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How was Providence Day’s season debut? Little shaky, and scary — but a lot of promise

There has been a lot of talk about Providence Day’s football team throughout the summer, especially when top 10 national recruit Jadyn Davis transferred back to the place where he became a middle school sensation.

And then coach Chad Grier, a man who has five fingers’ worth of state championships, has said, time and again, that this is the best team — on paper — that he has ever coached.

So when Providence Day finally took the field to play Legion Collegiate on Friday in front of a huge home crowd, it probably wasn’t surprising the Chargers looked like a teenage team carrying the weight of all those expectations.

Yes, the Chargers, No. 2 in The Observer’s Sweet 16, won 42-7, but that was expected, about the way you’d expect a heavyweight contender to knock out a journeyman.

But this was not a first-round knockout.

Providence Day, which will play state power Weddington next week, sputtered on its first few possessions, missing a few assignments, dropping a few passes. The good news? The Chargers defense — which includes a few of the highly touted offensive starters — looked pretty stingy, and Brody Barnhardt had a 38-yard punt return to give his team a comfy two-score lead.

That defense allowed Davis to keep getting the ball, and late in the second quarter, he and the Chargers showed why they are getting so much hype.

Apparently, the nerves — or whatever it was — wore off.

Davis, who would throw five touchdown passes, led a cat-quick 80-yard scoring drive, finishing it off with a 32-yard pass to Power 5 recruit Jordan Shipp. After a short Legion Collegiate possession, the Chargers scored again quickly, this time with running back Chris Peal, another Power 5 recruit, polishing off a pretty 54-yard catch and run.

Those two possessions were peeks into what Providence Day could become, and if the Chargers start to hit that level, they could join Cardinal Gibbons (No. 46), Chambers (56) and Hough (82) as N.C. teams in the national top 100 rankings.

They have that type of potential.

Three Who Mattered

Liam Groulx, Providence Day: Started on both sides of the ball and was his team’s top defensive player. Went back into the game in the fourth quarter and got a fourth down stop inside the 5.

Chris Peal, Providence Day: Power 5 recruit ran for 34 yards at running back but also caught five passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

Jadyn Davis, Providence Day: Threw for 338 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters. Finished 15-of-20 for 344 yards and ran five times for 30 yards.

Notes

Providence Day played without star linebacker Keyaan Abdul-Rahim, who sat out with an injury. He’s expected to play against Weddington next week.

Providence Day will play two past state champions the next two weeks: facing Sweet 16 No. 5 Weddington and No. 6 Charlotte Catholic.

Legion Collegiate — which features South Carolina recruit Judge Collier — is coached by Strait Herron, who once led Rock Hill’s South Pointe High to five state titles in eight seasons.

Providence Day had some penalty issues, one of which called back a touchdown. The Chargers will need to clean that up against Weddington in a potential regional or statewide game of the week next Friday.

Scoring Summary

Legion Collegiate 0 0 7 0 — 7

Providence Day 14 14 14 0 — 42

First Quarter

PD: Channing Godwin 54 pass from Jadyn Davis (Sydney McCorkle kick)

PD: Brody Barnhardt 38 punt return (McCorkle kick)

Second Quarter

PD: Jordan Shipp 32 pass from Davis (McCorkle kick)

PD: Chris Peal 54 pass from Davis (McCorkle kick)

Third Quarter

PD: Peal 16 pass from Davis (McCorkle kick)

LC: Zamari Copley 74 yard kick return (Lorenzo Cardarelli kick)

PD: Peal 67 pass from Davis (McCorkle kick)

Photos: Legion Collegiate at Providence Day