LANCASTER – The Lancaster Bruins held off a furious fourth quarter rally by the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets to escape with a 32-27 win.
Fort Mill scored 20 fourth quarter points, but literally ran out of time as they scored their last touchdown as time expired in the game.
Lancaster did most of their damage against the Jackets on the ground running the ball 50 times for 363 yards. Quarterback RJ Brown rushed the ball 23 times for 224 yards and two rushing scores. He also threw for a score. Running back De’Markeyun Mobley rushed the ball 24 times for 133 yards and a touchdown.
“We struggled stopping the run,” said Fort Mill head football coach Rob McNeely. “We didn’t get the turnovers we needed. They are good up front. I loved the fight our guys had. These guys didn’t give up.”
Lancaster got the opening kick but turned it over in the first play of the game with an interception from Gray Patterson. Fort Mill got within the red zone but missed a 25-yard field goal.
After trading possessions, Lancaster took the ball at their own 34. Brown then took the snap and sprinted 67 yards to score and get the Bruins on the board. The 7-0 score after the extra point would be all that was allowed in the first quarter.
Lancaster took the ball on a drive transitioning between quarters and scored on a Mobley 2-yard run to go up 13-0. The drive went 13 plays and 79 yards for the Bruins.
The Lancaster defense was strong in the first half as Fort Mill couldn’t get anything going on offense.
Lancaster put together another lengthy drive going 57-yards resulting in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Makhi Barber.
Fort Mill finally put together a good drive with a big play coming on a 27-yard completion from quarterback Quinn Kelly to Josef Anderson to get the Jackets to the 14-yard line of the Bruins. Four plays later Bo Blankenship banged it in for a 1-yard touchdown run to get the Jackets on the scoreboard with 49 seconds left in the first half. The extra point by Noah Hardy put the score at 19-7 as the teams would end the half shortly thereafter.
Fort Mill punted on their first possession of the second half pinning Lancaster at the one. The Bruins’ drive was its longest of the game as they methodically alternated between Mobley and Brown running the ball. The 99-yard drive would be capped off with a 2-yard touchdown run by Brown ending the 16-play drive and taking nearly eight minutes off the clock.
The Jackets struggled with getting their offense going in the second half and again punted the ball back to Lancaster on another three and out.
Fort Mill started the fourth quarter well getting a fumble on a Lancaster punt and starting at the Bruins 23. That led to Kelly finding Jameson Therrell for a 19-yard reception getting the Jackets to the one. Anderson would then run it in on the next play to cut into the Bruins lead.
Fort Mill put together another good drive, but facing fourth and 12, Lancaster’s De’Vante Fisher had a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown to seal the win for the Bruins.
Despite the deficit, the Jackets were able to put together two last drives scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run by Kelly and then a 34-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Thomas from Kelly.
Kelly finished the game going 16-for-34 for 223 yards with one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown. Josiah McKinzie caught seven passes for 71 yards.
Fort Mill, who dropped to 1-2 on the season, opens Region 3-5A play next week against Catawba Ridge.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
