South Pointe rallies in second half to reach Upper State championship game

The lights were shining through a slight fog above J.W. Babb Stadium in Greenwood on Friday night, but coach DeVonte Holloman’s smile could have provided all the illumination anyone needed.

Holloman’s South Pointe Stallions answered a 14-3 halftime deficit, then scored the game’s final two touchdowns on the way to bringing home a 30-20, third-round playoff victory over Greenwood.

Save the turkey and the rest of the feast. The Stallions get to practice on Thanksgiving.

“That’s something we’ve been talking about as one of our goals, and we accomplished it,” Holloman said with that huge smile.

Greenwood (10-2) returned the opening kickoff to midfield, then quickly pounced. The Eagles needed just four plays to reach the end zone in under two minutes, with Daylan Rappley drawing first blood on a 28-yard gallop up the middle.

South Pointe (10-1) methodically marched down the field on the ensuing drive, capping a nearly six-minute series on a 26-yard field goal from Chip DiStasio.

The Stallions compelled an Eagle fumble on the next possession, seizing the football at the South Pointe 39 with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter. The home side turned away the charge, however, shutting down the Stallions on fourth-and-2 at the 3.

South Pointe forced a second fumble on the next Greenwood possession, only to see another chance fade on a fumble inside the Eagles’ 25. The visitors quickly created another opportunity, however, grabbing an interception at their 35 on the next Eagle series of downs. That, too, was turned away on a Stallion punt.

The Eagles then turned in a snappy drive to end the first half. Greenwood marched 68 yards in 2:18, with running back Ve Morton turning in back-to-back 22-yard runs. The second of those runs extended the Eagles’ advantage to 14-3. The score remained the same at the interval.

South Pointe took a chance on a fourth-and-10 play at the 16, drawing a holding call that moved the ball to the 8. Zay McCrorey sprinted in from 3 yards away two plays later, slicing the Greenwood margin to 14-10. The Eagles’ advantage disappeared entirely following a forced punt and 57-yard hookup from McCrorey to a wide-open Armendiz Huskey down the right side, putting South Pointe ahead, 16-14.

“It was really important that we score on that first drive coming out of the half, and we did. We let the momentum kind of carry us after that,” Holloman said. “They made some big plays and that’s a really good Greenwood team. We just made a couple more plays than they did.”

Morton then made his second trip to the goal line, marching in from 13 yards around the left end and giving his side a 20-16 lead following a failed two-point attempt.

That lead was ready to be extended to a touchdown with Greenwood possessing the ball at the South Pointe 15 at the 9:17 mark of the fourth quarter. Chris McCullough got a great jump off the line, stuffing a 32-yard Eagle field goal try and giving his club the ball at their own 21.

“Chris McCullough is a field-goal blocking specialist. He’s had probably about four this season and in practice we’ve gotta tell him to stop. It didn’t just happen. He’s been doing it all season,” Holloman said. “He does it in practice and it showed up in the game. It was a big momentum swing for us.”

McCrorey and his blockers up front took over from there. The Stallions marched 79 yards — almost entirely on the ground — with the senior quarterback running one home from 7 yards to give the Stallions a lead they would not relinquish.

“The offensive line’s been playing great. We took some lumps last year, but here they are performing,” Holloman said. “We struggled running the ball a little bit in the first half, but we found a way to break some in the second half.

“McCrorey wanted the ball in his hands. He wanted the ball down the stretch and the O-line wanted to run it, so we just kept feeding him.”

South Pointe forced a three-and-out from Greenwood, taking over at their 24 following an Eagle punt. McCrorey had one more big drive up his sleeve, and he would cap the night by involving his team’s receiving star.

McCrorey lofted a pass down the left side to Waymond Jenerette, who had gotten a step on his defender. Jenerette slowed to catch the ball, drawing a pass interference call. One play later, McCrorey found Jenerette in the end zone to provide the final margin. DJ Barksdale intercepted an Eagle pass on their final drive, sending the Stallions back to the Upper State final.

McCrorey tallied nearly 100 rushing yards, joining Jaquan Thompson in nearing or breaking the century mark. Caleb Sims added nearly 70 for the Stallions. South Pointe broke the 400-yard mark of total offense on the night.

South Pointe will compete for an Upper State championship and trip to Columbia against visiting Greenville next Friday night at District 3 South Stadium. Game time is set for 7:30.

This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 11:08 PM.