Mauldin bounces Rock Hill from 5A playoffs
The Mauldin Mavericks put two runners over 100 yards and denied the Rock Hill Bearcats three times in Maverick territory in the first half to earn a 27-7 victory Friday night at Rock Hill in the first round of the 5A playoffs.
It was the first home playoff game for the tradition-rich Bearcats in nine years, after they tied for first in Region 4-5A at 3-1.
“I think we made strides for sure,” Rock Hill coach Bubba Pittman said. “I think we got into the region and competed well. I think our senior class was outstanding. They were great leaders for us. We are relatively young and the character of these young men coming up behind them is really good. They’re going to get in there and work, and I’m excited for the future.”
Chris Paez ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and Shawn Livingston had 102 for the visitors. Mauldin held the Bearcats to 153 yards of total offense.
“We turned the football over early, but we still weren’t out of the game,” Pittman said.
The Mavericks were much bigger than Rock Hill and just ran the ball straight at them for much of the night.
“Tonight we got manhandled a little bit by a bigger, more physical football team,” Pittman said.
Turning point
Rock Hill came up with a big stop on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 3:03 left in the first half. But two plays later, quarterback Logan McFadden was scrambling to get out of the end zone and reached the ball forward. He fumbled and Thomas Tillotson recovered on the bounce and scored the two-yard touchdown to make it 13-0 and kill the momentum the Bearcats had just seized.
Critical
The Bearcats drove into the Maverick end of the field three times in the first half. Two of those times were inside the 30, but Rock Hill was stopped short on fourth down both times.
Star contributors
Wan Crockett had four catches for 61 yards and a diving 36-yard touchdown for the Bearcats.
On deck
The Mavericks will travel to Dorman next week for round two. Rock Hill finishes 4-7 and tied for first in Region 4-5A.
Box score
Mauldin 27, Rock Hill 7
Mauldin;7;6;14;0;-;27
Rock Hill;0;0;0;7;-;7
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
MA - Cris Paez 3 run (Ben Dorrity kick), 5:40
Second quarter
MA - Thomas Tillotson 2 fumble return (kick failed), 2:31
Third quarter
MA - Mitch Norman 23 run (Dorrity kick). 4:40
MA - Cris Paez 3 run (Dorrity kick), 0:16
Fourth quarter
RH - Wan Crockett 36 pass from Logan McFadden (Ryan Hearn kick). 5:33
TEAM STATISTICS
RH;MA
First Downs;9;19
Rushes-Yards;27-48;59-329
Passing;12-20-1-2;5-12-0-0
Passing Yards;105;69
Fumbles-Lost;2-1;1-1
Penalties-Yards;2-20;7-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING Rock Hill: Des Buchanan 17-57; Logan McFadden 8-(-12); Raphael Wright 1-3; Justain Patterson 1-0. Mauldin: Cris Paez 12-111; Shawn Livingston 17-102; Nick White 1-4; Brendan Killough 1-0; Raekwon Fenderson 8-25; Mitch Norman 10-61; Stone Watson 1-(-8); Daniel Mckinney 7-24; Bryce Jackson 2-10.
PASSING RH: McFadden 12-20-1-2, 105 yards. MA: Norman 5-11-0-0, 69 yards; 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING RH: Wan Crockett 4-61; Patterson 3-22; Wright 2-4; Buchanan 2-6; Artavious Anthony 1-12. MA: Fenderson 2-1; Hosea Mattison 1-4; Cam Jackson 1-33; B. Jackson 1-31.
RECORDS Rock Hill 4-7; Mauldin 7-4.
This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Mauldin bounces Rock Hill from 5A playoffs."