Rock Hill rides big second half to undefeated record in region play
Rock Hill head football coach David Pittman knew his team could play better. A seven-point lead at halftime against Fort Mill wasn’t good enough.
“We just weren’t playing Bearcat football right there,” Pittman said. “I think we were worried about a lot of things: the X’s and O’s, we had our mind in a whole bunch of different places.”
Once the second half started, though, an internal switch seemed to flip for the Bearcats.
After the opening kickoff, Rock Hill forced a short punt on the first possession. Then, running back Daylen Boulware ran for a 23-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
On the ensuing kickoff, a swarm of Rock Hill defenders blew up kick returner Braylon Thomas, who coughed up the ball at the one-yard line.
Rock Hill quarterback Matthew Wilson rolled out and dumped a one-yard pass to tight end Shelton Adams for a touchdown. One drive later, the Bearcats took advantage of a short field and scored again on a one-yard rush by Wilson.
In a span of four minutes, the Bearcats changed the entire dynamic of the game and went on to win 52-26 over Fort Mill Friday night.
“Offensively, we took advantage of the short field that the defense gave us. I would’ve liked to see a little bit more sustained drives offensively in the second half,” Pittman said. “All in all, three phases of the game, we won in the second half.”
The win moves Rock Hill to 4-3 and 2-0 in Region 3-5A play. Fort Mill, meanwhile, sits at 1-6 (0-2 Region 3-5A) with three games to go.
Big plays for Rock Hill defense
In the early going, Fort Mill’s defense couldn’t slow down Wilson. But eventually, it had a chance to get a stop midway through the second quarter.
On fourth and long inside Jacket territory, Wilson lofted a long pass down the left sideline. But Fort Mill’s Braylon Thomas swarmed in and intercepted the pass to prevent a touchdown.
The only problem? The Yellow Jackets would have to start at their own one-yard line.
On the very next play, Fort Mill quarterback Quinn Kelly lost control of the snap and fumbled. The ball rolled around in the end zone until Rock Hill defensive lineman Nizier Gantt came out of the pile with the ball in his right hand.
It would be one of many big plays from the Bearcats defense. Kelly was sacked six times, threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
“We were able to pin our ears back and get after him some there knowing that it was passing situations,” Pittman said. “And then also, I think we had some good coverage downfield. So I think it was a combination of those two things.”
Kelly constantly had pressure in his face, which forced him to make some bad throws. Combine that with a slew of penalties and it was a long night for the Jackets offense.
“He’s kind of a gunslinger and made some bad decisions,” said Fort Mill head coach Rob McNeely. “But we’ve got to watch the tape and see what happened because a lot of that has to do with protection and receivers running the right routes. He made some big plays but also made some bad plays.”
Fort Mill didn’t give up
In a year where the losses have stacked up for Fort Mill, it can be hard to find positives. But one thing McNeely has no doubt about is his team’s competitiveness.
Despite being down by as much as 29 points in the second half, the Jackets continued to battle.
“We don’t change our coaching styles, we’re not getting on them and yelling at them,” McNeely said. “We’ve got to stay the exact same as coaches as we always do so (the players) don’t try to do too much. And our kids responded.”
Fort Mill’s offense got going midway the third quarter with a rushing touchdown from Kelly. After getting a stop, the Jackets marched right back down the field and scored again on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Jackson Smith.
“We were able to move the ball, so that was good to see,” McNeely said.
But the Jackets couldn’t sustain drives after that. Rock Hill’s defense took control.
“We can’t just flip the switch on Friday nights at 7:30. We’ve got to compete during the week at a level that they’re going to see on Friday nights,” McNeely said. “We’ve got to deserve to win. Got to win Monday and then win Tuesday so that we deserve to win on Friday night. So if we don’t do the things that we’re supposed to do during the week, we’re kind of wishing or gambling, and you can’t do that in high school football.”
Next up
Rock Hill heads back home to play Nation Ford, while Fort Mill hosts winless Spring Valley at Bob Jones Stadium on Oct. 13.
This story was originally published October 6, 2023 at 11:12 PM.