South Pointe throttles Rock Hill, but game called at halftime ‘due to the heat’
South Pointe only got to play one half of football over a roughly 16-hour span. As it turned out, that’s all the Stallions needed.
South Pointe and Rock Hill resumed their game Saturday morning after a Friday night weather postponement with 8:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Stallions scored five times on seven Saturday possessions, claiming a 35-0 victory over the Bearcats in a contest that was called at halftime “due to the heat,” according to South Pointe football’s Twitter page.
The game at District Three Stadium resumed at 10 a.m. and was called at 11:41 a.m. The WRHI radio crew working the game reported the temperature was 84 degrees at the time the game was declared final.
It was announced over the public address system that the game was being called due to “wet bulb conditions.” S.C. High School League teams use wet bulb globe thermometers for player safety reasons as it relates to sun, heat and humidity.
Rock Hill (0-2) has been outscored 124-13 in six quarters of football.
Two Saturday games in South Carolina — A.C. Flora vs. Dreher (Columbia) and Carolina vs. West Oak (Westminster) — kicked off at 10 a.m. and played four full quarters. Woodmont resumed its suspended game at Walhalla, starting at 2 p.m. and finishing around 3:30. That game resumed in the second quarter.
Game recap
The Bearcats were in a good position to start the game. They forced a South Pointe fumble on third-and-34 during its first possession, with Kris Burgess pouncing on the loose ball at the Stallions 14. The Bearcats benefited from a pass interference penalty on first down to move to the 7-yard line, but they could draw no closer and turned the ball back over to the Stallions on downs.
After the game resumed Saturday, South Pointe hit its stride.
The Stallions (2-0) took their second possession 80 yards on seven plays, with Malachi Marshall connecting with Jay Sanders on a 28-yard strike to take a 7-0 advantage. Another touchdown followed to close the quarter. D.J. Barksdale hit Demari Kendrick on a six-yard pop pass across the middle to put South Pointe ahead 14-0.
Rock Hill took over and started what appeared to be a sustained drive, but Channing Robinson intercepted a Bearcats pass to give the ball back to the Stallions. South Pointe needed just one play to again find the end zone, as Kendrick scored for the second time courtesy of a 16-yard toss from Marshall. A 47-yard run from Mason Pickett-Hicks extended the Stallions’ lead to 28-0.
Each side turned the ball over on ensuing drives, as Zykevious English pilfered a pass for Rock Hill followed by a forced fumble by D.J. Barksdale that J’Zavien Currence secured for South Pointe.
That fumble recovery proved large for the Stallions. South Pointe drove 54 yards in just under two minutes, capped by a 44-yard throw from Marshall to Mikey Mann. The score afforded South Pointe a 35-0 lead that stood at the interval.
Before the game was halted, Marshall threw three touchdown passes for South Pointe, connecting on 9-of-14 tries for just shy of 140 yards. Kendrick grabbed two touchdowns as part of his three receptions for 25 yards. Caleb Sims paced the Stallions with 65 rushing yards on six carries. The Stallions finished with nearly 300 yards of total offense.
Matthew Wilson carried 15 times for 35 yards for Rock Hill. Damaryion Pichardo added six rushes for 34 yards.
More about the wet bulb variable
Just as the second half was about to resume Saturday, game officials gathered the coaches and trainers for a conversation on the field. Shortly thereafter, the game was stopped and ruled final due to the S.C. High School League regulations regarding wet bulb conditions.
That’s according to the PA announcement to fans and communication to those in the press box.
Each school must have a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer (WBGT) for all outdoor sports. According to the National Weather Service, “WBGT is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which takes into account: temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover (solar radiation). This differs from the heat index, which takes into consideration temperature and humidity and is calculated for shady areas.”
Schools use the thermometers as a heat stroke prevention and player safety tool. The devices have been in use in South Carolina since the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
No official thermometer reading was provided publicly when the game was called. Per SCHSL guidelines, any of three readings could have determined the outcome.
▪ 87.0 to 89.9: Maximum practice time is two hours. For football, players are restricted to helmet, shoulder pads and shorts during practice. All protective equipment must be removed for conditioning activities. For all sports, provide at least four separate rest breaks each hour of a minimum of four minutes each.
▪ 90.0 to 92.0: Maximum length of practice is one hour. No protective equipment may be worn during practice, and there may be no conditioning activities. There must be 20 minutes of rest breaks provided during the hour of practice.
▪ Over 92.1: No outdoor workouts. Cancel exercise and delay practices until a cooler WBGT reading occurs.
Next
Rock Hill plays its first road contest of the season on Friday, traveling to Memorial Stadium in Lancaster to battle the Lancaster Bruins. Game time is set for 7:30. South Pointe will do battle at home for the first time this season, squaring off with Charlotte’s Mallard Creek High School. Kickoff from District Three South Stadium will take place at 7:30 Friday.
This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 3:37 PM.