Midlands roundup, scores: Gilbert-BC combine for nearly 100. Flora, Gray get big wins
Gilbert coach Chad Leaphart had one simple message for his team before a Region 5-3A showdown with Brookland-Cayce Friday night: “Make them remember your name.”
One name the Bearcats won’t soon forget is that of Colton Mason. The senior ran for 314 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns and added another receiving touchdown as the Indians rolled to a 56-42 victory.
Mason scored on runs of 64, 2, and 22 and added an 11-yard TD reception. The 314 yards is the most since Jakayus Leaphart had 353 yards in 2014.
“He’s a hoss,” Chad Leaphart said of Mason. “The plan tonight was to feed him the football behind our big offensive line. We felt like we could wear them down over the course of the night and Colton just gets stronger. Those numbers, goodness gracious, I didn’t realize they were like that.”
Coupled with Orangeburg-Wilkinson’s upset of Strom Thurmond, Gilbert (3-0) has assured itself of a playoff spot with two region games remaining. If the Indians can defeat Strom Thurmond next week, they will win the region outright.
“If we won tonight, we felt like we would take a huge step towards making the playoffs, which is a big deal this year since only two teams from each region make the playoffs,” Leaphart said.
Mason, a senior, wasn’t a known name on the offensive side of ball coming into the season. He played outside linebacker last year, but he took over as the lead back this season as the team replaced so many seniors. In the last two weeks, Mason has 513 yards rushing.
“The offensive line did a great job of playing and made some big holes and I just got a couple of breakaways for touchdown,” Mason said. “It was a real physical game and our goal was to be more physical than BC.”
Mason wasn’t the only bright spot on the offensive side of things. Gilbert rolled to 571 yards of total offense with 445 of those yards coming on the ground.
A big swing at the end of the first half proved to be key. The Indians were clinging to a 21-14 lead but a late 27-yard touchdown pass from Izayah Whiteside to Joel Franklin that make it 27-14 at the break. Gilbert received the second half kickoff and used an 11-play, 82-yard drive that was capped by a Mason 2-yard run to make it 35-14.
Whiteside, who threw for 127 yards and two scores, added a 1-yard run a little over two minutes later to increase the lead to 42-14, and they would need it as Brookland-Cayce (1-2) wouldn’t go away quietly.
The Bearcats added a 62-yard pass from Peyton Whitten to Will Way and a Tanner Staton 1-yard run to get back within two scores to start the fourth quarter.
Mason scored on a 22-yard run and Josh Black added a 30-yard scamper that made it 56-26 with 3:24 remaining.
The Indians finished with 581 yards of total offense with 454 of those coming on the ground.
The Bearcats did add two late scores as the Bearcats had 445 yards of total offense that included 338 yards passing — 178 by Staton and 160 from Peyton Whitten in the two-quarterback system.
AC Flora 45, Irmo 14
A.C. Flora used a strong running game and dominated the second half to take the lead in the Region 4-4A race.
Matt Pack and Terrell Coleman each ran for two touchdowns as the Falcons defeated Irmo 45-14 in a matchup of region leaders. AC Flora has a one-game lead with two region games left.
“I thought this was the absolute best we ran the ball all year,” Flora coach Dustin Curtis said. “Not that we haven’t had our moments. But this was the cleanest especially against a talented defensive front. ... There was some things said to my kids on the internet and they were pretty riled up for this.”
With the scored tied at 14 in the second quarter, Pack scored on a short run and the Falcons added a field goal to lead 24-14 at halftime.
Marquez Cunningham took the opening kickoff deep into Irmo territory, and Coleman ran it in on the next play to put the Falcons up 31-14.
Quarterback Ethan Beamish threw two first-half TDs, including an 80-yarder to Eriq Rice on Flora’s first play of the game.
Irmo quarterback Dylan Williams accounted for the Jackets’ two touchdowns with an 81-yard pass to Kameron Greene and 4-yard run to tie it up in the second quarter.
Dutch Fork 41, River Bluff 7
The Silver Foxes scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and extend their unbeaten streak to 43 games.
Quarterback Will Taylor threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns, two each to Antonio Williams and Elijah Spencer.
Williams led the team with 10 catches for 193 yards and two TDs. He caught a 33-yarder after the ball went through a River Bluff player’s hands and went 33 yards for a TD on final play of the second quarter to give the Silver Foxes a 17-7 lead.
Jarvis Green added 127 yards rushing and a TD. Dutch Fork’s defense held River Bluff to 69 yards of offense.
River Bluff’s TD came on an Adam Molnar interception return in the second quarter. It was the Gators’ season opener after the team’s start was delayed from coronavirus issues.
Gray Collegiate 34, Saluda 24
Quarterback Tre Robinson ran for two TDs and threw another one as the War Eagles picked up one of their biggest wins in school history by defeating defending 2A champion Saluda.
KZ Adams rushed for 212 yards and two scores and Chris Rhone had a TD catch in the win. Adams’ 5-yard run put Gray up 34-17 with 1:42 left.
First Baptist 7, Hammond 6
Hammond turned over the ball seven times and lost for the first time to a team from South Carolina since losing to Ben Lippen in 2016.
Will Daniel hit Jaylin Hayward on a 40-yard TD in the third quarter to give the Hurricanes the lead.
Aiden Canazter had the Skyhawks TD in the first half but the extra point was missed.
Ridge View 38, Lexington 12
Jordan Smith caught two touchdown passes and also returned a punt for a score in the Blazers’ second straight win. Quarterback Andre Washington threw for 113 yards and ran for 40 with three touchdowns. Naejuan Barber also returned an interception for a touchdown.
It was Lexington’s first game of the season after COVID-19 issues delayed the Wildcats’ start. Carlton Finney ran for both of Lexington’s scores.
Camden 48, Lake City 20
Leroy Bracey ran for 223 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs moved to 2-0 on the season. Willis Lane added 138 yards and two scores on the ground and quarterback Jaffari Pearson had 181 yards of offense and two touchdowns.
CA Johnson 36, McBee 28
The Hornets clinched a playoff spot and improved to 3-0 on the season with the road win.
Quarterback Isom Harris threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns and Desmond Martin caught 12 passes for 204 yards and a TD.
CeCe Bailey and Dawan Rice each had two scores for the Green Hornets.
Chapin 43, White Knoll 28
Bennett Galloway ran for three touchdowns and had the go-ahead kickoff return for a touchdown in the Eagles’ win.
After White Knoll scored to tie it at 28, Galloway returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to put Chapin up with 1:24 left in the third quarter.
Galloway finished with 108 yards rushing. Quarterback Hunter Sheppard threw for 203 yards and a TD to Zavier Short.
White Knoll QB Kennedy Ramsey threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. DeAree Rogers had eight catches for 138 yards and a scored for WK.
North Central 47, Buford 0
Shyheem Shropshire and Kalab Haven each had three scores for the Knights, who moved to 3-0.
Heathwood Hall 40, Florence Christian 7
Quarterback Alex Lewis threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Eagles. Heathwood Hall had 570 yards of offense.
Ben Lippen 31, Wilson Hall 0
Quarterback Stryker Gandy threw two touchdowns to Davis Holt in the Falcons’ victory. Gandy finished with 160 yards passing. Running back Will Owens ran for 106 yards and a score while Josh Plush had a punt return for a TD. Ben Lippen outgained Wilson Hall 406-116.
Laurence Manning 48, Cardinal Newman 7
Nolan Osteen ran for 151 yards and three touchdowns for the Swampcats in the win. Connor Smith added 145 yards on the ground and quarterback Tyler June threw a TD pass. Shanye Monsanto had Cardinal Newman’s touchdown.
Richard Winn 44, Northside Christian 18
Quarterback Zack Taylor accounted four four touchdowns and also had an interception on defense as the Eagles moved to 7-0.
QB Max McKenna threw for 190 yards and three TDs, including two to Jake Daniels for Northside.
Airport 27, Aiken 14
On Monday, Jordan Rivers had a 55-yard fumble return as Airport rallied from an early deficit to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Rivers’ fumble return gave Airport a 21-14 lead with nine minutes left in the third. Tyler Dasher had a 29-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Rucker in the fourth quarter for the Eagles.
Immanuel Bovain had a pair of first-half touchdowns for Airport, which is at South Aiken on Friday.
Ferderian Terry had two first-half touchdowns for Aiken including a kickoff return to give the Hornets a 14-7 lead with 5:06 left in the second quarter.
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 11:43 PM.
