Chester football gives South Pointe a scare in second half before Stallions pull away

South Pointe senior quarterback Jay Sanders stepped in for usual starter Malachi Marshall on Friday, scored two touchdowns and guided the Stallions to a 33-21 road win over Chester County to earn a seventh consecutive victory in the Highway 72 rivalry.

The win by South Pointe (4-0) spoiled a ceremonious night for Chester, which at halftime honored longtime radio voice Carlisle Roddey, who died in 2017 after calling football in Chester County for 47 years. Friday, the school named its press box in his honor.

On the field, the Stallions — among the top teams in South Carolina — had their way, though not without some solid pushback from the Cyclones.

“Hats off to (Chester coach) Victor Floyd,” South Pointe coach Bobby Collins said after the game. “Coach Floyd is a Hall-of-Fame football coach. I didn’t expect anything less when we came here to Chester. They have a disciplined program and a great football team. I’m glad we came out on the better end tonight.”

Chester (2-2) charged out of the locker room and seized an early advantage, showing some of the discipline and talent Collins referenced. The Cyclones cashed in a 47-yard drive on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead.

South Pointe used a key play from its opportunistic defense to level the game late in the first . After Chester received a punt from South Pointe deep in its end of the field, the Stallions jumped in front of a Cyclone throw and took over at the Chester 13. Caleb Sims marched in from four yards away to draw even at a touchdown apiece late in the first quarter.

Following a blocked 22-yard field goal attempt, the Stallions offense again took over, going 80 yards in 13 plays. Sanders, a senior getting his first start at quarterback, held a steady hand throughout the drive before punctuating the trip with a 13-yard touchdown run to put his side ahead, 14-7.

“He’s a senior. He can do things with his feet that a lot of people can’t do,” Collins said of Sanders. “Week by week, we just want to continue to give him a shot and let him understand how the offense works and what things he’s gotta do to be successful.”

At halftime, Roddey’s friends and family took the field to remember the longtime radio announcer.

Then, for a few minutes in the second half, it seemed that another of those magic moments Roddey was known for describing was unfolding.

Sims scored again on the first Stallions drive of the second half, using a huge burst to go 27 yards to the end zone and put his side ahead, 21-7. Sanders then tacked on his second score from five yards out to stretch the lead to 28-7.

Then, Chester threw one last flurry of punches to stagger the defending 4A state champs.

Star wideout Reggie Heath hauled in a short pass from Floyd and took the rest of the work upon himself, going 86 yards past the Stallions defense to cut into the visitors’ advantage. Three minutes later, Andre Evans snared a 21-yard scoring throw from Floyd, and Roddey’s voice almost seemed to flow through WRBK-FM play-by-play announcer Clint Davis as the Cyclones drew within a touchdown with 2:40 to play.

The Stallions answered on their final possession, though, getting a 39-yard score from Mason Pickett-Hicks that finally put the game out of reach.

“We had our chances. That’s all we asked the kids to do — play hard and give us a chance,” Floyd said. “We had a chance. We just didn’t capitalize when we needed to. The kids played extremely hard. We just didn’t finish it.”

Both teams hit the road next Friday night. Chester will play its third Region 3-4A foe of the season, traveling to Catawba Ridge. South Pointe will travel to take on South Florence.

Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m.

Scoring summary

South Pointe 33, Chester 21

South Pointe 7 7 13 6 — 33

Chester 7 0 0 14 — 21

First quarter

C – Kyon Kennedy 27 pass from Trooper Floyd (Austin Allen kick) 7:25

SP – Caleb Sims 4 run (Jacob Brookover kick) 1:35

Second quarter

SP – Jay Sanders 13 run (Brookover kick) 5:23

Third quarter

SP – Sims 27 run (Brookover kick) 8:26

SP – Sanders 5 run (kick failed) :31

Fourth quarter

C – Reggie Heath 86 pass from Floyd (Allen kick) 5:26

C – Andre Evans 21 pass from Floyd (Allen kick) 2:40

SP – Mason Pickett-Hicks 39 run (kick failed) 1:14