By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

LAWNDALE — The last high school football game for record-setting Salisbury back JyMikaah Wells and his senior teammates was memorable.

The Hornets fought the good fight — and then some.

On the road as 19-point underdogs, they lost 24-20 at Burns in the third round of the 2A state playoffs. They still had a chance right down to the final play. They took three shots at the end zone from the Burns 25 but Mike Geter’s final pass sailed high and the scoreboard in Lawndale showed nothing but zeroes.

It came down to a 90-yard drive by Burns when the Hornets needed one more stop.

And it came down to one last stop by Burns when the Hornets (11-2) had to score a touchdown.

Wells scored the 35th TD of his remarkable season on his last carry for the Hornets. It was a terrific touchdown on which he sprinted wide, then cut back, plowing a defender on his way to the end zone. That 27-yard touchdown run by Wells and Hank Webb’s PAT gave sixth-seeded Salisbury a 20-17 lead with 4:29 left to play.

But there was still plenty of time left for third-seeded Burns to retaliate, even after strong kickoff coverage by the Hornets forced the Bulldogs to mount their decisive drive from their 10-yard line, but drive the Bulldogs did.

Ryan Thompson was a playmaker all night for the Bulldogs (12-1). He broke a 21-yard run on third down to set up the winning score before he got the TD himself on a direct snap from the 2.

Now a senior, Thompson was one of the key Burns players as a sophomore when the Bulldogs fell to the Hornets on a last-play-of-the-game field goal by Wade Robins during the Hornets’ march to a state title.

Burns’ offense is built on short passes by QB Ben Mauney to a devastating group of receivers who turn quick flips into big plays by making tacklers miss and racking up massive yards after the catch.

After getting good field position on the opening kickoff, Burns needed only two plays to score. Mauney connected with LJ Allen who burned the Hornets for a 41-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Salisbury moved the ball on its opening possession, but was stopped on fourth down at the Burns 17.

Momentum veered in Salisbury’s direction for the first time when Geter, an electrifying lefty junior quarterback who also plays safety, picked off one of Mauney’s passes. That led to an equalizing score by the Hornets. Deuce Walker got behind the Burns defense, Geter rifled it to him for a 53-yard score, and it was 7-7 with 1:53 left in the first quarter.

Burns went up 14-7 when Thompson finished a scoring drive.

The Hornets came right back. Geter hit Jamal Rule, who broke tackles and sprinted for a 56-yard score. It was 14-13 with 3:17 left before halftime, but a Bulldog got a hand on Hank Webb’s PAT try. That lost point would be a factor as the game unfolded.

Burns added a 33-yard field goal by Ansley Camacho for a 17-13 lead as the first half ended.

Both defenses dug in during a physical third quarter. Salisbury got sacks from Dashawn Brown and Amare Johnson.

The Hornets finally put together a scoring drive that ended with Wells’ crunching TD run. He became the first Salisbury back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, but the 20-17 lead his run provided didn’t last.

Burns nearly lost a fumble on its game-winning possession, but got a favorable bounce and picked up positive yardage. Thompson scored for Burns with 1:28 left in the clock for the last lead change, and Camacho tacked on the crucial extra point for 24-20.  .

After Burns’ kickoff and a short return, Salisbury had the ball at its 33, with 1:22 remaining.

It was desperation time, but Geter scrambled to midfield for a first down before he calmly completed passes to Walker and Wells for first downs.

The pass to Wells advanced the Hornets to the Burns 25, but time was running short and they would get no closer to the Burns goal line.

Geter and Walker nearly connected on a pass that would have been a touchdown, and a jump ball for Webb in the end zone was batted down with 2.7 seconds left.

When one last pass sailed harmlessly into the night, the season was over for the Hornets.

Geter threw his 16th and 17th TD passes of the season and added 97 rushing yards, mostly on scrambles.

Wells had 109 yards on 17 carries against a defense that game-planned to stop him and finished the season with 2,027 rushing yards on 219 carries.

Mauney, who quarterbacked Burns’ bitter playoff loss in the spring of 2021 to the Hornets as a freshman, threw for 244 yards for the Bulldogs.

Burns will host Monroe in the fourth round.

Salisbury     7   6   0    7  — 20

Burns          7  10   0   7   — 24

Scoring plays

B — Allen 41 pass from Mauney (Camacho kick), 1st

S — Walker 53 pass from Geter (Webb kick), 1st

B — Thompson 2 run (Camacho kick), 2nd

S — Rule 56 pass from Geter (kick blocked), 2nd

B — Camacho FG 33, 2nd

S — Wells 27 run (Webb kick), 4th

B — Thompson 2 run (Camacho kick), 4th

Individuals

Rushing — SHS: Wells 17-109; Geter 16-97; Rule 1-1. Burns: Thompson 11-60; Norris 11-23; Mauney 4-(minus 15).

Passing — SHS: Geter 8-17-0, 154. Burns: Mauney 16-25-1, 244.

Receiving — SHS: Walker 6-87; Rule 1-56; Wells 1-11. Burns: K. Surratt 7-106; Allen 6-87; Thompson 5-63.