Ballantyne Ridge extended its winning streak to three games Friday, Sept. 25, beating East Mecklenburg 28-21 in the Wolves' Southwestern 7A/8A conference opener.
Neither area school cracked the Charlotte Observer/News & Observer statewide rankings published Sunday, Sept. 27. The 8A class poll is topped by Hough (6-0) and Chambers (6-0). Palisades sits at No. 4 in 8A and No. 12 in the NC Super 25.
That matters because Palisades is next up for both Ballantyne schools. Ardrey Kell (3-2, 0-0 conference) opens league play at Palisades at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. Ballantyne Ridge (3-3, 1-0) is idle that week, then hosts Palisades on Friday, Oct. 9. The Knights and Wolves meet each other Friday, Oct. 16, at Ardrey Kell.
Ballantyne Ridge's turnaround
The Wolves' streak is a program milestone. The Charlotte Observer noted Ballantyne Ridge won two games total across its first two seasons before this fall. After an 0-3 start that included a 43-0 loss at Marvin Ridge on Aug. 27, the Wolves have outscored opponents 104-47 in three straight wins.
Sophomore running back Osazee Inneh has been the engine. He ranks 21st in North Carolina with 748 rushing yards and ninth statewide with 13 touchdowns through six weeks, according to MaxPreps statistical leaders. Junior linebacker Holden Jones ranks 22nd statewide with 57 tackles.
Ardrey Kell's numbers
The Knights had a bye in Week 6 but hold a MaxPreps computer ranking of No. 15 in 8A and No. 110 overall in North Carolina. Those are algorithm-generated rankings, separate from the human-voted Observer/News & Observer polls.
Senior receiver Khylieb Rodriguez ranks 10th statewide in receiving yards with 505, per MaxPreps. Ardrey Kell's two losses came against Marvin Ridge (42-21 on Sept. 4) and Chambers (57-20 on Sept. 18). Marvin Ridge is now 5-0 and ranked No. 23 in the Super 25.
Conference picture
Conference play is just getting started in the Southwestern 7A/8A. Ballantyne Ridge's win over East Mecklenburg is the only league result on either area team's ledger so far. The 8A poll features three unbeaten squads at the top, and Palisades at No. 4 with a 4-1 record.
Ardrey Kell has not played in two weeks. The Oct. 2 trip to Palisades will test whether the Knights can compete with the conference's top tier heading into the Oct. 16 rivalry game against Ballantyne Ridge.
