Published October 31, 2009
By Langston Wertz Jr.
The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte Latin's defense, and Charlotte Latin's punter, helped the Hawks stop previously unbeaten Charlotte Country Day 28-17 Friday night and grab a share of the conference title.
"I can't say enough about our defense," Latin coach Larry McNulty said. "We tried to run it in the second half and we were going nowhere. We needed them tonight."
Ahead 21-17 in the fourth quarter, the Hawks sacked Country Day quarterback Morgan Roberts and forced a fumble at Latin's 35. Latin recovered.
The Hawks, though, were stopped on downs and had to punt. The snap sailed over punter Sam Meyers' head. Meyers ran it down at the goal line, and in one motion he was able to twirl around and punt it 47 yards in the air.
Disaster averted.
Two plays later, Latin's Chase Carbone intercepted Roberts deep in Hawks territory. He returned it to Country Day's 36.
Latin quarterback Sam Spence, who rushed for two scores, then turned a third-and-4 into a 30-yard insurance score.
Without Carbone - and especially without Meyers - that score probably would never have happened.
When the punt flew over Meyers' head, McNulty said he felt his heart drop. Then Meyers completed his spinning kick and the coach was elated again.
"Oh gosh," he said. "That was unbelievable. That punt saved it for us."
Meyers said he'd noticed on film that Country Day didn't rush the punter much, and as he was chasing the ball down, he figured he'd have time to get a kick away.
"You have got to keep your cool," he said. "You turn around and grab the ball and do what you do every time. I turned around and didn't see anybody. I was like 'Whew, I've got time.'"
His play helped Latin (9-1, 2-1) grab that share of the Charlotte Independent Schools conference title with Country Day (9-1, 2-1) and reigning state champ Charlotte Christian.
The Hawks' defense dominated, holding the Bucs to minus-4 yards in the first half and 9 yards rushing for the game. Latin forced four turnovers.
Latin receiver Davis Austin caught a touchdown pass in his 10th straight game. The Hawks finished with 220 total yards.
Country Day's Roberts threw for 176 yards and a score and receiver Tate Bloomer had 207 yards total offense and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard punt return in the first quarter.
But the Bucs didn't get a first down until the final two minutes of the first half.
"That's fun football," Latin's Carbone said. "It was a little frustrating (that Latin let Country Day rally from 21-7 down to 21-17 in the second half), but we stepped up and made plays when it counted.
"We believed. We believed all week. We worked hard. We watched film and it pays off. I love our defense. We play so hard and with so much passion and this proves it really works."
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