Generals outrun HHP in 57-37 2A shootout

By EDDIE LITAKER
Special To The Item

DALZELL – Facing a 14-0 deficit to Thomas Sumter and a fourth-and-13 at their own 12, Hilton Head Prep pulled a fake punt on the opening play of the second quarter.

Matt Layman completed a 24-yard pass to DeAnte Scott, and five plays later the Dolphins were in the end zone after a 43-yard catch-and-run by Patrick Andrews from Layman.

"I was up here getting a drink, I'm getting the offense ready and all of a sudden they're out there," said TSA head coach Troy Kessinger, whose team improved to 7-4. "It fooled me. I've got to see it on film to know what they did. ... That was a great call by (HHP head coach Ron Perduzzi). Gutsy and great, and got them right back in the game."

That was just the beginning of the insanity as the two teams combined for 94 points and 848 yards total offense, with the Generals winning a shootout, 57-37, at General Field to open the SCISA 2A state playoffs.

"We're not used to that, and we don't like it," Kessinger said of the Dolphins hurry-up style offense. "They do that in every game. They go quick and they score a lot of points, but they give up a lot of points. They've been in some 50-38 games so it was a little different for us, but I felt like we did it our way, they did it their way."

Thomas Sumter hosts Northwood Academy, a 34-12 winner over Pee Dee Academy, next Friday.

TSA's first two scores came on a 5-yard run by Charles Metcalfe and an 8-yard run by Michael Fitzgerald, with the Fitzgerald run coming at the 1:07 mark of the opening quarter. After HHP's first score, it took just 19 seconds for the Dolphins to score again as Andrews broke perfectly on a Blake Stengel pass and returned it 43 yards for a score, cutting the lead to 14-13.

The two teams exchanged scores throughout the remainder of the half, beginning with a 1-yard Stengel dive to cap a 7-play, 64-yard drive. Harrison Cardone ran 26 yards on the first play of the drive and Stengel later connected with Ricky Mello for 20 yards to the 1.

It took just 1:14 for HHP to respond with a 4-play, 84-yard drive. Layman and Dmitri Lowry connected for 55 yards, then Lowry caught the 2-point conversion pass, tying the game, 21-21, with 4:39 left in the half.

The final score of the half came on an 8-yard Fitzgerald run, with BJ Catoe taking a bad snap and cutting around the left side for the 2 and a 29-21 halftime lead for the Generals.

Just when it seemed TSA had some momentum, Layman and Bo Strimpfel hooked up for 62 yards and a score on the second play of the third quarter, thenScott D'Amico ran for two and a 29-29 tie.

The General defense then clamped down just enough to give the offense a chance to build some breathing room. The next three TSA possessions ended with a 2-yard Fitzgerald run, a 22-yard pass from Stengel to Catoe, and a 36-yard run by Cardone. Cardone's run came on the opening play of the final quarter and gave the Generals a 50-29 lead.

The final TSA score came with Kessinger playing some of his reserves. Devin Felix ran three times for 19 yards, capping off a 9-play, 79-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.

The Dolphins refused to go down without a fight, rallying for one last touchdown as Layman and Lowry hooked up once again, this time for 64 yards, with 2:06 left. Lowry caught another conversion pass to end the scoring.

Layman was 9 for 12 for 161 yards and two touchdowns in the first half before the TSA defense slowed the junior gunslinger slightly in the second half. Layman's final numbers were 19 for 33 for 340 yards and four touchdowns, with one second-half interception by Patrick Stegall.

Stengel held his own in the shootout, finishing 10 for 14 for 156 yards with one touchdown passing and one rushing. Fitzgerald ran 15 times for 104 yards, going over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, and caught four passes for 44 yards while Cardone had 81 yards rushing on eight carries and Metcalfe 11 carries for 63 yards as the Generals rolled up 304 yards on 52 rushes.

TSA 57, HHP 37

HHP TSA

First downs 9 22

Rushes-yards 10-48 52-304

Passing 340 156

Comp-Att-Int 19-34-1 10-14-1

Fumbles-Lost 0 1-0

Punts 1-34.0 0

Penalties-Yards 9-66 12-73

Hilton Head Prep 0 21 8 8 - 37

Thomas Sumter 14 15 14 14 - 57

First Quarter

TSA -- Metcalfe 5 run (Cardone, kick).

TSA -- Fitzgerald 8 run (Cardone, kick).

Second Quarter

HHP -- Andrews 43 pass from Layman (Clark, kick).

HHP -- Andrews 43 interception return (kick failed).

TSA -- Stengel 1 run (Cardone, kick).

HHP -- Lowery 55 pass from Layman (Lowery, pass from Layman).

TSA -- Fitzgerald 8 run (Catoe, kick).

Third Quarter

HHP -- Strimpfel 62 pass from Layman (D'Amico, run).

TSA -- Fitzgerald 2 run (pass failed).

TSA -- Catoe 22 pass from Stengel (Cardone, run).

Fourth Quarter

TSA -- Cardone 36 run (Cardone, kick).

TSA -- Felix 9 run (Cardone, kick).

HHP -- Lowery 64 pass from Layman (Lowry, pass from Layman).