BOILING SPRINGS — Billed as one of the more anticipated matchups of the 2025 NCHSAA football playoffs, Crest did its part to ensure Friday's game didn’t live up to those lofty expectations.
After getting its fill of the school fight song, “The Horse,” the Chargers basked in a 31-14 victory over East Lincoln.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I mean, East Lincoln's got one of the better teams around, and they're used to winning, and, you know, we're used to winning, and (we knew) it was just going to be a battle,” said Crest football coach Greg Lloyd. “And, you know, I mean, they played well, and they played us hard, but I was pleased with how we came out in the first half and we got on them a little bit and scored some points.”
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Surprisingly, Friday was the first-ever meeting between the storied programs. Crest did its part to make quite a first impression, scoring on its opening drive courtesy of a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ely Hamrick to Swiss Army knife Brock Melton. Later in the quarter, running back Jason Black got in on the act, his 9-yard TD scamper giving the Chargers a 14-0 lead.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCrest upped its lead to 21-0 in the second, wideout Michael Edwards first hauling in a 52-yard pass before capping the drive with a 24-yard TD run. The Chargers put a bow on a dominant half with a 42-yard field goal by kicker Carson Grier.
Crest limited East Lincoln to 60 yards in the first half. But by no means was East Lincoln going down without a fight.
The Mustangs opened the second half with a 13-play, 78-yard drive punctuated by an Andrew Viers 4-yard TD run. After a Jacoby Hunt interception allowed East Lincoln to start its following drive at midfield, a one-handed TD catch by wideout Jaxon Dollar allowed the Mustangs to further nibble into the Crest advantage at 24-14.
Crest football's Jason Black looks to elude the grasp of an East Lincoln tackler during their 31-14 win on Nov. 21, 2025 in Boiling Springs.East Lincoln threatened to trim the lead even further, mounting a drive deep into Crest territory following a Gaige Ikard interception. However, Crest defensive lineman Taveon Whisnant snuffed out an East Lincoln screen pass and stripped the Mustang ball carrier of the football. Whisnant recovered the loose ball and rumbled to the East Lincoln 28.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I knew we needed a stop because (East Lincoln) was gaining a lot of momentum,” Whisnant said. “I saw the screen (play), I saw him, hit him and took the ball and ran.”
Three plays later, Black all but put the game away with a 13-yard TD run.
Crest (10-2) advances to take on old nemesis South Point next week in the 5A West regional semifinals. The top-seeded Red Raiders (10-2) defeated Monroe 61-42 on Friday.
Crest defeated South Point 42-7 in their regular-season meeting. This time, the matchup will be on the Red Raiders’ home turf.
“South Point's good. I think when we played them last time, they turned the ball over a few times, which helped us,” Lloyd said. “ We can't expect that this time around. It’s going to be a war over in Belmont.”
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Crest football defeats East Lincoln in NCHSAA 5A West playoffs
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