Weather cancels anticipated Dutch Fork, Mallard Creek matchup

The anticipated matchup between Dutch Fork and Mallard Creek high schools didn’t take place after a Saturday night weather delay at Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium.

The game was called after a lengthy delay just after 10:30 p.m. because of a weather system moving through the Charlotte area. Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts said both schools were scheduled to talk Sunday about a possible solution but it was agreed the game would be not made up.

The contest was part of Charlotte Kickoff Night and supposed to start at 8 p.m. following the Butler and Scotland County matchup, which Butler won, 47-13.

But Butler and Scotland County had a delay of more than an hour because of weather and didn’t finish until 8:56 p.m.. Dutch Fork and Mallard Creek were supposed to start at about 9:35 p.m. The two teams warmed up but were sent back to locker rooms because lightning was spotted in the area.

North Carolina rules state games can’t run into Sundays, which would have happened if the game would have started at or after 10:30 p.m. There was an option to play just a half but Knotts didn’t want to do that. He hoped to reschedule for Monday but Mallard Creek officials told the Charlotte Observer they were concerned that with a showdown with rival Butler coming up Friday, their athletes wouldn’t have enough time to recover.

“We waited all summer and billed it as our Super Bowl,” Knotts said. “We talked about Mallard Creek. We prepared for them and watched all their film. It was a real letdown for us. Our kids were ready to play. We were ready to have some fun tonight.”

Dutch Fork and Mallard Creek feature two of the top programs in the Carolinas. Since 2013, the two teams have combined for 129 wins and six state titles. Both were ranked in MaxPreps Top 100 poll. It also marked Knotts’ return to Memorial Stadium where he had won big games during his time as head coach in Charlotte at Independence, West Charlotte and Harding.

Dutch Fork will host Spring Valley on Friday.

This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 11:12 PM.