A.C. Reynolds Bows Out in Round Four - TribPapers
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A.C. Reynolds Bows Out in Round Four

Two-way senior star Asher Cunningham sprints 46 yards on fourth down to score the first TD of Reynolds’ victory in round three. Photo by Pete Zamplas.

Matthews – A.C. Reynolds Rockets lost 17-10 at Matthews Weddington on Friday, Nov. 25, in the West Region 4A football semifinals.

The fourth round is the furthest that the Rockets have reached in playoffs since 2017, when they were the 3AA state runners-up. Reynolds beat future UNC quarterback Sam Howell and Sun Valley 28-25 to win the West Region, then lost to New Hanover by ten points in the 2017 state title game. That Reynolds squad went 14-2. Its stars included Alex Flinn, Nate St. Onge, I’dre Bell, Taylor Hembree and Eli Buckner.

JoJo Ikeme (2) races around end to inside the Butler ten, to set up an ACR field goal. Photo by Pete Zamplas.
JoJo Ikeme (2) races around end to inside the Butler ten, to set up an ACR field goal. Photo by Pete Zamplas.

Seventh seed Reynolds (12-2) on Friday lost to sixth-seeded Weddington (13-1) for the fourth time within a decade. The Warriors are by far the biggest thorn in the Rockets’ side in recent years. They eliminated ACR from the playoffs in three consecutive postseasons — in 2014, and at ACR in 2015 and ‘16. They did so again in 2022. Weddington won 3AA state titles in 2016, ‘18 and ‘19.

Playoff brackets are no longer subdivided – such as splitting 4A into smaller 4A schools and larger 4AA teams. This means that the largest schools in the state can feast on 4A schools with far less enrollment and team depth. Reynolds is the smallest 4A school in the entire state, Reynolds head coach Shane Laws noted. Yet the Rockets defeated two larger Charlotte schools in the postseason.

“I’m proud of everything that they accomplished,” Coach Laws said. “This is a great group. They played hard every Friday night. We didn’t make enough plays, and came up short.”

Trick Plays Nearly Click

Reynolds came close to tying the game in the middle of the final quarter. A fourth-down trick play came ever so close to a first down. Asher Cunningham too the snap. He usually runs out of the wildcat formation. A week earlier he completed a jump pass.

This time, he completed a pass to Brandon Guest. Reynolds needed to gain four yards on the play. But the pass was off the mark enough to force Guest to go off-balanced to reach and catch it. Guest stumbled forward with possession of the ball. He was ruled barely short of the first down. Guest and Cunningham play mostly at linebacker, and sparingly on offense.

Guest’s brother Max Guest is ACR’s star running back. The super sophomore entered the final game with 1,705 yards and 25 touchdowns rushing, and 29 total scores.

Max Guest was involved in another trick play that ended up souring. He ran 42 yards into the end zone on a fake punt on fourth down. But a holding call against ACR wiped out the play, and helped keep Reynolds scoreless in the first half.

Coach Laws made a very valid point about inconsistency of officiating. He noted that holding was repeatedly overlooked in the first quarter — until that crucial moment early in the second quarter. “For the first four series, they didn’t call holding” when it occurred. “The kids were allowed to play” beyond rules, as often happens in playoff games. “Then suddenly, holding gets called. If you’re going to let them play, let them play” throughout the game.

Laws said the penalty hit the Rockets hard. “Points are really hard to get in big games like this. Anytime a touchdown is called back, it’s like a punch in the stomach.”

The Rockets struggled on offense in the first half, and trailed 10-0 at the break. But they hit two big passing plays early in the second half. Quarterback Hayden Craig threw to Wesley Rumbough, who rumbled for a 50-yard gain. ACR settled for Jarod Glenn’s 30-yard field goal.

Down 17-3, the Rockets struck again in the air. JoJo Ikeme snatched a Craig pass, eluded a tackler, and dashed for a 45-yard score. ACR trailed by only one score at 17-10, with ten minutes remaining.

Reynolds got the ball back. Craig ran for six yards to set up that fourth-and-four pass by Cunningham to Brandon Guest. Reynolds got one last chance on offense with 2:18 to play, starting at its 42. But the Warriors again held on downs.

Craig finished 2022 with about 1,850 passing yards, 21 aerial scores, and merely three interceptions — with one of them on Friday. The lefty is a junior.

Reynolds sparkled best on defense in 2022. Russell Barnett got his team-leading ninth sack of the season in the finale. Marquan Harper had five sacks, and Cunningham had three sacks in 2022. Linebackers Brandon Guest and Cunningham each averaged more than seven tackles per game.