Going into Friday's game at Chattanooga Christian School, questions swirled around Notre Dame's quarterback situation after losing Landon Allen to a broken ankle last week.
Cameron Wynn and T.J. McGhee had all the answers, leading the Fighting Irish to a 53-7 win at Charger Stadium in the Region 3-3A opener for both teams. Notre Dame improved to 3-0 overall as CCS suffered its first loss in three games to start the season.
The sophomore tandem of McGhee and Wynn amassed 153 yards through the air, completing 10 of 15 passes with no interceptions and two touchdowns. McGhee's 11-yard pass to Akil Sledge in the third quarter was the first touchdown pass of his high school career.
McGhee missed last week's win against Tyner while recovering from a concussion.
"My hats off to both of those kids," Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said. "T.J. worked hard to get back ready to play, and we worked a lot with Cameron this summer throwing the ball, so we were really excited with how he threw the ball tonight. It was also great to see T.J. get his first touchdown pass. "
Wynn showed his strong arm, throwing a 44-yard pass on a dime to Calvin Sims to help the Irish take a 21-7 lead into halftime, but he got it done with his legs, too. He scampered for a 95-yard touchdown on a third-down play that looked like a failed option and ran another score in from 2 yards out.
Sledge also was a force on the ground, going over the 100-yard mark for the first time this season, including a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to cap a drive he dominated. It followed a 33-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and his scoring reception from McGhee.
"We were happy to get Akil over 100 yards," Fant said. "We were upset because the first two games it seemed like every time he touched the ball, there was a penalty. He'd have 20-yard runs coming back. We're starting to get our athletes the ball, and it's paying off."
Mondo Ellison looked poised to lead the CCS ground game and give a tough Notre Dame defense fits, but after the Chargers received their second kickoff, Ellison was left on the ground holding his knee. Medical staff tended to the big back for several minutes before he was helped off the field.
"It's a shame he gets taken out of the game on a penalty," CCS coach Mark Mariakis said. "He'll have an MRI tomorrow, and we'll see. We lost another kid to a knee (injury), too, so it was a tough night. He'll recover, and we'll bounce back."
Ellison carried the load on the Chargers' opening scoring drive with 10 carries for 48 of the 68 yards. Matthew Mercer capped it with a 3-yard quarterback sneak to tie the game at 7-all with 11:34 to go in the second quarter.
The CCS offense had trouble moving the ball after that point, and Notre Dame's defense ramped up its intensity, often getting hands on ball carriers in the backfield.
"It was a disappointing night on the scoreboard, but we're leaving the field with class and character, and that's important," Mariakis said. "We had a chance to lay down and we had a chance to drop below the line with character, and we didn't. I told our guys I'm proud to be with them tonight."
Notre Dame also scored on special teams and defense. Sims returned a punt 41 yards with 2:52 to play and Trea Johnson's pick-six ended the game.