Fort Mill overcomes turnovers, West Florence, with strong second half
The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets scored three second half touchdowns on 17 plays as they beat West Florence 35-14 to finish their non-Region schedule.
Fort Mill wasted no time striking right away as senior quarterback Rogan Wells hit junior receiver Gus Jarosz for a 71-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game.
The Jackets went on to turn the ball over on two different occasions in the opening quarter.
Fort Mill had opportunities in the second quarter, but penalties pushed them out of scoring range on one particular drive.
West Florence had several penalties of 15-yards which helped to put the Jackets in the red zone.
The Jackets defense had trouble stopping West Florence’s Eron Darby, who rushed for 179 yards in the game.
Turning point
In the third quarter, Ryan Deluca picked off a West Florence pass deep in the Knights territory allowing Fort Mill to start in good field position. Fort Mill took advantage of the miscue by West Florence as they went 34-yards on six plays as Wells ran the ball in from four-yards out.
Critical
In the third quarter after a fourth down field goal fumble, Fort Mill got called for a pass interference, giving the ball to West Florence at the two-yard line, however the defense had a huge stance stopping the Knights on fourth down and keeping them out of the end zone.
Another critical play came in the fourth quarter when Fort Mill’s Ronnie Hughes had a big 58-yard run to get the Jackets into the red zone. Senior Brett Ferguson scores two plays later to extend the Jackets lead to 28-14.
Star contributions
Ferguson was a constant for the Jackets’ offense in the game. He rushed for 67 yards on 17 carries. Hughes rushed for 78 yards on five carries including a game changing run in the fourth quarter. Wells passed for 93 yards and ran for another 114 yards.
Overheard
“We did a good job coming back in the second half,” said Fort Mill head coach Ed Susi. “We told them its not how you start, but how you finish. We told the defense at the half, they need to make a stop. We also had to get Rogan and Fergy (Ferguson) on the same page.”
On deck
Fort Mill opens its Region 3-4A schedule on the road at District Three stadium against Northwestern.
Box Score
Fort Mill 35, West Florence 14
West Florence 14;0;0;0-14
Fort Mill 7;7;7;14-35
Scoring Summary
First quarter
FM-Rogan Wells 71-yard pass to Gus Jarosz (Taylor Sheets kick), 11:39
WF-Mike Lowery 45-yard run (Gage Russell kick), 9:18
WF-Bowman Hiller one-yard run (Russell kick), 5:20
Second quarter
FM-Brett Ferguson five-yard run (Sheets kick), 1:01
Third quarter
FM-Wells four-yard run (Sheets kick), 8:01
Fourth quarter
FM-Ferguson five-yard run (Sheets kick), 10:29
FM-Wells 77-yard run (Sheets kick), 6:00
Team Statistics
WF;FM
First downs;12;16
Rushes-yards;48-293;41-276
Passing;5-12-1;4-9-1
Passing yards;30;93
Fumbles-lost;3-0;2-2
Penalties-yards;12-117;5-32
Individual Statistics
Rushing West Florence: Bowman Hiller 5-(-18), Mike Lowery 4-88, Eron Darby 28-179, Markus Melvin 7-34, Tirik Epps 3-7, Drake Deal 1-3. Fort Mill: Rogan Wells 12-114, Ronnie Hughes 5-78, Brett Ferguson 17-67, Gus Jarosz 2-2, Ryan Deluca 1-3, Mike Derado 2-1, Jabron Sanders 1-15, Antonio Shepherd 1-(-3).
Passing West Florence: Hiller 5-11-1 30 yards, Lowrey 0-1-0 0 yards. Fort Mill: Wells 4-9-1 93 yards.
Receiving West Florence: Brian Isaiah 3-22, Katron Cooper 1-7, Michael Addison 1-1. Fort Mill: Hughes 1-8, Jarosz 1-71, Hunter Helms 2-14.
Records West Florence 1-3; Fort Mill 4-1.
This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Fort Mill overcomes turnovers, West Florence, with strong second half."