Midway through the fourth quarter, tied ball game. The Lower Richland Diamond Hornets had the ball near midfield facing a fourth down. Head coach Marlin Taylor decided to go for it, but the Diamond Hornets didn’t convert. The Clinton Red Devils then scored on a miracle fake punt. That was part of 14 straight points by the Red Devils as they defeated the Diamond Hornets 48-34 in the second round of the 3A playoffs Friday, November 12.
“Our defense was playing well. I had to take a chance,” Lower Richland head coach Marlin Taylor said. “I feel like we needed to steal a possession. We had them in fourth and forever, and their guy threw a floater. It’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes.”
The Red Devils kicked the scoring off with a 3-yard touchdown run by Bryson James to take a 7-0 lead with 3:21 left in the first quarter.
Lower Richland responded on the next drive. The Diamond Hornets returned the ensuing kickoff to their 41. A fourth down conversion by Lamarion Pearson and a pitch-and-catch from Robert Adams to Mekhi Campfield got the ball into Clinton territory.
On the opening play of the second quarter, Adams ran down the sideline 29 yards for a touchdown. A.J. Gonzales added the extra point to tie the score at 7-7.
Later in the quarter, Jeremy Barney took a handoff and raced 35 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Gonzales connected on the extra point and Lower Richland had a 14-7 lead.
On the next Clinton possession, the Diamond Hornets’ defense recovered a fumble on the Red Devils’ 43. The next play, Adams found Campfield, who got the ball to the Clinton two. Barney capped the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good, and the Diamond Hornets led 20-7.
The Red Devils responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by James to trim the deficit to 20-13 with 3:39 left in the second quarter.
Lower Richland answered with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Branch. Gonzales added the extra point and Lower Richland led 27-13.
Clinton tacked on a 3-yard run by Jishun Copeland to trim the deficit to 27-20 at halftime.
The Red Devils opened the third quarter with a pair of touchdown runs. First Copeland ran in from nine yards out to tie the score at 27-27 with 9:01 remaining. Then James added a 38-yard touchdown scamper to put the Red Devils ahead 34-27 with 4:47 left in the third.
Lower Richland ended the Clinton run with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Branch to tie the score at 34-34 with 2:27 left in the third.
The score held up until the midway point in the fourth quarter when Clinton, facing a fourth and long, lined up for a punt. David Wilson rolled left and floated a pass to Justin Copeland who then found his way to the end zone for the go-ahead score.
The Red Devils tacked on one more score with Jishun Copeland’s 49-yard touchdown run.
Lower Richland ends the season with an 8-2 record.
“This is a life lesson,” Taylor said. “Everything I try to teach these kids is about life. It’s bigger than football. It’s about the community. It’s about being a good teammate. This is a life lesson. Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose.”
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