Muffed Opening Kickoff Leads to Spartan Rout by Dan O’Neal

GAMEWELL, NC (September 28, 2018) — I am not altogether certain but it looked as if when South Caldwell kicked off to begin the game, the kicker was attempting to keep the ball on the ground to the opposition. It did not appear to have meant to be an onside kick, unless that was the plan of the Spartans coaching staff. If it was that, then I got punkd, so to speak.

That is exactly the way it turned out as the football touched a West Caldwell player on the kickoff team, only to fumble resulting in South’s special teams squad recovering the football. On the first and ten from the Warriors thirty-one-yard line, Spartans’ speedy tailback Spencer Piercy (who looks a bit like Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahones, a compliment I promise!) sprinted to the end zone on an off-tackle right sweep to begin the rout. Piercy ran the ball for 124 yards on four carries (yes that stat is correct so do the math if you want averages, lol) and three touchdowns and caught one pass for thirty-seven yards; this being a portion of the offense that South head coach Marc Kirkpatrick refers to as the “two-headed monster”.

From there, the Spartans would also build on their scoring fest with a Jason Martin eighty-yard touchdown pass to the ever-reliable receiver Austin Raynor, who caught the football six times for 153 yards. Martin would finish his platooning on five of six passing for 155 yards. Avery Raynor, the other quarterback of the two-platoon system, would connect on seven of nine passes for 114 yards and two scores thrown to tight end Blake Martin and senior sensation Samuel Craig as well as scoring another touchdown from eleven yards out. Senior Dustin Herman also returned from injury and added another six, leading the Spartans to a 62-13 win over West Caldwell, giving South their first conference win and increasing their overall record to 2-4.

On the contest in its entirety, South gained 588 total yards from scrimmage, 319 on the ground and 269 in the air, culminating the “two-headed monster” offensive scheme. The Spartan defense also played a very stout contest as they held the Warriors to only 157 yards as well as four quarterback sacks as well as interceptions by Isaiah Kirby and Gavin Nash. The Warriors thirteen points were scored by senior tailback Nate Brown, who gained ninety-one yards on eighteen touches.

“It’s nice to get our first conference win and nice to not have to play undefeated teams. I was pleased with the balanced offense attack and got a lot of guys in there tonight. We’re not close to being good yet but we are getting there” Kirkpatrick stated. What can be said is that the coaching staff on the whole is doing well in getting this football program in the right direction. It can also be said that, regardless of winning or losing, these female and male athletes get great support from the fan base; what I refer to as Spartan Nation sports fans!

This Friday evening at the Clarke will be the 2018 Homecoming, where the Spartans face the McDowell Titans, which is most certainly a must win for South as these two schools are the only Class 4A schools in the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference. The win in Marion last season was the Spartans only victory yet it qualified them for the state playoffs. Hence, the Spartans’ coaches and players will be preparing to increase on their present 2-4 record as well as to seal the deal in getting back to the playoffs. Kickoff is at 7:30pm.

Scoring by Quarters

SC 14 36 6 6- 62

WC- 6 0 0 7-13

Scoring Summary

SC-Piercy 31 run, Martin to Craig pass, 11:48 1st

SC-Av. Raynor 12 run, pass failed, 7:17 1st

WC-Brown 2 run, kick blocked, :01 1st

SC-Piercy 73 run, I. Kirby run, 11:45 2nd

SC-Piercy 17 run, run failed, 8:46 2nd

SC-Av. Raynor 11 run, Au Raynor to J.Martin pass, 4:50 2nd

SC-Av. Raynor to Craig 22 pass, B.Martin run, 1:57 2nd

SC-J.Martin 80 pass to Au Raynor,run failed, :40 2nd

SC-Av.Raynor to B.Martin 10 pass, run failed, 1:45 3rd

WC-Brown 1 run, Guardiola kick, 8:01 4th

SC- Herman 2 run, kick failed, :40 4th

Team Statistics                        SC                         WC

First Downs                              13                            8

Rushes/Yards                         32-319                     28-95

Comp-Att-Int                             12-15-0                   6-11-2

Passing Yards                            269                         62

Total Yards                                 588                        157

3rd Down Conv                         2-4                            2-7

Penalties                                    5-35                        2-15

Punting                                       1-27.0                     4-29.0

Individual Statistics

SC: Rushing-Piercy 4-124,3TD, I.Kirby 9-57, Sumner 5-36, Av. Raynor 3-21,TD, Faro 1-10, Craig 1-16, Herman 5-15,TD,Au.Raynor 1-15,Crawford 1-27, J.Martin 2- -2; WC- Brown 18-91,2TD, Davenport 1-6, Triplett 9- -2; Passing: SC- J.Martin 5-6-0 155,TD, Av. Raynor 7-9-0 114,2TD; WC- Triplett 6-11-2 62; Receiving: SC- Au Raynor 6-153,2TD, Craig 2-49,TD,B.Martin 1-10,TD, Nash 1-16, Piercy 1-37, Hilton 1-4; WC- Beaver 1-20, Horton 2-42, Greer 1-2, Andrews 1- -1, Davenport 1- -7