BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – As nice as wins over county rivals Burns and Shelby felt, Friday night’s Crest win over Charlotte Catholic will be one of the defining victories for the beginning of the Greg Lloyd era.

Turner McSwain led the Chargers to a come-from-behind win thanks to a rushing touchdown with 67 seconds left to play.

The go-ahead score capped off an 82-yard drive that spanned 3:59 of the fourth quarter. McSwain was able to scramble to the 1-yard line before diving in. Aiden Carson punched in the ensuing two-point try to extend the lead to 27-21.

Crest’s defense took over from there. The Chargers held Charlotte Catholic out of the end zone with two stops at the 1-yard line and eight seconds remaining.

The Cougars failed to convert on downs in the final minute but a penalty on the defense kept the drive alive.

Carson got Crest on the board in the first quarter. An 81-yard pass from McSwain to the senior broke the ice with a minute left.

The Chargers pushed the lead to 13-0 on a 1-yard run by lineman Kentrell Degree. Carson set up the drive with two big plays.

Charlotte Catholic jumped out of its Wing-T offense and found enough success through the air to take a lead into the half.

Charlie Smith completed three passes to set the tone for a 1-yard Jake Anderson touchdown run.

Two plays into the ensuing Crest drive, McSwain coughed up the football and Ben Fjalkowski jumped on it for the Cougars.

Smith took advantage of the short field to fling a touchdown pass to Nick Bierman in the final minute of the second.

Catholic’s two scores in 1:40 gave it a 14-13 lead.

Crest retook the lead with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter. Carson raced to the pylon from 8 yards out to push the Chargers back in front 19-14.

The lead was short-lived as Smith opened the fourth quarter with a completion to Hugh O’Brien which, led to another Anderson rushing score.

McSwain’s third interception of the game gave Charlotte Catholic the ball back with 6:42 left on the clock. The Cougars were unable to seize the momentum and it allowed Crest just enough time to set up its 82-yard scoring drive to win.

Entering conference play, the Chargers are a perfect 3-0. Next week they host Ashbrook.

Charlotte Catholic has been competitive in its last two outings but sports a 1-2 record through four weeks. The Cougars host Providence next Friday.

HighSchoolOT updates weekly NCHSAA playoff projections based off of the state’s RPI formula. This information is available for those who are HighSchoolOT Insiders. To view the most recent projections, click below.

Source: highschoolot.com