Photo by Jeff Blake/ColumbiaWeddingPhotos.com Keenan’s defense completely wraps up Dreher running back Sheldon Van Dyke. For the Keenan High School football team, gut– check time came Saturday morning.

The late–rising Raiders had given up 17 points to Dreher in a 12–minute span, faced a 10–point deficit and stared at back–to–back losses and a sub–.500 record heading into Region 4–2A play.

Keenan responded for a 34–31 victory.

As a result, Dreher faces a gut–check time this week as it heads into Region –3A play with a 1–4 mark the team believes should be far better.

On Saturday, the Raiders marched 72 yards in four plays to cut the lead, held Dreher to a three–and–out and then drove 58 yards on 10 plays for the winning score with 2:38 remaining. Senior quarterback Antonio Perry took control on 13 of those 14 plays: four rushes (34 yards) and nine passes (7 of 9 for 97 yards). Both touchdowns (31 and 20 yards, respectively) went to Chad Jasper, who transferred from Dreher during the offseason.

Photo by Jeff Blake/ColumbiaWeddingPhotos.com Keenan’s Phillip George is brought down by Dreher’s Derrick Hopkins. “I’m really proud of (Antonio), the way he bounced back after such a devastating loss (37–21 to Batesburg–Leesvi l le) ,” Keenan coach Mitchell Moton said. “He was really down all week. He felt as though he let his teammates down, but he showed a lot of leadership. He checked into some plays that worked for us, kept his composure, and ran the ball well. He was the difference in the game.”

Perry’s three touchdown passes against Keenan gave him 13 for the season. His 220 yards passing pushed him past the 1,000–yard mark.

Photo by Jeff Blake/ColumbiaWeddingPhotos.com Keenan QB Antonio Perry scrambles for yardage as Dreher’s Joshua Wilkins makes the tackle. Keenan needed the late marches because Dreher took advantage of Friday night’s suspension of play a little more than two minutes into the second half to hit the videotape and catch a second wind.

The Raiders had scored 21 points in the second quarter and appeared poised to pull away as they spread Dreher’s defense with their passing game and overpowered the players left near the line with senior Phillip George. Perry was 6 of 7 passing for 112 yards in the first half. George rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Dennis Rowe’s 15–yard catch produced the other score.

On Saturday, Dreher finished a scoring drive, forced a turnover on Keenan’s first play that the Blue Devils converted into a 24–yard field goal by Oscar Rico and tacked on a 53–yard scoring drive. Leonard Kennedy scored both touchdowns – and four overall (3, 49, 3, and 4 yards). Kennedy finished with 167 yards on 22 carries and even completed a halfback option pass.

Photo by Jeff Blake/ ColumbiaWeddingPhotos.com Dreher QB Jackson Edwards scrambles against Keenan. “Sometimes we don’t block for him as well as we should, but he always seems to find a way to pick up yards,” Dreher coach Bill Bacon said.

The one time Dreher couldn’t pick up yards was what bothered Bacon.

“Our game is all about giving our guys the best angles to be successful. We’re not going to ask our 170 pound guys to take on their 250–300 pound guys. We look for angles to stretch things out, kick guys outside or open seams.”

On the drive they settled for a field goal, the Blue Devils had a first–and–goal at the 5, but lost 2 yards on three plays.

And Bacon wasn’t the only one bothered after the game.

“The kids are real angry right now, which is a good sign,” Bacon said. “After some losses in past years, they’ve been like, ‘we lost, so’... Not this year.”

“Those 21 points really hurt us,” Bacon said. “We showed the defense (on film Saturday morning) that they weren’t playing like we needed to.”

Moton said, “Going to bed last night, I knew Dreher was going to be prepared and would come out and fight. It was only an 8–point ball game when it got postponed and Coach Bacon did a good job of having his guys ready. They fought awfully hard and to the end.”