Published: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 / Updated: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 01:31 AM

Spartanburg 41, Rock Hill 28

Rock Hill's 41-28 loss to Spartanburg in the first round of the Class AAAA Division I playoffs on Friday will have no competition for upset of the year.

The Bearcats went into the game at District Three Stadium 11-0 and ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 21 in USA Today's Super 25 national poll.

The Vikings were 3-8 and looking like a team going nowhere after barely getting into the postseason.

This morning, Spartanburg will start preparing for its second-round game at Sumter next Friday.

"We took a great season and made it miserable,'' Rock Hill coach Joe Montgomery said. "We didn't stop No. 5 all night long. I told our kids we got beat in all phases of the game tonight, and you can't win when you give up 41 points.''

Cornelius Jones wears No. 5 for Spartanburg. He's a 6-foot-2, 182-pound quarterback, who has committed to Michigan as a defensive back. On Friday night, he was Superman.

Jones rushed for 110 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns. He made big plays all night that kept drives alive and kept the ball away from Rock Hill's potent offense.

The Vikings were so dominant on offense that they punted only once and scored on six of eight possessions. But the turning point came late in the first half that led to a pair of Spartanburg touchdowns in four and a half minutes.

The two old rivals, who will be reunited in the same region next season, duked it out in the first half by trading scores.

Rock Hill scored at the 5:48 mark on a 22-yard pass from Randall Dixon to Veneton Smith. Fernado Gonzalez converted and put his team ahead 14-10.

Gonzalez kicked off and Spartanburg's Ronnie Martin caught the ball at the 5-yard line and ran up the gut. He broke free of the pile and cut to the left sideline. Rock Hill couldn't catch Martin and in a matter of 16 seconds and 95 yards, the Vikings were back on top, 17-14.

But Rock Hill responded. On fourth-and-1 from the Bearcats 43, Jatavius Stewart ran a quarterback keeper around right end 57 yards for a touchdown and put the Bearcats ahead, 24-21.

The Bearcats fumbled at their 22 with 26 seconds left in the first half. Jones gained 13 yards on first down. He covered the other 9 on second down and the Vikings went into the break with a 24-21 lead.

"Losing this game feels like someone passing in your family,'' Rock Hill's Xavier McFadden said. "It wasn't supposed to end this way but I could tell something was wrong and I blame myself.

"I could tell during warmups that we weren't prepared. It hurts so bad. We started working on this season last year after Sumter knocked us out of the playoffs. We've worked almost a year to get to the state and now it's over.''

Rock Hill took the opening kickoff of the second half and it looked like the Bearcats were about ready to turn it on and save the night.

They scored on another long run by Stewart, this one for 41 yards to go up 28-24.

Stewart had a big night, running for 177 yards and three TDs on just 13 carries. His second-half touchdown run was the last for the Bearcats, but Spartanburg wasn't done.

The Vikings got a 1-yard TD from Markeith Hillstock, who ran for 168 yards, and went up 31-28. Jones scored on a 5-yard run that put the Vikings ahead 38-28. Michael McNeely kicked his second field goal of the game, this one from 26 yards away to close out the scoring.

"It was hard to see our season end like this,'' Bearcats defensive end Thomas Perry said. “All of us are hurting. We just couldn't put a hat on (Jones) when we needed to.''

Jones converted three third-and-long situations with a pair of 12-yard runs and another for 15. He owned District Three Stadium on Friday night.

SPARTANBURG 41, ROCK HILL 28

Spartanburg.....3.....21.....0.....17.....--.....41

Rock Hill.....7.....14.....7.....0.....--.....28

Scoring summary

SP -- Michael McNeely 28 field goal

RH -- Jatavius Stewart 14 run (Fernando Gonzalez kick)

SP -- Markeith Hillstock 1 run (McNeely kick)

RH -- Venton Smith 2 pass from Randall Dixon (Gonzalez kick)

SP -- Ronnie Martin 95 kickoff return (McNeely kick)

RH -- Stewart 57 run (Gonzalez kick)

SP -- Jones 9 run (McNeely kick)

RH -- Stewart 41 run (Gonzalez kick)

SP -- Hillstock 1 run (McNeely kick)

SP -- Jones 5 run (McNeely kick)

SP -- McNeely 26 field goal

TEAM STATISTICS

.....SPHS.....RHHS

First downs.....17.....12

Rushes/yards.....36-286.....29-262

Passing.....4-9-0.....8-18-1

Passing yards.....47.....68

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

Penalties/yards.....3-30.....6-55

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Spartanburg: Hillstock 22-168, C Jones 18-110, M. Jones 4-23, Michael Harpe 1-(-5) Arland Woodruff 1-4. Rock Hill: Stewart 13-177, Dixon 1-0, Jamal Tyler 14-83, Arthur Hayward 1-2.

PASSING -- Spartanburg: Jones 4-9-53-0. Rock Hill: Dixon 6-17-58-1, Stewart 2-3-10-1

RECEIVING -- Spartanburg: Michael Harpe 2-33, Mykelle Jones 2-14. Rock Hill: Rock Hill: Stewart 3-19, Smith 1-22, Xavier McFadden 3-13, Aaron Hemphill 1-14.

RECORDS: Rock Hill 11-1; Spartanburg 4-8