Stevenson leads game-winning drive in playoff opener on his way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

When the season was on the line for the Manning football team, they put the ball in the hands of Lovell Stevenson.

The Monarchs had less than two minutes left when they opened their final possession against Battery Creek in the first round of the SCHSL 2A playoffs on Friday. Manning trailed by three, so they needed at least a field goal to force overtime, but the Monarchs wanted to handle things in regulation. Stevenson was efficient as he led the team down the field, completing a massive third down pass to Jordyn Thompson before tossing the game-winning touchdown to his brother, Lovon, inside the final 10 seconds to keep their season alive. His performance also earned him recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It feels good," Stevenson said of the honor. "We already knew we had one plan and one job, and that was to dominate the whole game, and we did."

Manning head coach Reggie Kennedy knew that Stevenson was capable of stepping up in a big moment and was proud to see his senior signal-caller do just that.

"I was really impressed with the way he managed the offense on Friday, especially the last drive, the winning drive for us," Kennedy said. "He did a good job managing the clock. One time, he almost got sacked, but he threw the ball away. Later in the same drive, no one was open and he threw it away, so he did a great job of managing the clock as we ran that two-minute offense down the stretch for us.

"He's getting better each week. He's a two-year starter at quarterback and he's doing what a two-year starter should be doing right now for us, and that's very important down the stretch."

Stevenson was efficient all night long for the Monarchs. He completed 14 of his 19 attempts for 234 yards and two touchdowns, while adding another score on the ground. While Manning typically likes to lead with the run, the gameplan against Battery Creek called for the Monarchs to throw the ball a bit more. Stevenson was champing at the bit to show off his arm.

"I was very excited," Stevenson said. "They were playing man-to-man coverage, too, and we have a lot of fast and tall guys who can make plays."

The gameplan allowed the senior to show off the great strides he's been able to make as a passer this fall.

"That's going to be big for us. In high school football, you want to be able to run the football, but in the playoffs, as you tend to advance, the competition gets a little stiffer and it gets harder to run the ball between the tackles sometimes," Kennedy said. "You've got to be able to throw it a little bit to stretch the defense and make some natural running lanes for your running backs. I think if you're going to advance in the playoffs, you have to be able to throw the football, so that's going to be big for us down the stretch to lean on his arm a little bit more than we normally do. But I can see each day in practice, he completes more balls on a consistent basis and doing what we ask him to do."

Before the game-winning score, Stevenson made a critical connection with Thompson on third-and-15, moving the chains when the Monarchs were outside of field goal range. Stevenson knew Thompson was the kind of athlete who could make a play to extend their season.

"That's one of my big receivers right there. In crunch time, I really look for him or CJ Robinson," Stevenson said. "Jordyn Thompson is one of the best receivers we've got here. I already knew if I get him the ball, he'll get us some yards and get out of bounds to stop the clock."

The play was designed to take a shot at the end zone, but when it wasn't there, Stevenson made the smart decision to check down to Thompson. It was just another example of his growth under center.

"Lovell has a very high IQ for football and sports period. You can tell he actually watches football," Kennedy said. "A lot of young kids now really don't watch football, but he's one that really studies the game. He's really a student of the game and his football IQ is very high. That's something we always talk about as a staff. When we put in something new, he catches on the first time we put it on and if he has a question, he'll ask it. That's one thing we like about him. He doesn't just know what he's supposed to do, he knows what everyone is supposed to do on offense."

When the game was on the line, the Monarchs pulled out a play they've been practicing weekly all fall. Co-offensive coordinator Austin Floyd brought the play over from Sumter High, a delayed pass to the tight end that can catch defenses sleeping. Kennedy saved it for a moment where the season was on the line to finally pull it out, and it worked to perfection. Better yet, the two brothers were able to play hero together, creating a lifelong memory.

"They'll never forget that play," Kennedy said. "That was probably one of the most exciting moments I've had in high school football, that goes in my top five. That's a play we've worked on all year. Coach Floyd brought that play from Sumter, so we told them when we run this play, it's going to be for a game-winner for a touchdown. We were trying to set it up, we wanted to get a little bit closer. I had two timeouts remaining and had the ball on like the 30. We needed to get at least 15 more yards. We used our last timeout with nine seconds left and they asked if we needed to get a little closer. I said, 'No, let's go,' and it worked out for us."

Stevenson added, "My dad has been talking about it the whole week, my auntie and the whole family just kept talking about it all week."

After a regular season that was marred by a handful of one-score losses, Stevenson and the Monarchs didn't want to see their playoff journey end in similar fashion.

"Down the stretch, we had games we lost by like a touchdown, so we're really tired of losing," Stevenson said. "We're getting on fire right now at the right time, so it's a perfect time to be on fire, in the second round of the playoffs. We play Dillon again. We owe them something."