... - Sports - Preps - Fort Mill

Friday, Oct. 03, 2008

Boiling Springs 16, Fort Mill 13

FORT MILL — Boiling Springs gave Fort Mill High’s football team every opportunity to take control of the game early, but missed opportunities in the first quarter came back to haunt the Yellow Jackets in the fourth, as the Bulldogs spoiled Homecoming with a 16-13 victory.

Fort Mill trailed 16-0 entering the fourth period, but a gutsy play by quarterback Danny Till and fullback Max Simons gave the Jackets an opportunity for their first win of the season.

The Jackets rallied with two Simons touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, the latter coming with 3:56 to play and cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to three points. With two timeouts remaining and a solid kicker, Fort Mill needed just one defensive stand for a chance.

Boiling Springs ran the ball well when it counted the most and ran out the remainder of the clock and barely escaped Bob Jones Stadium with their fifth win behind a solid effort from Josh Murph.

The character and pride for Ed Susi’s team was not lost on the Homecoming crowd or opposing team. When the game looked hopeless, the entire Fort Mill bench gathered in one end of the players’ box to cheer on their teammates.

Through the first three quarters of Friday’s matchup, Fort Mill had accumulated just 10 points on the season. The Jackets topped that with 13 in the fourth quarter, but they simply couldn’t overcome their early missed chances.

The Yellow Jackets’ luck began soon after the opening kickoff. Till tossed an interception, but the Bulldogs coughed up the ball on the return. Garrett Passatore recovered the loose ball for the Jackets, keeping the drive alive.

After one first down, Fort Mill lined up to punt the ball back to Boiling Springs. Chris Larson boomed a kick deep into Bulldogs territory. Once again, Boiling Springs once again presented the Jackets with a gift, this time a forced fumble recovered by Simons.

The Jackets set up a first-and-10 from the Bulldogs’ 19, but a long field goal attempt by Larson was blocked as the Jackets squandered another opportunity.

The teams traded punts on their next possessions when Fort Mill finally returned the favor. Larson chased a bad snap into the end zone where he fell on the football for a safety. The deuce was the only points scored in the first half.

The Bulldogs came out blazing in the second half behind Murph. Murph had just six carries for 19 yards in the first two periods as the Jackets dominated the time of possession. After halftime, Murph represented nearly all of Boiling Springs’ offense.

A fake to Murph followed by a handoff to Dylan Thompson gave the Bulldogs their 16-point lead before the Yellow Jackets’ rally.

Murph finished with 26 carries, amassing 213 rushing yards, and a 47-yard touchdown scamper to boot. The yardage put him over 1,000 on the season as both teams wrapped up their portions of the non-region schedule.

“We played extremely hard tonight and never quit,” Till said. “The scoreboard may not always show which team gave the most effort, but we’ll walk off of the field knowing we gave it everything we had. Boiling Springs is a good ballclub, and hopefully, we’ll gain some confidence heading into region play.”

“To win a game like this, where we did not play well and committed so many costly mistakes, is a tribute to our kids,” Boiling Springs coach Bruce Clark said. “This is an excellent opportunity for us to learn, and it makes it easier when you win. I have to give a lot of credit to Fort Mill. Coach Susi has them playing hard and has the program heading in the right direction.”

BOILING SPRINGS 16, FORT MILL 13

Boiling Springs.....0.....2.....14.....0.....—.....16

Fort Mill.....0.....0.....0.....13.....—.....13

SCORING SUMMARY

BS — Team Safety

BS — Josh Murph 47 run (Kyle Tait kick)

BS — Dylan Thompson 27 run (Tait kick)

FM — Max Simons 2 run (run failed) FM — Max Simons 1 (Chris Larson kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

.....BSHS.....FMHS

First downs.....14.....12

Rushes-yards.....35-310.....41-109

Comp-Att-Int .....4-9-1.....3-14-2

Passing yards.....42.....56

Fumbles-lost.....4-3.....2-1

Penalties-yards.....7-80.....4-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Boiling Springs: Taylor Anderson 6-39, Murph 26-213, Thompson 3-58. Fort Mill: Danny Till 13-42, Simons 13-32, Dwayne Grainger 1-(-2) Trent Butler 2-12, Asa Kryst 12-25.

PASSING —  Boiling Springs: Anderson 4-9-1-42. Fort Mill: Till 3-14-2-56.

RECEIVING — Boiling Springs: Thompson 1-4, Murph 1-10, Matthew Toney 1-13, Joshua Garnell 1-15. Fort Mill: Butler 2-33, Dylan Thomas 1-21.

RECORDS — Boiling Springs 5-1, Fort Mill 0-6