.

The Spiders' defense held, though, and Concord took advantage of the short field. Tailback Roger Smith scored on a 27-yard run and Branden Barnhardt's extra point gave the Spiders a 27-26 lead with 1:18 left in the third.

The Spiders then put together a drive that took more than half of the time in the fourth quarter and were one play away from just about putting away the game.

Moore's keeper on fourth-and-7 from the Robinson 31 came up a yard short.

The Bulldogs took over with 2:32 left.

Bradley Clay threw to Chris Moon for 10 yards and a roughing the passer penalty two plays later moved the ball to the Concord 45.

Clay then rolled out and hit Cyrus Mojtabai over the middle for a 31-yard catch-and-run to the Spiders' 14.

"Cyrus extended the play and we were able to get them stretched and (Clay) threw back to him," Cloninger said. "(Cyrus) sat down in the hole and waited on it."

After a 10-yard reception by Moon, Hampton plowed in over the right side for the winning score.

Hampton rushed for 169 yards.

Concord led 7-0 before a track meet broke out in the second quarter.

The teams combined for five touchdowns in a span of 2:19.

Hampton had touchdown runs of 12 and 27 yards on consecutive carries.

In between, Dominique Posey returned a kickoff 85 yards for a Concord touchdown. After Hampton's second score, Moore connected with Bryan Franklin for a 72-yard touchdown play that put the Spiders ahead 20-12.

Robinson answered three plays later when Moon took a short pass and turned it into a 43-yard touchdown. Clay then threw to tight end Chris Dudas for the two-point conversion that tied the game.

Smith had a huge night in a losing effort for Concord, rushing for 218 yards and two touchdowns.

Moore completed 8 of 23 passes for 183 yards for Concord.

Clay was 13 of 30 for 163 yards for Robinson, which also overcame the loss of star lineman R.J. Mattes, who was ejected late in the third quarter for a late hit.

"Never giving up," Cloninger said about what the difference was for his team. "Staying after it and showing some mental toughness."

It was Robinson's second straight win over Concord following five straight losses.

Concord opens league play at home against Piedmont next Friday, while Robinson has an open date.

From Independent Tribune

Sep. 15--CONCORD -- Two fumbles on kickoff returns. Two miscues on punts.

That's how Friday night's South Piedmont Conference game with Hickory Ridge started for Concord High.

"I guess one thing that helped me is a little bit of experience," veteran coach E.Z. Smith said, referring to how he dealt with the Spiders' early mishaps. "Don't panic, stay with the game plan ... do what we got to do."

The calm, businesslike approach Smith and his coaching staff displayed on the sidelines during that rugged opening stretch obviously rubbed off on the Spiders, who after spotting the Ragin' Bulls the early advantage stormed back with 31 unanswered points to pull away to a 31-14 victory at rainy Bailey Stadium.

"I have a great coaching staff," Smith said. "They're experienced. They don't allow our team to look past the opponent. They also keep their head about them. They kept us in the ball game, our coaching staff did."

So did Roger Smith.

A week after setting a school single-game rushing record with 323 yards in a 41-6 romp over Piedmont, the junior tailback blitzed the Ragin' Bulls for 262 yards and two touchdowns.

Had it not been for two penalties that negated two touchdown runs, Smith would have easily broken that record

He scored on a 32 yard run in the third quarter, but it was called back because of holding. In the fourth quarter, a 78-yard scamper was disallowed because of an illegal block.

"I was disappointed because Roger ... before the game I thought Roger would probably break the record he set last week," Smith said. "I think he had ... I'm going to count 'em up and see how many yards he had. He had two called back that I know were just great runs."

After opening the season with two losses, Concord has now won two straight -- both coming in SPC play. The Spiders are tied for first place with Anson County, which knocked off A.L. Brown 24-21 on Friday.

But it far from easy.

The first-year Bulls put up a spirited effort in game that didn't offer many style points.

Concord fumbled three times in all, losing two on the first two kickoff returns, and struggled on special teams. One punt was blocked and another went awry when the snap sailed over the head of Brandon Barnhardt.

The Bulls turned two of those mistakes into scores -- a 24-yard touchdown pass from Brett Lilly to wide out Martin Murrell and a 3-yard run by Chase Phillips -- to jump out to a surprising 14-0 lead just eight minutes in.

"(Hickory Ridge coach) Marty Paxton did a great job," Smith said. "He's a former player and he knows what it's like to play here in Bailey Stadium. He prepared his kids and they did a good job. They got an opening turnover, took it down and scored. They got another turnover and another score."

It could have been much worse, but the Spiders' defense buckled down and kept the Bulls from converting on the other two turnovers deep in Concord territory.

That, in the end, was the difference.

Quarterback Tony Moore got Concord on the board with a 20-yard run a minute into the second quarter and by halftime, the Spiders had reeled off 24 points to go into the locker room ahead 24-14.

Moore tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jimmy Drye, Smith ran for a 32-yard score and Barnhardt capped the run with a 36-yard field goal.

Smith's 17-yard run in the third quarter was the final score of the game, which was called with 4:16 remaining because of lightning.

"It's a win," Smith said. "What can you say. We're 2-0 in the conference after being 0-2. Again, we're tied with somebody for first place. As long as we're winning, we're all right."

Moore finished with 91 yards rushing, helping Concord to a huge advantage in first downs (20-5). Smith also had one reception for 37 yards, giving him 299 all-purpose yards.

Murrell paced the Bulls with seven catches for 104 yards. Hickory Ridge was held to just 5 yards rushing on 14 carries. Lilly was 9 of 25 for 103 yards.

"I can't complain," Smith said. "Marty did a great job with his kids. They played their hearts out."