Kings Mountain stops South Point with big plays late to remain unbeaten
South Point High School gave unbeaten Kings Mountain all it wanted on Friday night.
But Kings Mountain made two huge plays in the fourth quarter — and it was enough to leave Belmont’s Lineberger Stadium with a 28-14 victory.
The loss dropped South Point to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big South 3A, and marks the Red Raiders’ first three-game losing streak since 2016.
“We knew this would be a challenging game,” said Kings Mountain head coach Strait Herron, whose team improved to 7-0, 4-0. “And everybody wants to be in this position but we can’t be satisfied. We have to keep working to get better.”
Two plays turned the game Kings Mountain’s way in the fourth quarter.
With the score tied at 14 and facing second-and-10 from his own 20, Kings Mountain quarterback Kandan Zollo found wide receiver Jayden Gash for a 64-yard reception. On the play, Gash eluded five South Point defenders before being tackled at the South Point 16.
Two plays later, Robert Kendrick went 18 yards for the game-winning points.
Four minutes later, Kendrick came up big again as his decision to field a snap on a punt on fourth-and-two from the Kings Mountain 40 paid huge dividends.
“We called a timeout and we felt they were bringing the house,” Herron said. “Robert looked at me and said, ‘If it’s there, I can take it.’”
Kendrick rumbled 55 yards to set up Josiah Hill’s five-yard TD run with 2:13 to play to end any suspense about the game’s outcome.
Three who made a difference
Kings Mountain RB Robert Kendrick: Rushed 18 times for 168 yards with one touchdown.
Kings Mountain QB Kandan Zollo: Directed a 366-yard offense and completed eight of 11 passes for 133 yards.
South Point RB Chaynce Ford: Rushed 23 times for 125 yards and one touchdown.
Worth mentioning
▪ Kings Mountain’s 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end Curtis Simpson, a University of North Carolina, commitment, had eight solo or first-hit tackles for the Mountaineers’ defense as they allowed South Point’s “Red Bone” offense 226 yards on 50 plays.
What’s next?
Kings Mountain hosts Stuart Cramer next Friday; South Point hosts Ashbrook next Friday.
Scoring Summary
Kings Mountain 7 0 7 14 — 28
South Point 7 0 7 0 — 14
KM — Josiah Hill 9 run (Max Thompson kick)
SP — Chaynce Ford 13 run (Charlie Birtwhistle kick)
SP — Patrick Blee 3 run (Birtwhistle kick)
KM — Rodney Unnasch 19 pass from Kandan Zollo (Thompson kick)
KM — Robert Kendrick 18 run (Thompson kick)
KM — Hill 5 run (Thompson kick)
