South Meck won a high-profile clash with rivals Myers Park on Friday evening, shutting out Myers Park 15-0 on a warm and dry, but windy, evening on the turf of the Matthews Sportsplex.

The game opened with the Sabres kicking off, and what was supposed to pin the Mustangs into their 22 was a playable ball only 15m deep. This gave Myers Park the opportunity to use their size advantage in the forwards to try and smash through the South Meck line.

South Meck's defense held but then seven minutes into the game captain Wyatt Elder received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. Down a player South Meck held on that in large part to the cool head of flyhalf Koen Webb and a ferocious defenisve front ledby the launch of senior scrumhalf Davis Ferner, kept the Mustangs from gaining momentum.

The hard work in defense paid off, and after Elder returned from his trip to the bin, his presence was immediately felt. After Webb distributed wide, Elder got his hands on the ball in space and was able to touch down in the corner. The conversion attempt, helped by the cross wind, missed, and South Meck led 5-0 at 20 minutes.

The ensuing restart pinned the Mustangs in their 22 and again the speed and tenacity of the Sabres defense stopped any momentum. Myers Park was able to kick clear but really all that did was set up a counterattack chance for the opposition. On the counter a slicing run by senior fullback Ben Koppleman got his side inside the 22 meter line, and then a penalty in the ruck led to South Meck No. 8 Cam Norvell noticing a mismatch. He tapped quick and was in at the corner.

the wind again put the kibosh on the kick and it was 10-0, which is how the first half ended.

The second half opened with South Meck receiving and, shortly after a penalty clearance by Webb, had the Mustangs defending their 22. Ay the lineout, the 9-10 connection was flawless and the vision by the center duo of senior Crispin Flemmings and Elder saw the ball into the hands of senior wing Bakari Burgess, and he was in at the corner.

Senior Axel Koppany got the nod for the conversion attempt however the wind was too much and again the kick sailed wide, making it 15-0 with 30 more minutes of rugby to play. Things really got interesting from there. After a kick-chase to put the Mustangs in the Sabres' half, Elder had to come off the field with an injury. Two minutes later, Koppany received a yellow card for another dangerous tackle. Without their captain and down a player, the Sabre forwards worked hard to keep bringing the Mustang attack to a halt behind the gainline.

Both teams were determined to hold the line and neither team was able to break through. The final 15 minutes were played mostly with South Meck defending in their territory, but the ferocious team defense and superb game management of Davis and Webb kept the result in South Meck's favor.

The South Meck pack was excellent in this game, especially on defense, while Webb's ability to run the attack put him among the best of the day. Ferner earned player of the game honors, while Myers Park No. 8 Sean Barry was strong for his team.

South Meck improves to 5-0 in the North Carolina Boys Single School Division, while Myers Park drops to 3-2. South Meck will have the #1 seed going into the playoffs next week, with Charlotte Catholic #2 and Myers Park #3. The winner of Ardrey Kell and Providence was Ardrey Kell 34-5, and they will be #4 and will take on South Meck in the semifinals.