Fry celebrates first game-winning moment as RNE special teams coach
As a player, Elliott Fry had his share of game-winning moments while kicking at South Carolina.
But Fry got to experience one as a coach Friday night. The Gamecocks’ all-time leading scorer, in his first year as Richland Northeast special teams coach, watched as Cavs’ first-year kicker Selvin Recinos-Tejeda lined up for a game-winning field goal against Airport with 17 seconds left.
The sophomore delivered with the 22-yard kick to give RNE a 20-17 victory. It was the Cavs’ second consecutive win, moving them to 3-2.
“Lot more nerve-wracking as a coach then player,” Fry said. “I was nervous, but I knew he was going to make it. It was a close game the whole time, and for him to have a game-winner was special. And it’s definitely different to see it as a coach. You have a lot of pride at that moment.”
Fry attended a minicamp with Tampa Bay in the spring, but it didn’t work out. He is taking classes at USC, and is training with hopes of catching on with a NFL team after the season.
Until then, Fry is having more fun than he thought as a coach and working with his kicker Recinos-Tejeda, a soccer player who had potential but didn’t know much about football rules.
Fry worked Recinos-Tejeda in a private lesson in the spring and more extensively during the summer. Recinos-Tejeda is 10-of-12 on extra points but was 0-of-8 on field-goal attempts until Friday’s game-winner.
“He had literally had never watched football before. Coach Fry has done a great job with him, but we knew he could be a good one,” RNE coach Bennett Weigle said.
Dutch Fork finding groove
Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts called the beginning of his season one of the strangest ones in almost 30 years.
The Silver Foxes’ first six weeks included a bye week, a game canceled because of Hurricane Irma and a blowout loss to Fort Dorchester. But Dutch Fork started to settle in the past two weeks with a 49-6 win against River Bluff and 67-7 win against Westwood on Friday night.
“It has been my strangest season since the 1989 Hugo season,” Knotts said Friday night. “We got a good team, but we weren’t acting like a good team. Tonight was a step forward, showing us what we could do. I’m not worried what any other team could do.”
Knotts was aware of those who might have written Dutch Fork off after their loss to Fort Dorchester. Other teams in Class 5A started getting more attention, but Knotts knows his team will be there in the end.
“We are still here, and we got good players. We got some solid defensive players,” he said. “I think we got the team. We didn’t show it against Fort Dorchester, but that was my fault. But I’m going to make it up to my guys as we go along.”
Odds and ends
Pelion defeated Columbia 21-20 for its second win of the year. It is the first time since 2014 the Panthers have won more than one game in a season.
Gilbert, Hammond, Spring Valley and Newberry are the only Midlands teams who are unbeaten, while Mid-Carolina and A.C. Flora have yet to win a game. M-C has lost 17 consecutive games.
Gilbert has had 500 yards of total offense in three consecutive games and scored 40 points or more in four of its five games this year.
This week’s stars
Manny Bright, Gilbert – Caught 13 passes for 288 yards, three touchdowns and had a 73-yard punt return for TD in win against Dreher
Corbett Glick, Hammond – Was 21-of-26 passing for a school-record 423 yards, four touchdowns and rushed for 51 yards and three TDs against Cardinal Newman
Dutch Fork running game – As a team, the Silver Foxes rushed for 386 yards with Josue Paredes and Jon Hall each going more than 100 yards. Bryce Thompson rushed for 94 and four TDs but didn’t play after the first quarter.
Quincy Hill, Spring Valley – Quarterback rushed for 174 yards and threw for 119 with four total touchdowns in win against White Knoll
Twontae Wallace, Richland Northeast – Ran 30 times for 246 yards and a TD in Cavs’ win against Airport
Looking ahead
A look at some of the top matchups in the Midlands next week:
South Pointe at Ridge View (Thursday) – This week’s slate of games starts with the three-time defending state champions coming to the Midlands for the region opener against the Blazers. Ridge View has won four straight since losing to Sumter.
Dutch Fork at Blythewood – Blythewood’s defense has allowed more than 20 points in a game just once, but it hasn’t faced the firepower of Silver Foxes’ offense.
Dreher at Chapin – Region 6-4A opener should feature plenty of offense as past three matchups have combined for at 68 total points in each game
River Bluff at Lexington – Rivalry game with the winner going to 2-1 in Region 5-5A
This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Fry celebrates first game-winning moment as RNE special teams coach."