The Tigers football team finished the season with a winning record of 6-5, taking fifth place in the DAC VII conference before falling to Wake Forest High School 42-8 on November 4 in the first round of the state playoffs.
This season marked Chapel Hill High School’s third consecutive appearance in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 4A playoffs.
The Tigers got off to an explosive 4-0 start, as senior Dylan James and junior Josh Kelley competed for the starting quarterback role. Jones started the opening game of the season, a 57-0 drubbing of Cedar Ridge High School on August 19 before Kelley assumed the starting role.
Kelley helped lead the Tigers to a 35-7 victory over Orange High School on August 26, a 55-35 defeat of Northwood High School on September 2 and a 49-7 blowout of Carrboro High School on September 9.
However, an injury to Kelley before the Tigers’ first conference game against Southern Alamance on September 29 propelled Jones into the starting role again.
Jones said he was ready to lead the team after spending the summer studying the team’s playbook.
“I transferred to this school last year, so it was a little difficult to get used to the offense and the play calling at first,” Jones said. “Coach [Justin] Kenyon and Coach [Ryan] Horton helped me a lot with learning the plays and understanding the certain reads I needed to make on each of the individual plays.”
Kelley returned to action in the team’s 47-15 victory over Northern Durham High School on October 28, throwing for 114 yards and recording two touchdown passes to help the Tigers secure their third consecutive playoff appearance.
The Tigers’ matchup against East Chapel Hill High School proved to be another pivotal moment in the season. The Tigers and Wildcats were originally scheduled to clash on September 23, but the contest was postponed to October 10 after several students reported rumors of a potential threat of violence at the game.
“Having the East game delayed threw us off right as we were hitting our stride,” assistant coach Bill Melega said. “Then having to play three games in seven days, coupled with illness and injuries, prevented us from showing our full strength and achieving our goals.”
Though the Tigers defeated East 40-16, the team dropped its next two contests to Hillside and Riverside-Durham, all played within the span of a week, before rebounding against Northern Durham.
“We started to burn out,” Jones said.
All in all, though, senior wide receiver and cornerback Dylan Evans—who led the team in reception yards, averaging 41.2 yards per game—characterized the season as a successful one.
“I thought we put in a lot of work,” Evans said. “It wasn’t the end result or end goal that we wanted. There were a lot of unfortunate situations that occurred—a lot of injuries and sickness, such as the flu—but I thought, overall, it was a successful season.”
Senior linebacker Jeremy Breeze, a three-year starter for the varsity team and one of 17 seniors on the roster, said his participation has been a formative part of his high school experience.
“I definitely will look back fondly upon my teammates, my family and my coaches for making me a better person on and off the field,” he said. Breeze, who led the team in tackles, recording 8.8 per game, is considering playing football collegiately at Jacksonville State University.
Though Breeze has played his last game at Culton-Peerman stadium, Melega looks forward to what the future holds on the gridiron for the Tigers.
“We are going to be very formidable and tough to beat next year,” Melega said.
