Lexington, Irmo advance. LR’s solid season ends. SCISA championship games set
Lower Richland’s turnaround season ended Friday to a traditional power that made just enough plays on defense and special teams to survive a shootout.
Eight-time state champion Clinton is moving on to the third round of the Class 3A playoffs after a 48-34 win over the Diamond Hornets. Lower Richland, winners of two games in 2020, ends 2021 with an 8-2 record, a Region 4-3A title and plenty of areas to build on following coach Marlin Taylor’s second season with the program.
“I hope it helps us take the next step,” Taylor said. “We wanted to come out and win this game tonight, obviously, but the kids fought hard all season. To go from two wins my first year, I think we made a big step. But we still got work to do.”
Clinton (11-1) advanced to face Daniel with a trip to the state semifinals on the line thanks to a series of game-changing moments in the fourth quarter.
Tied at 31 and facing fourth-and-4 from the Lower Richland 42-yard line with under five minutes remaining, the Red Devils ran a fake punt that resulted in an unconventional scoring pass from Davis Wilson to Justin Copeland. Wilson took the long snap, started right before rolling left and flinging to an open Copeland, who raced to the goal line to put Clinton ahead for good.
“He had to scramble a little bit and the guy we had releasing (Copeland), he got caught up in some traffic,” said Red Devils coach Corey Fountain. “But (Wilson) did a great job of extending the play and our receiver did a great job of moving to get open. It was just a great play by them of making it happen. When things are on the line, those guys, they showed their guts and were able to get it done.”
Said Taylor: “The guy threw a floater and he got it.”
From there, the Diamond Hornets offense, which briefly took command of this game with a 27-point second quarter, fizzled with Robert Adams III tossing interceptions on LR’s final two possessions. A Jishun Copeland 51-yard touchdown run with under two minutes left sealed things for Clinton.
Adams III had 193 yards yards of total offense with three scores — one running, two throwing to Nate Branch — and running back Jeremy Barney added 190 yards and two TDs on the ground for Lower Richland.
The Diamond Hornets led 27-13 late in the first half. The Red Devils, who broke a school 51-year scoring record with 77 points in their first round win, scored 35 of the game’s final 42 points Friday. They finished with 311 yards rushing.
“This is a life lesson,” Taylor said. “Everything I try to teach these kids is about life. It’s bigger than football. It’s about our community, it’s about being a good teammate, being a good human being, being a good citizen. This is a life lesson.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”
SCISA state championship schedule set
All games at Charleston Southern University except 8-man final
- 3A: Hammond vs. Trinity Collegiate, 7 p.m. Friday
- 2A: Williamsburg Academy vs. Hilton Head Christian, 5 p.m. Saturday
- 1A: Thomas Heyward vs. Lee Academy, noon Saturday
- 8-man: Andrew Jackson vs. Holly Hill, 7 p.m. Friday at Calhoun Academy
SCISA 3A
Hammond 56, Porter-Gaud 3: Michigan commit CJ Stokes rushed for 176 yards and had two touchdowns as the Skyhawks won their 17th straight game and advanced to another SCISA 3A championship. Hammond will face Trinity Collegiate next Friday at Charleston Southern. Hammond is going for its fifth straight title and 19th overall.
Class 5A
Dutch Fork 56, Cane Bay 0: Quarterback Davin Patterson threw for four touchdowns and running back Jarvis Green ran for four scores as the Silver Foxes moved on to the third round and extended their unbeaten streak to 60 games. Dutch Fork will travel to Sumter next week. Patterson was 12-of-14 for 197 yards. Receiver Antonio Williams had six catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Green rushed for 97 yards. Dutch Fork outgained Cane Bay 486-140.
Lexington 28, Goose Creek 14: The Wildcats scored two touchdowns in an 18-second span in the third quarter to win in the second round of the Lower State playoffs. Lexington will travel to Fort Dorchester next week. Tyler Walker rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and Keshawn Gladden added 98 yards and a score. Quarterback Taiden Mines was 10-of-22 for 118 yards and a TD. Walker put Lexington up 14-7 on a TD run less than a minute into the third. After Goose Creek fumbled the kickoff, Gladden scored two plays later to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead.
Fort Dorchester 44, Chapin 21: Quarterback Zolten Osborne threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots eliminated the Eagles. Davion Joyner had 10 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns for Fort D. Michael Smalls rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Chapin kept it close early and tied it at 14-14 on a fake field goal in the second quarter as holder Brady Albro found Zavier Short for a touchdown. Short, the school’s all-time leading receiver, had three TD catches in the game.
Ridge View 47, Hillcrest 41: Quarterback Andre Washington threw for 334 yards, four touchdowns and ran for another as the Blazers won their second straight road playoff game. Ridge View will travel to Spartanburg next week. Two of Washington’s touchdown passes went to Zion Agnew, including a 91-yarder in the first half. Running back Josh Holmes rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns for RV.
Spartanburg 37, Spring Valley 29: Spring Valley rallied from a 37-7 second-half deficit but fell short in the Class 5A playoffs.
Class 4A
Irmo 42, Westside 20: Senior DeAree Rogers accounted for six touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets moved on in the Upper State playoffs. Irmo is at Greenville next week. Rogers caught three TDs from Izyah Whiteside, ran for two scores and returned an interception 60 yards for a TD.
Class 3A
Camden 13, Aynor 0: The Bulldogs earned their third straight shutout and advanced in the Lower State playoffs. Camden will travel to Brookland-Cayce next week. Quarterback Grayson White ran for two touchdowns for Camden, which had the ball for just 36 plays. The Bulldogs’ defense came up with a big turnover in the second quarter as Aynor was inside the Camden 20-yard line.
Brookland-Cayce 28, Hanahan 27: The Bearcats rallied from a 14-6 halftime deficit to move on in the playoffs. B-C hosts Camden next week in the third round. Naahzeikal Mays had three touchdowns and Tanner Staton threw a TD in the fourth to Jamari Kennerly to put BC up 28-21. Hanahan scored to pull within 28-27 with a minute left. Hanahan lined up to go for two-point conversion but was called for a false start and then missed the game-tying extra point.
Oceanside Collegiate 36, Gilbert 28: Oceanside scored two touchdiowns in a 19-second span in the fourth quarter to defeat Gilbert. The Indians led 28-22 on a Gray Leaphart 2-yard run with 3:18 left. But Oceanside answered with a Vaughn Blue 7-yard run and then Carson Arnold returned an interception for a touchdown with 2:31 left to make it 36-28. Blue had three TD runs for Oceanside, who will travel to Dillon next week. Chance Jennings had two TD passes for Gilbert.
Class 2A
Gray Collegiate 58, Crescent 0: Running back KZ Adams rushed for 247 yards and four touchdowns and Gray’s defense held Crescent to less than 100 yards. Gray will face defending state champion Abbeville next week and the game will be played at Fairfield Central. Abbeville is ranked No. 1 and Gray No. 2 in Class 2A. Riley Staton threw for two touchdowns and Tre Robinson had one for the War Eagles.
Newberry 56, Chesterfield 20: The Bulldogs scored 43 points in the first half as the final season of head coach Phil Strickland continues. Newberry will face Christ Church next week. Running back KJ Robinson had three touchdowns and quarterback Zy Epps had two for the Bulldogs.
Abbeville 49, Saluda 34: Zay Rayford and Jamal Marshall each rushed for three touchdowns as the Panthers advanced in the 2A playoffs. Abbeville will play Gray Collegiate next week. Rayford finished with 193 yards rushing. Jonah McCary threw for 375 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Class A
Southside Christian 42, C.A. Johnson 14: The Hornets’ season ended against the defending Class A champions.
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 12:10 AM.
