South Pointe stuffs unbeaten Seneca

Chris Smith hasn’t had an ideal senior season by his lofty standards.

The South Carolina Gamecocks commit has struggled with nagging injuries much of the fall, but he stepped to the forefront when his team needed him most, Friday night in the third round of the 3A football playoffs.

South Pointe led Seneca 24-17 but the host Bobcats were about to initiate a drive with 2 minutes left to try and tie the game. Previously undefeated Seneca called a halfback pass but the ball was under-thrown and Smith stepped in front for the interception, his second of the night, that killed off the game.

“It means a lot,” said Smith, “but like they say, big time players make big time plays in big time games. I was expecting it. I went in with a chip on my shoulder every play to get my team a victory.”

The same two teams played a nail-nibbler in last year’s 3A playoffs, South Pointe edging the turnover-riddled Bobcats 19-15 in Rock Hill. Friday night’s contest had the same edgy feel. Each team punted on its first drive before South Pointe took the lead, Tony Cherry capping off a nice drive with a 34-yard catch and run to the end zone.

South Pointe had a chance to double the lead after Smith intercepted Elijah Turner’s overthrown pass. But Seneca held strong defensively, then tied the game on Braxton Gambrell’s 75-yard touchdown run. The speedy senior shot up the gut and weaved his way down the field behind effective blocking from his receivers to tie the game at 7-7.

Momentum swung the hosts’ way, but South Pointe checked it with a huge stop on fourth-and 3 at the Stallions’ 13-yard line. Seneca ran a halfback pass with Gambrell, but his throw back to the Bobcats’ wide open quarterback skipped to the turf for an incompletion. That spurred the Stallions into life, B.T. Potter’s field goal and a fortuituous touchdown giving them a 17-7 halftime lead.

A Seneca field goal cut the lead to 17-10 in the third quarter, but Cherry’s catch and run set up Voshon St. Hill for a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 24-10. The Stallions then held off a late rally by the Bobcats, Jacory Benson’s touchdown cutting the lead to seven, before Smith made his late-game intervention to send South Pointe into the Upper State championship game.

“Seneca is a very good football team, and it is a good feeling,” said South Pointe coach Strait Herron.

Turning point

Trailing South Pointe 24-17 with just over 2 minutes left to play, Seneca forced the Stallions to punt. Several critical plays followed: Jimmy Jester hit a wonderful punt, pinning the Bobcats at their 9-yard line, leaving them with 91 yards to traverse and just one timeout in their pocket.

Then Seneca pulled out its trick play, Turner pitching to Gambrell, whose throw was woefully short of an open receiver. Smith’s interception sealed the win for the visitors.

"It’s what we felt like was the call that needed to be made and no second-guessing that," said Seneca coach Brett Turner. "We had a receiver open; we just looked at the wrong one."

Critical

Much was made of Seneca’s perceived advantage on both sides of the ball in the trenches. But the Stallions got several big defensive stops in the red zone and held their own to the point where that aspect of the game didn’t prove decisive.

“That was our biggest concern,” said Herron. “That and their speed and their size. Real proud of our guys up front, just to keep fighting.”

Star contributions

Smith was outstanding in South Pointe’s secondary, allowing no really big plays and of course making two of his own. Tony Cherry also had a huge game for the Stallions, a neat development given that the diminutive senior receiver tends to get overlooked because of all the bigger-name talent playing beside him. Cherry had eight catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, and would have gotten an assist in basketball on St. Hill’s touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"I wouldn’t give him up for anybody," said Herron. "We’ll worry about the size some other time. Tony had a great game."

Overheard

About knocking off an undefeated team on the road:

"Very exciting," said Cherry. "I am very excited about this win, it means a lot. We get to go back home, get back to work and go back at it again next week."

On deck

South Pointe faces Union County next week in the 3A Upper State championship game in Rock Hill. The Stallions edged Union County 17-14 in the two teams’ regular season Region 3-3A meeting. Union County trailed Chapin 21-20 on Friday night, before ripping off 31 unanswered points en route to a 51-21 win.

Box score

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 11:01 PM with the headline "South Pointe stuffs unbeaten Seneca."