SHS tops Foxes for region title

By CHAD RHOAD
Special To The Item

KELLEYTOWN — The Sumter High School Gamecocks claimed the Region VI-4A title on Friday with a 35-13 win over the Hartsville Red Foxes at Kelleytown Stadium.

The Sumter defense shined throughout the night, holding Hartsville’s Dre Scott to 108 yards on 17 carries and holding Red Fox quarterback Shawn Smith to less than 30 yards passing for the night.

Sumter head coach Paul Sorrells, after being doused with Gatorade, said there were some mistakes, but the result was a championship.

“The third quarter was a bit disappointing, but we took care of business in the fourth. I’m really proud of our guys, and coaches. We knew it would be a hard-fought game, but we got the running game going again in the second half and ended the game.”

Hartsville scored on its opening drive, but that was the last score it would get until the fourth quarter.

The Gamecocks answered on its opening drive when quarterback Stephen Curtis found wide receiver Tyler Smith for a 60-yard touchdown. Sumter never looked back after that. Curtis finished the first half with 149 yards passing as he went 8-for-13 with one touchdown and one interception.

Smith also had 100 yards receiving on just four catches.

The Red Foxes had two turnovers in the first half and Sumter made the most of those mistakes.

Curtis led the Sumter offense to a 28-7 lead at halftime, including making some breaks of its own. In the first quarter, Curtis threw a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Danneil Duncan. Duncan fumbled on the play, but wide receiver Avery Woods scooped the fumble and scrambled 55 yards for the score. The sharp Gamecock offense was all the Sumter defense needed.

The Sumter defense was the story of the game as defensive tackle Justin Oxendine and the Gamecocks’ defensive front seven gave Hartsville’s Smith too much pressure to handle. Smith was harassed by the Sumter defense all night, giving him little time to throw and disrupting a powerful Hartsville offense.

Curtis and the Gamecocks’ offense struggled in the third quarter, but the defense made sure Hartsville couldn’t capitalize. Curtis finished the game 13-for-24 with 187 yards and three interceptions. Running back Romaine Prince also added 70 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown.

Hartsville began to get in rhythm on offense, but the Sumter defense kept them out of the end zone. Hartsville’s lone touchdown in the second half came after the Red Foxes blocked a punt and recovered it at the SHS 3-yard line.

However, the Gamecock running game, behind Prince, got going and drained the clock and ended any chance of a Hartsville comeback.

Hartsville head coach Jeff Calabrese said the Gamecocks are too talented a team against which to make mistakes.

“Sumter is a great football team,” he said. “When you play a great football team, you have to play. They created those turnovers and made some breaks of their own. That fumble recovery was a big play for them. They earned every bit of it.”

Sumter will be at home in the first round of the 4A Division I state playoffs next week, likely against Blythewood. The official playoff pairings will be announced today.