HS football roundup: Highlights include a defensive battle, and a flurry of touchdowns
York 14, Westwood 6
BLYTHEWOOD -- For the second straight week, the York Cougars headed down I-77, this time to Westwood. Bobby Carroll’s Cougars won a 14-6 defensive slugfest.
Defense ruled the game from the start.
Westwood fumbled on a bad snap and York recovered with 4:34 left in the first quarter. Ethan Mitchell started for York in place of usual starter Tanner McKinney who was held out due to a concussion. Mitchell was unable to get the Cougars in rhythm as the game was scoreless after the first quarter.
York got things rolling in the second quarter with two short touchdown runs from Stephen Oglesby and Khalil Ellis to go up 14-0. Westwood responded with a 23-yard touchdown strike to cut York’s lead to 14-6 with 1:49 before halftime. Westwood’s two-point conversion attempt failed.
York head coach Bobby Carroll gave credit to his kids, and every one of his defensive coaches in David Pierce, Jamell Gaines, John Moorefield, Shawn Woodard, Chad Burgess and Spencer Carroll.
“I’m just proud of our kids, man. Our quarterback was out, our tailback got hurt in the second quarter, we had a safety bummed his shoulder. We had a bunch of guys step up and played well. Ethan Mitchell was (at quarterback) and our players really rallied around him and he made some outstanding runs and some really good throws,” Carroll said.
An illegal block negated a Westwood touchdown to kick off the second half and York’s Ja’Mon Byers picked off the Red Hawks a few plays later in the end zone, ending the scoring threat. The game remained scoreless heading into the fourth quarter.
York’s defense dominance over Westwood continued as they were unable to get much going and the Cougars held on for their second straight region win.
“Our defense kept fighting and fighting. They had the ball in the end zone three or four times and we stopped them so hats off to our defense and coaches for working so hard,” Carroll said.
On deck: York will host Lancaster next Friday night.
COLUMBIA -- Victor Floyd’s Chester Cyclones just keep on rolling, this time with a 54-6 win over Keenan.
The action was fast and furious, at least early.
Chester struck first with a 65-yard touchdown run from Pha’Leak Brown. Keenan immediately took the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown with 10:19 left in the opening quarter. The Cyclones responded with another touchdown a short time later to go up 13-6, ending the first quarter scoring.
Chester assistant coach Chris Dodson said the Cyclones knew that last week’s close 12-9 win over Indian Land was a wake up call.
“Last week made us refocus a little bit, we came out all week in practice, we just worked on fundamentals on both sides of the football… just hustling effort. We all needed it. Both sides of the ball needed it, coaches needed it. It was one of those games to just bring the focus back in,” Dodson said.
Chester’s rout was on with two touchdowns in the second quarter, taking a 28-6 lead into halftime. The Cyclones held Keenan to -8 yards in the first half. Chester added on three touchdowns in the third quarter to go up 47-6 and added one additional touchdown in the fourth.
With games against Camden and Fairfield Central coming in the next two weeks, the Cyclones know those games are critical.
“The kids know we gotta beat Camden and beat Fairfield to win the region and put ourselves in a spot to get a No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Next week should be a very big game,” Dodson said.
Chester remains undefeated.
On deck: Chester has its two biggest games of the season coming up: Oct. 12 at home versus state-ranked Camden and Oct. 19 at rival Fairfield Central.
Lee Central 55, Lewisville 0
Justin Danner’s Lee Central Stallions galloped to victory over Lewisville in the schools’ first-ever meeting. The Stallions traveled just over an hour up I-77 to face the Lions in Richburg, where mathematically one team would walk off the field with their first region victory of the 2018 season.
Lee Central made a statement with a first half 20-0 shutout, and a flurry of 29 third-quarter points en route to their 55-0 win.
The Stallions received the opening kickoff. They punted on their first drive but forced fourth-and-inches for Lewisville. The Lions could not convert, and Lee Central took over on downs at the Lewisville 31-yard line.
With five minutes left in the first quarter, the Stallions punched in a 2-yard rushing touchdown to take a 6-0 lead. The large hands of Lewisville’s Nathan Kelly -- a nose guard and a running back -- blocked the PAT attempt to keep the deficit at six until the final ticks of the first quarter.
Lee Central strung together a fourteen play, 76-yard drive on the first possession of the second quarter. They capped it off with a 7-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion. Shortly after, the Stallions extended their lead with a 29-yard touchdown. The PAT attempt was once again blocked by Nathan Kelly.
The Stallions came out of the locker room hot.
Their flurry of points began on the first play of the half. Lions’ freshman quarterback Christian Yoder’s pass was intercepted, and Lee Central’s offense scored five plays later. The ensuing kickoff was pooched, and the Stallions recovered. Two plays later, they were back in the end zone. A two-point-conversion stretched their lead to 34-0 with nine minutes in the third quarter. The Stallions added a 52-yard touchdown run and a four play, 71-yard scoring drive to put an exclamation point on a twenty-nine point third quarter.
Lee Central tacked on one last touchdown in the final quarter. The 55-0 victory resulted in the Stallions’ first region win. Lewisville falls to 0-7 on the season.
On deck: Lewisville heads to Andrew Jackson Oct. 12 for its next Region 4-2A matchup.
This story was originally published October 5, 2018 at 10:42 PM.