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Mooresville's upset bid falls short
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Published: October 10, 2009
MOORESVILLE - It was a tale of two halves for Mooresville's football team Friday night, and the Blue Devils didn't like the ending.
Ahead by 19 points at halftime, the Devils fell victim to a 20-point third period alone, which helped propel visiting West Charlotte to a wild 40-38 I-Meck Conference win.
On a night when the defenses rested, offenses took charge.
West Charlotte (5-3 overall, 3-0 I-Meck) rolled up all but two of its seven touchdowns and 28 of its points after the break, limiting Mooresville (0-7 and 0-3) to just one and seven, respectively.
"I hurt for these kids,'' Mooresville coach Steve McCurry said. "They played their butts off, and I'm so proud of them. They deserved this one."
Initially, it looked as though Mooresville was well on its way to the season's first win.
Blue Devils junior quarterback Patrick O'Brien threw for scoring passes of 28 and 42 yards to receiver Dalton Pierce and another 79 yards to Shawn Lester. He also added a 21-yard rushing TD.
O'Brien's early eruption coupled with the kicking game of Michael Watson, who drilled a 23-yard field goal, helped the Devils build the 31-12 lead they held at the half.
West Charlotte, which got first-half scores in the form of two and 15-yard runs from Jalen Simmons and Isaiah Lester, wasted little time getting its game going in the second half.
Nigel Johnson returned a lateral on the third period's opening kickoff 73 yards to get the Lions on track. Defensive back Brandon Sansbury then returned an interception 70 yards for a score on Mooresville's next possession.
Ahmad Brown's pass to T.J. Nixon, followed by Brown's own quarterback keeper gave West Charlotte its first lead.
The Devils countered on O'Brien's fifth touchdown pass of the night, a 10-yard strike to Lester.
In return, though, West Charlotte tallied what proved to be the go-back-ahead score on Brown's second rushing score of the half.
For the game, the duo of Simmons and Jamel Tillman rushed for in excess of 100 yards each.
For Mooresville, it featured the passing success of O'Brien, who finished with nearly 300 yards through the air with four TDs.
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