LANDIS — With all due respect to Mary Tyler Moore, it appears the South Rowan
football team is going to make it after all.Despite losing seven of their first eight games this season, the Raiders
abruptly find themselves one victory shy of the state playoffs.
“Ain’t nothing better
than feeling something like this,” lineman Patrick Gaddy said Friday night after
South scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and upset visiting R.J. Reynolds, 31-27.
“We’re peaking at the right time. Right now is the time to play hard and we are.
This here is fun football.”
Second-place South (3-7, 2-1 CPC)
has earned back-to-back conference wins — both unexpected — but was careful not
to celebrate prematurely. A victory over Mount Tabor in next week’s regular-season
finale will seal the deal.
“We’ve still got one
more hurdle and it’s a big one,” warned coach Rick Vanhoy. “But we’ve
kept the faith. We’ve always believed we could do this.”
South owes a thank-you card to its
offensive line, which threw a block party in the trenches. The guest list was headed by
halfback Keith Garrett, who bounced back from last week’s concussion to rush for 126
yards and three touchdowns.
“They whipped our defensive
front all night long,” losing coach Alex Mebane said after Reynolds (5-5, 0-3 CPC)
dropped its fifth straight decision and was erased from the playoff picture.
“Obviously they spent more time in the weight room than us. We just weren’t
strong enough or quick enough to make the big plays.”
Perhaps none loomed larger than
the double screen pass that triggered South’s game-winning drive late in the fourth
quarter. The Raiders had trimmed a 10-point third-period deficit to 27-24 when Garrett
spun up the middle on a 5-yard TD run with 11:55 to play. Five minutes later South
regained possession on its own 27, but struggled to make any headway.
“We made up our minds we were
going to keep pounding the rock,” said left guard Brian Billings. “Just keep it
between the tackles, play smashmouth football and eat up the clock. It worked for the most
part.”
It worked well enough for the
Raiders to churn out 255 yards on the ground. But trailing by three and facing a
second-and-21 with 3:22 remaining, they went airborne. “And that’s the play that
made all the difference,” said Vanhoy.
The play began when South
quarterback Tim Cook lofted a short pass over the Reynolds line to Garrett, who had
wandered into the left flat. Garrett, in turn, evaded a couple of tackles and raced down
the sideline for a 32-yard gain.
“We ran it one time before
and I was wide open but he didn’t see me,” said Garrett. “In the huddle I
said ‘Tim, just throw me the ball and I’ll get the first down.’”
Gaddy, who had a key block on the
play, commended the 140-pound running back. “Garrett’s a little guy, but
he’s so tough,” he said. “When you’re down there fighting in the
trenches, a play like that makes it all worthwhile.”
Two snaps later Garrett took a
handoff and started up the middle, shifted to the outside and ran 19 yards down the right
sideline, setting up a first-and-goal from the Reynolds’ three. Only 1:41 remained
when he scored his 10th touchdown of the fall on the ensuing play.
“Keith is a guy you love to
block for,” said Billings. “A real good worker, real hard-nosed. And when he
needs to take off, he can run real fast.”
South secured its triumph on the
game’s final play when defensive back Michael Hamilton picked off a pass deep in
Raiders’ territory. It was the fourth turnover forced by South’s defense.
“Now it’s just a matter
of staying alive,” said Vanhoy. “We’re approaching every game with a
playoff mentality — you win, you stay alive. If the kids can respond the way they
have the last two weeks, I feel pretty good about our chances.”
n
NOTES: South’s Jay Phillips
and Ricky Childers also had interceptions and teammate Randy Rigsby recovered a
second-quarter fumble...Reynolds had 14 plays that gained at least 13 yards and outgained
the Raiders, 309-299...South can lose against Mount Tabor (3-6, 1-2 CPC) and still make
the playoffs for the first time since 1994, but it would have to win a post-season
drawing. |
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