Clarendon Hall's Pritcher runs wild on way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

For a quarter and a half last Friday, the Clarendon Hall football team was looking for an answer offensively. They were moving the ball at a decent clip against Beaufort Academy but were trailing 21-0 late in the first half.

When the Saints needed a hero, Andrew Pritcher answered the bell.

The junior running back suddenly became an unstoppable force, breaking loose for two long scores after halftime on his way to a 279-yard performance. He also led the team in tackles on defense for good measure, powering a 30-21 win for Clarendon Hall. His performance also earned him recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It feels good; I feel trusted," Pritcher said of the support from the Clarendon Hall community.

Saints head coach Shane Wallace saw a player seemingly transform in front of his eyes against Beaufort Academy, blossoming into a superstar back to will his team to victory.

"He hit an extra gear on Friday night," Wallace said. "We were picking up three to five yards up the middle, they couldn't stop us for about three to five yards, so I just kept pounding it. All of a sudden, once we got that second score, his three to five yards turned into about 15 yards a pop. Of course, he had the 90-yard run. Honestly, he would've gone over 300 yards, but we had two holding calls that pulled about 60 yards off his total.

"He just hit a different level than everybody else, and we went with it. It was making money, so I just kept handing him the ball."

The timing of the game was important for the Saints. They were coming off a pair of losses after a season-opening victory that snapped a losing streak that stretched over two full seasons. Pritcher's only goal going into the game was to get a victory.

"We've got to get this win to go to the playoffs and start our playoff journey, so we've got to win and continue to get more after that," the junior said of his mindset entering the matchup.

Right before the end of the half, the Saints found the end zone to trim the deficit to 21-7 at the half. That touchdown drive was the sign of things to come for Pritcher.

"We were able to move the ball, and blocks started working for us," Pritcher said. "And we were able to get into the end zone."

After halftime, Pritcher was unstoppable. His favorite run of the night was a 38-yard touchdown run to open the score in the third quarter, while he added a 90-yard touchdown later in the frame to take the lead for good.

"We ran that 24 power for a 38-yard touchdown. I had a whole line of guys in front of me blocking down field, and they didn't really let anybody through except for one person," Pritcher said. "They were just moving people out of the way. Every time they pulled, they made a good block, and we were able to get out of there."

Wallace could feel his offensive line feed off the energy of Pritcher's runs, building momentum as the game wore on.

"The offensive linemen, especially the interior with Harrison Denny and Currin Mcelroy, as soon as Andrew started picking up extra yardage, they went into overtime and played a heck of a ballgame," Wallace said. "Harrison scored over a 90 grade, had nine pancakes. Everybody's spirit lifted as soon as he started running the ball like you're supposed to run the ball."

Pritcher was able to run for 279 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding a five-yard reception, despite also playing a full game on defense. The junior led Clarendon Hall with 11 tackles on defense thanks to a lot of hard work to keep from wearing down throughout the night.

"It starts with conditioning," he said. "And we were able to outlast them."

Wallace was also quick to point out that Clarendon Hall's defensive effort, which included a shutout in the second half, needed the best effort of all 11 players on the field.

"Andrew got out there and did what I asked him to do, but it was 11 of us. There were 11 boys who finally came together, something I've been looking for for a long time," Wallace said. "We did three things Friday night. Number one was come back, we were down 21-0. Number two, we won. Number three was that it was our home field, which they hadn't done for three years. It was a lot of things that came together. Moving forward, I think we're building a program, and I saw it come together on Friday night."

Now, the Saints are trying to keep the momentum pointed in the right direction. They're out to a 2-2 start heading into Friday's road trip to Dorchester, a major step forward after a pair of winless seasons.

"It was very big," Pritcher said. "It gave a lot of people more confidence, and now everybody wants it."