Up 24-0, Lions surrender 4 TDs in heartbreaking 1A playoff defeat
Ridge Spring-Monetta scored 28 unanswered points and defeated Lewisville 28-24 in the third round of the 1A high school football playoffs in Monetta Friday night.
Lewisville raced to a 24-0 lead before the Lions were stopped cold by the host Trojans.
The Lions took an 8-0 lead midway through the opening quarter when Rhett Cox passed to Johnny Courtney for 33 yards and a touchdown. Quentin Sanders added the two-point conversion.
Ridge Spring-Monetta threatened on its next possession. The Trojans drove to the Lewisville four-yard line, but a sack on a third and one play stopped the scoring opportunity. Lewisville took over on downs on the next play.
The Lions upped the count to 16-0 with 56 seconds remaining in the first period. Cox passed to Demetrio Howard for 21 yards and the score, and the Lions tacked on the two-point conversion.
Lewisville scored in the second quarter for a 24-0 lead, but the Trojans began the comeback with a touchdown prior to halftime to cut the Lions’ lead to 24-8. Lewisville took that advantage to the halftime break.
Ridge Spring-Monetta (9-3) scored on a 40-yard pass play midway through the third quarter to trim the deficit to 24-14. Another touchdown cut it to 24-21 before the third quarter was over.
Tyson Bettis' 2-yard touchdown run with 3:29 remaining was the game-winner on a night loaded with big plays. Bettis, a senior, finished the game with 168 passing yards and a score and 45 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.
The Lions scored the apparent game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds left, but it was nullified by a penalty.
“That was a heck of a call to make with 13 seconds left in a playoff game,” Lewisville head coach Will Mitchell told Travis Jenkins of the Chester News & Reporter. “We made too many mistakes, and Ridge-Spring Monetta made the big play when they had to.”
After the penalty, Ridge Spring-Monetta intercepted a Lions’ pass to seal the win.
"The fight in these kids," Ridge Spring-Monetta head coach Kenny Lipsey said. "I take my hat off to Lewisville. They're a well-coached team; great football team. But our kids wanted it just a little bit more tonight."
"It looked like to me Tyson Bettis decided to put the team on his shoulders, and he wanted to play one more week," Lipsey said. "So I take my hat off to him. I'm just ecstatic right now."
The Trojans will travel to Lamar next week.
Lewisville finished its season with a record of 9-4.
Kyle Dawson of the Aiken Standard contributed.
RSM 28, Lewisville 24
Lewisville 16 8 0 0 — 24
Ridge Spring-Monetta 0 8 13 7 — 28
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
L — Rhett Cox 37 pass to Johnny Courtney (Quentin Sanders run) 5:58
L — Cox 10 pass to Demetric Hardin (Sanders run) 0:56
Second Quarter
L — Cox 33 pass to Mikial Fourney (Cox pass to Courtney) 3:56
RS-M — Tyson Bettis 49 run (Bettis pass to Jerry Tyler) 3:30
Third Quarter
RS-M — Bettis 39 pass to Johnnie Freeman (conversion failed) 6:36
RS-M — Tyler 8 run (Davon Harrison kick) 3:02
Fourth Quarter
RS-M — Bettis 2 run (Harrison kick) 3:29
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
L — Quentin Sanders 20-82, Rhett Cox 8-48, Johnny Courtney 1-11. Totals 29-141.
RS-M — Tyson Bettis 28-45-2, Nyzabriian Jones 2-31, Collier Sullivan 9-20, Jason Robinson 3-16, Jerry Tyler 3-15-1, Johnnie Freeman 1-(-10). Totals 43-117-3.
Passing
L — Rhett Cox 13-35-185-3-1.
RS-M — Tyson Bettis 12-16-162-1-0.
Receiving
L — Johnny Courtney 5-69-1, Mikial Fourney 3-64-1, Quentin Sanders 3-29, Demetric Hardin 2-23-1. Totals 13-185-3.
RS-M — Jason Robinson 5-78, Johnnie Freeman 3-56-1, Jerry Tyler 2-19, Collier Sullivan 2-9. Totals 12-162-1.
Interceptions
RS-M — Jason Robinson.
This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Up 24-0, Lions surrender 4 TDs in heartbreaking 1A playoff defeat."