Palisades High football builds on best campaign ever

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Palisades High players celebrate after beating Ardrey Kell 55-17 in the first round of the North Carolina 8A football playoffs. The 9-2 Pumas, ranked third in the Magnificent Seven, set a school record for wins in a season in the program's fifth campaign. They play 10-0 Hough, the top-ranked team in the state, next week.

Palisades High is playing for more than football respect.

The Pumas, who beat Ardrey Kell 55-17 last week in the first round of the North Carolina 8A playoffs, are creating history in the program’s fifth season. They set a new standard with the most wins in a campaign (nine) and are in the postseason for the third straight year. Palisades, No. 3 in the Magnificent Seven rankings, doesn’t have a championship pedigree, but quarterback Cole Hough, a Liberty commit, contends the Pumas are ahead of schedule and skeptics.

“I would love for them to keep sleeping on us, but I feel like this really shows that we're like a real we’re a real power in North Carolina,” he said. “If they want to keep sleeping on Palisades, we’re just going to shock them again. Nobody expected us to do this right here, but we came out and handled business.” 

The Pumas (9-2) certainly did against fifth-ranked Ardrey Kell (7-4). Hough accounted for five touchdowns while completing 19-of-22 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns. He also scored on a 74-yard run. Riley-Champ Hicks was Hough’s top target with seven receptions for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“Everything's clicking on all cylinders today, but we still see more steps that we can get better at. “There was a lot of things that we didn’t have go our way in the first half. We played a good, really good second half, but this just goes to like show what a team can do.”

The Pumas, who play top-ranked Hough High (10-0) in the second round, have succeeded despite adversity. Jonathan Simmons, Palisades’ inaugural coach, was suspended a week ahead of the season opener and ultimately resigned. Assistant coach Darrel Wilson stepped in to lead the Pumas to the Southwestern 7A/8A title, which earned Cole Hough’s endorsement.

“First I want to say thank you to Coach Simmons for just giving us a standard to make sure that everything was still running the way that he built it,” the quarterback said. “Wilson, he’s done a heck of a job. I couldn’t ask for a better head coach right now, the way he’s brought together, made us like brothers. … If he wants the job, I feel like there’s no way he can take it away.”

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