Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008

Underdog Demons show their will to win

Jones has his team believing after last week’s rally

Scott Jones is having flashbacks.

When his Lugoff-Elgin football team made an incredible rally from a 20-point deficit to defeat Greer 43-40 last week in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs, Jones couldn’t help but take a trip on the time machine to 2002, his first season as coach.

That year the Demons roared back from a similar deficit to defeat Daniel 36-35 in the second round of the playoffs. They went on to reach the semifinals before losing to Union County. This year’s version is showing some of the same diehard qualities.

“It sounds corny, but you preach, ‘Don’t ever give up, don’t ever give up,’ ” Jones said.

If ever a team had reason to give up, it was the Demons, who fell behind No. 3 Greer on the road 34-14 with less than two minutes to play in the first half. Lugoff-Elgin began to whittle away at the lead but still found itself trailing 40-28 with less than 10 minutes to play. But then the defense stiffened and the offense kept making plays.

Jones said there was no time to assess blame for the defensive breakdowns. Everyone on the sideline was busy trying to figure out what they needed to do to engineer a turnaround.

“We really felt like we could move the ball,” Jones said. “There was an intangible sense that if we could slow them down, we could get back in the game.”

The defense began to make stops behind the play of linebacker Campbell Connell (23 tackles), lineman Ryan Wannamaker (17) and linebacker Stephen Bonaparte (16). And the offense revved up behind running backs Phillip Osborne (159 yards, one touchdown) and Trent Hudson (128, one TD) and quarterback Forrest Koumas (9-of-12, 138 yards, two passing TDs, two rushing TDs).

“We had so many heroes,” said Jones, who cited everyone down to the holder on extra points.

“We came together and got it done,” said Wannamaker, the Region 4-3A defensive player of the year, who caught a 2-point conversion pass for the final points of the game.

Shrine Bowl offensive lineman Jared Singleton helped pave the way for an offense that refused to lose.

“We knew we had to fight back. The ball bounces funny ways come playoff time, and the coaches told us to keep fighting to the end,” Singleton said. “Coach (Jones) stays pretty cool. It’s all about what adjustments we have to make to get better.”

Jones, who came to Lugoff-Elgin from Dutch Fork as an assistant to Ernie Hughes in the mid-1990s, has seen it all. He helped rebuild the program under Hughes before taking over seven seasons ago.

“He’s the one who established this program. I want to give him credit for that,” said Jones, whose teams have reached the playoffs six times in seven years. “I love this place. I really do. We have the greatest kids to work with.”

The Demons (9-3), who finished third in Region 4-3A behind Chester and Fairfield Central, hit the road again Friday to play No. 1 Daniel (12-0), which features a high-powered passing game. Jones isn’t worried.

“The pressure is on them. They’re undefeated, and I know this: The pressure mounts when you’re undefeated,” he said. “We’ve lost three and learned from those mistakes. We don’t have anything to lose.”

Jones isn’t even concerned about a long trip to Pickens County to play in front of a hostile crowd. He would rather let someone else take care of the hosting responsibilities and just let his kids get off the bus and play.

“On paper, we don’t stand much of a chance, but I wouldn’t bet against our guys,” Jones said. “They have a lot of heart and a lot of character.”

A quick flashback to last week will remind him of that.

Reach White at (803) 771-8643.