Hartsville’s fourth-quarter rally stuns Brookland-Cayce in playoff thriller
Hartsville has won plenty of exciting games over the course of its history but the 22-21 come-from-behind victory over Brookland-Cayce in third round of the Class 4A playoffs has to rank among one of the best in recent memory.
Owen Taylor threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to freshman J’Shawn Anderson then ran in the two-point conversion with 2:39 remaining to complete the 15-point fourth quarter comeback.
“It’s the best because it’s the last one,” Hartsville coach Jeff Calabrese said. “It was exciting for these young kids. I think to see their excitement as an old coach, each team is different, to see this team get this far is really enjoyable. This is a big win for our kids.”
The Red Foxes will travel to Myrtle Beach, a 35-10 winner over Airport, in a rematch of last year’s Lower State final won by the Seahawks.
Brookland-Cayce (8-4) seemed to be in control entering the fourth quarter. Will Way had rushing touchdowns of 45 and 71 yards and the Bearcats held a 21-7 lead before faltering in the final quarter.
Hartsville (10-3) pulled within a touchdown with a 13-play, 74-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard Taylor run on fourth down. The Red Foxes twice converted fourth downs on the drive, the first being a 13-yard pass from Taylor to that moved the ball to the B-C 8-yard line. Four plays later, Taylor powered his way into the end zone with 7:39 remaining.
The Bearcats drove to midfield on the next drive and had a third-and-two from its own 49 but a motion penalty moved it to third-and-7 that Brookland-Cayce couldn’t convert.
Three plays later, Taylor connected with Anderson in the right flat. The talented freshman broke a couple of tackles and out-raced the defense for the 75-yard scoring play.
Calabrese called time out to discuss the two-point play and came up with Taylor, playing his first season at quarterback after starting on defense last year, going over the right side out of a power formation.
“I really didn’t think about it until we scored,” Calabrese said of going for two. “I said, ‘hey let’s go for two right here.’ It was one of those things. I didn’t think J’Shawn was going to score that quickly. It was a great play. Our kids came here to win, and it worked out.”
Brookland-Cayce moved the ball to midfield until a bad snap derailed the final chance for a comeback.
Taylor was bottled up for most of the night but shined in the fourth quarter. He finished with 188 yards passing and added two rushing scores despite having just 16 yards on 17 carries.
“That kid has been battling all year,” Calabrese said. “It’s his first year playing quarterback and he made a lot of tough throws tonight. Championship caliber performance especially when we decided to go for two. We didn’t have another thought.”
Brookland-Cayce coach Rusty Charpai felt like his team let one get away from them. Way had 166 yards rushing and the Bearcats were controlling things until a costly turnover led to the first Hartsville points.
The Red Foxes, who has won seven in a row after starting the season 3-3, ran 8:12 off the clock to open the second half but came away with no points after B-C got a fourth down stop inside the 20-yard line. But three plays later, Amir Coe recovered a fumble at the 4-yard line setting up Taylor’s first score a play later.
“I think we are a better team, it just didn’t work out tonight,” Charpia said. “We weren’t supposed to be here. We won the region, went undefeated (in the region) and had a really good team on the ropes with a good chance to win but things just didn’t go our way.”
Hart 0 0 7 15 - 22
BC 14 0 7 0 - 21
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
BC – Peyton Whitten 1 run (Eric Young kick) 7:26
BC – Will Way 45 run (Young kick) 1:01
3rd Quarter
H – Owen Taylor 4 run (Chase Elsessler kick) 2:07
BC – Way 71 run (Young kick) 1:27
4th Quarter
H – Taylor 2 run (Leland Saxton kick) 7:37
H – J’Shawn Anderson 75 pass from Taylor (Taylor run) 2:32
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Hart: Dariyan Pendergrass 6-47, J’Shawn Anderson 11-43, Owen Taylor 17-16, Darian McMillan 3-20. BC: Will Way 17-166, Deonte Baker 7-27, Peyton Whitten 4-(-7), Latrell Jamison 1-4, Malachi Brown 1-7, Jordan Wise 1-(-3).
Passing: Hart: Taylor 11-14-0, 188 yards. BC: Whitten 6-7-0, 51 yards, Way 0-1-0, Skylar King 1-3-0, 14 yards.
Receiving: Hart: Anderson 2-89, Roddi Morris 3-30, Pendergrass 3-16, Kedarius Jackson 1-9, Kayne Herring 2-44. BC: Jordan Wise 1-26, Devonte Strader 2-8, Keon Middleton 1-5, Brown 2-12, Way 1-14.