Published: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 / Updated: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 12:28 AM

South Pointe 55, Lancaster 0

The ease with which South Pointe beat visiting Lancaster 55-0 in its Region 4-AAAA opener on Friday can best be summed up by the Stallions' final touchdown of the first half.

Already leading 28-0, South Pointe had a first down at the Bruins' 5. Quarterback Corey Rawls fired a touchdown pass to Jadeveon Clowney. Yellow flag, 5-yard penalty for motion.

From the 10, Rawls connected with Montay Crockett in the end zone. Yellow flag, 15 yards for offensive interference.

From the 25, Rawls lasered the ball on target to Crockett. He dropped a sure TD pass.

The fourth play? Rawls hit LeKeenan Mobley with a pass over the middle. He made the grab and ran it in. No flags. Landon Ard made the kick and the Stallions went into the half up 35-0 after scoring three times to get their final seven points.

It was an example of the trend set early by the Stallions. They scored first after Clowney blocked a Bruins' punt. South Pointe took over at Lancaster's 5 and reached the end zone on backup quarterback Ta Hicklin's 1-yard sneak.

The Stallions (5-2) scored from 34 yards away on Rawls' swing pass to Quentin Darby. They added first-half TDs on Rawls' 7-yard TD pass to Crockett and a 20-yard Darby run.

“We have not been playing well on offense and or goal tonight was to work on correcting our mistakes,” Darby said. “We did a good job fixing most of them, but we still have work to do. We're in region games now and we need to play as close to perfect as we can on ever play.

“Corey (Rawls) was impressive tonight. He has throwing the ball well, running it well and doing a great job running the offense. If we can fix a few more little things and play like we did tonight, we can go a long way.”

Rawls had what would be a very good game for most quarterbacks in the first half alone. He completed 14-of-18 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns, and remember two others were called back. Two of his incomplete passes were balls he wisely unloaded under heavy pressure rather than be sacked.

While the Stallions were flashing their offensive skills, their defense was having its way with Lancaster's offense. It started with Clowney's blocked punt and gained steam like a snowball rolling downhill.

The Stallions limited the Bruins to 25 yards rushing, none passing and one first down the first two quarters. They didn't allow Lancaster to cross midfield. The Bruins' deepest penetration was their own 34.

“We knew coming in they were limited in their passing game,” South Pointe coach Bobby Carroll said. “So we told our guys to pin their ears back and go after them to stop their running game.

“But I was pleased with how we played on both sides of the ball. We will not play Lancaster for at least a few more years. And this was a good way to open the region. Our goal has always been to win the region title, especially in our final regular-season home game.”

That remains to be seen, with four region games left and all on the road. The Stallions will be in Rock Hill the last game of the regular season but will be the visitor against Rock Hill at District Three Stadium.

The onslaught continued in the second half. Mobley got it going with a 37-yard scoring catch. Darby reached the end zone for a third time on a 27-yard run and the Stallions led 48-0. But it was the final touchdown that had the home fans buzzing, one of those big-time plays like a grand slam in baseball.

Lancaster (5-2) was driving and moved to South Pointe's 18 behind the running of backup quarterback Derrick Kirkland and reserve tailback Timar Campbell. But on first down, Kirkland tossed a flair toward the right flat.

The ball was tipped and South Pointe's Trey Mackey made the pick at the 12. He sped down the left sideline in front of Lancaster's bench and had one Bruin to beat around the 20. Clowney was leading Mackey down the field and made the clearing block on the final defender that kept Mackey on his journey to the end zone for an 88-yard touchdown.

“We didn't come to play,” Lancaster coach Bennie McMurray said. “We never got anything going and I'm ashamed of the way we played. I'm disappointed for our fans. I'm frustrated for our players.”

SOUTH POINTE 55, LANCASTER 0

Lancaster.....0.....0.....0.....0.....--....0

South Pointe.....14.....21.....13.....7.....--.....55

Scoring summary

SP -- Ta Hicklin 1 run (Landon Ard kick)

SP -- Corey Rawls 34 pass to Quinten Darby (Ard kick)

SP -- Corey Rawls 7 pass to Montay Crockett (Ard kick)

SP -- Darby 20 run (Ard kick)

SP -- Rawls 25 pass to LeKeenan Mobley (Ard kick)

SP -- Rawls 37 pass to Mobley (kick failed)

SP -- Darby 27 run (Ard kick)

SP -- Trey Mackey 88 interception (Ard kick)

Team statistics

.....LHS.....SPHS

First downs.....3.....17

Rushes/yards.....27-73.....38-179

Passing.....1-9-1.....18-24-0

Passing yards.....9.....307

Fumbles/lost.....2-2.....1-0

Penalties/yards.....1-5.....7-85

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Lancaster: Zed Truesdale 9-10, Matt Reese 8-25, Washington Kofi 1-2, Tevin Perry 1-3, Derrick Kirkland 3-1, Timar Campbell 4-3.South Pointe: Ce-Ce Jones 9-59, Darby 8-65, Manzy Miller 1-(-1), Hicklin 9-14, Patrick Siebels 2-(-3), Rawls 6-42, Jalen Massey 1-1. Dominique Ferguson 1-2.

PASSING -- Lancaster: Matt Reece 1-9-9-1. South Pointe: Rawls 17-23-293-0, Hicklin 1-1-14-0.

RECEIVING -- Lancaster: Kirkland 1-9. South Pointe: Hicklin 5-103, Mobley 6-104, Darby 1-34, Jones 1-0, Jadeveon Clowney 1-24, Desmond McCorey 1-10, Reggie Cooper 1-14, Crockett 2-18.

RECORDS: Lancaster 5-2, 0-1..... South Pointe 5-2, 1-0