South Pointe cruises past Midland Valley into 4A playoffs’ second round
Give them credit, the Midland Valley Mustangs went for it on the opening play of their first round playoff game against South Pointe Friday night.
The Mustangs (2-9) hit a dribbling onside kick just past midfield, but South Pointe fell on the loose ball. The Stallions (11-0) scored on the next play, Scott Robinson Jr. getting into the middle of the Mustangs’ defense for an open catch before sprinting 56 yards to the end zone with 13 seconds elapsed. Those 13 seconds contained the closest scoreline of the night as the Stallions roared off into the night with a 67-14 win.
“I was impressed with the way we responded to certain situations,” said South Pointe coach Strait Herron, including the game-opening onside kick. “I know when it got to our 2’s and 3’s it kind of went all crazy and we had some things completely screwed up, which drives me nuts, but our guys played well.”
Much had changed since the two teams met at Williams-Brice Stadium in December, 2015 to play for the 3A state title. Well, at least for Midland Valley. The Mustangs had won just four of their 20 games since the 3A championship game and longtime coach Rick Knight retired. South Pointe had gone 24-1 in the nearly 23 months since and won a third straight championship ring.
South Pointe’s quick strike underscored the reason the visitors tried the onside kick; they were woefully overmatched. In the first half alone, Joe Ervin scored a hat-trick of rushing touchdowns, Steven Gilmore Jr. returned a punt 55 yards for six points, receivers Isaac Ross and Ty Good hooked up for a 52-yard trick play TD and Derion Kendrick waggled, wiggled and weaved 44 yards for another touchdown as the nationally-ranked hosts broke out all their toys en route to a 47-0 intermission lead.
The second half offered backups and JV players plenty of playing time as Herron’s crew cruised to a 16th straight postseason win.
Turning point
After recovering Midland Valley’s onside kick and scoring, South Pointe had to defend the Mustangs’ best offensive drive of the night. QB Tanner White piloted the visitors down the field and into the Stallions’ red zone where they sputtered. South Pointe stopped Midland Valley on fourth down and though the Stallions were forced to punt, they subsequently stopped the Mustangs again and Gilmore Jr. returned the punt for a touchdown and a two-score lead.
Critical
A very young Midland Valley team allowed 115 points combined in its last two games, losses to South Aiken and North Augusta, while South Pointe had scored at least 41 points in five straight games. The Stallions’ quick start Friday night buried the underdogs before they every accrued any hope.
“We just came out and executed, o-line did its job and we just kept the momentum going,” said Ervin.
Star contributors
Ervin’s backfield mate and close friend, Marice Whitlock, was sidelined with an injury so Ervin had the brunt of the carries to himself in the first half. He took advantage, running for 143 yards and three scores on just nine carries.
“He’s so smooth and he can make the moves. He’s got great hips and great feet but then when he gets in the open he can roll and he’s hard to catch up with,” said Herron.
Ervin also threw a touchdown in the second half -- first of his career -- on a sweetly executed jump pass. On first and goal from the 1-yard line, it looked like Ervin would run when he took a handoff, but at the last moment he jumped in the air and darted a pass over the defensive line’s heads to J.D. Good for the touchdown.
Four Stallions threw pass attempts Friday night as play-caller Jason McManus opened the playbook; three of the four tossed touchdown passes. South Pointe also had four scoring plays of 44 yards or more.
“That’s one of the hard things to do when you have 84 kids on your team,” said Herron, “you’ve got to try to keep them all happy so that when they come to practice they’re not a distraction, they want to be involved.”
On deck
South Pointe will host Belton-Honea Path, which held off Union County 24-21, in next week’s second round of the 4A playoffs.
Box score
South Pointe 67, Midland Valley 14
Midland Valley;0;0;8;6 - 14
South Pointe;13;34;6;14 - 67
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
SPHS - Scott Robinson Jr. 56 pass from Derion Kendrick (kick failed), 11:47
SPHS - Steven Gilmore Jr. 55 punt return (B.T. Potter kick), 2:31
Second quarter
SPHS - Joe Ervin 2 run (Potter kick), 10:48
SPHS - Ty Good 52 pass from Isaac Ross (Potter kick), 8:54
SPHS - Ervin 7 run (Potter kick), 5:07
SPHS - Ervin 20 run (Potter kick), 2:28
SPHS - Kendrick 44 run (kick failed), 1:09
Third quarter
SPHS - J.D. Good 1 pass from Ervin (kick failed), 6:13
MVHS - Will Sheehan 10 run (2-point pass), 2:30
Fourth quarter
SPHS - Jamari Currence 24 run (B.T. Potter kick), 7:09
MVHS - Sheehan 80 pass from Harper Puckett (2-point pass failed), 4:33
SPHS - Justin Reese 75 kick return (Diego Rodriguez kick), 2:39
TEAM STATISTICS
MVHS;SPHS
First downs;10;21
Rushes-yards;23-61;20-236
Passing;13-22-0;9-13-0
Passing yards;225;175
Fumbles-lost;3-1;0-0
Penalties-yards;1-10;6-64
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING MVHS: Deandre Pearson 7-13; Tyreese Washington 6-40; Walter Baker 1-2; Will Sheehan 2-9; Kendrique Starlings 1-5. SPHS: Kanari Mobley 3-8; Quay Chambers 2-9; James McKinney 1-8; Derion Kendrick 3-58; Joe Ervin 9-143; Tahleek Steele 1-13; Travis Foster 1-(-4); Steven Gilmore Jr. 1-1; Jamari Currence 1-24.
PASSING MVHS: White 9-16-0, 65 yards; Harper Puckett 3-5-0, 147 yards; Sheehan 1-1-0, 13 yards. SPHS: Kendrick 5-7-0, 106 yards; Isaac Ross 1-1-0, 52; Steele 2-4-0, 16 yards; Ervin 1-1-0, 1 yard.
RECEIVING MVHS: Sheehan 2-102; Starlings 6-88; Deandre Pearson 4-26; Jacobi Sapp 1-9. SPHS: J.D. Good 1-1; Scott Robinson Jr. 3-61; Ty Good 2-69; Ross 2-37; Foster 1-7.
RECORDS Midland Valley 2-9; South Pointe 11-0.
This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 9:25 PM with the headline "South Pointe cruises past Midland Valley into 4A playoffs’ second round."