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Screven moves on
Screven

SYLVANIA — There’s nothing fancy or flashy about Screven County’s offense, but good luck to any team that tries to get in its way.

The Gamecocks were a nearly unstoppable force once again Saturday night as they defeated Bacon County by a score of 41-7 in the first round of the Class AA state playoffs.

Jeremy Johnson rushed for 152 yards and Aikeem Mingle accounted for three touchdowns as the Gamecocks reached the second round of the state playoffs for the first time since the 2003 season.

"I’m so proud of this team," said Screven coach Ron Duncan. "We worked hard to get to the postseason and we knew that we had a good team to play in Bacon County. We just kept executing and did what we had to do."

Screven wasted no time getting things rolling.

On the Gamecocks’ first drive of the game, their pounding option game kept them moving forward. Johnson helped to plow Screven into Raiders’ territory before Mingle found Tevin Sneed on a screen pass that went 43 yards for the first score of the game.

Bacon County was up to the challenge early, rolling right back down the field to even things up.

Quarterback Matt Thrift highlighted the Raiders’ first drive with a 26 yard dash on 3rd-and-short to cross midfield and put Bacon in business. The Raiders pounded their way deep into Screven territory and Thrift finished the drive with a 5 yard scramble.

Aubrey Carter nailed the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.

From there, it was all Screven County.

After Thrift’s touchdown with 5:08 to go in the first quarter, the Gamecocks marched steadily down the field.

Josh Kerson combined with Johnson to form a nearly unstoppable force as the Gamecocks churned up big chunks of yardage on just about every play.

The Gamecocks used up the remainder of the first quarter and Johnson finished off the drive, rushing in from 13 yards out on the first play of the second quarter.

The Screven County defense forced a quick punt from the Raiders, giving way to a short Screven drive before Johnson broke loose on a 34 yard run that put the Gamecocks up 20-7 at halftime.

"I think that we came out strong," said Duncan. "It was an important game, but we stayed calm and executed."

Bacon County received the opening kickoff in the second, but the Gamecock defense took the fight right to the Raiders.

On 2nd-and- 6, Drell Green was dropped for a big loss before Donta Wilburn intercepted a desperation pass from Thrift and returned it to the Bacon County 23.

Johnson toted the ball five consecutive times to get the Gamecocks to the 1 yard line and Mingle snuck into the end zone for a 27-7 advantage.

"Donta really helped set the tone in the second half," said Duncan. "We put ourselves in a good spot early and he helped give us a big play and momentum in the second half."

The Screven defense came up big once again on the next drive. Thrift was stopped cold on 3rd-and-1 before the Gamecocks wrestled down Green for a loss of three on fourth down.

Three plays later, Mingle raced in from 27 yards out to blow the game wide open at 34-7.

Running on fumes early in the fourth quarter, Thrift lobbed another interception to Wilburn, which the Screven County corner ran back to the Bacon County 14. On the next play, Johnson powered in to turn the game into a blowout with 8:48 to play.

From there, it was all formalities as Screven sent in the reserves and the Raiders were still unable to get back onto the scoreboard.

Next week, the Gamecocks host Early County in the second round. A win would send Screven County to the state quarterfinals for the first time since its state championship season of 2002.

 

Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.