Missed North Augusta field goal seals tight win for South Aiken

Landon Stamper, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·4 min read

Oct. 16—SOUTH AIKEN 15, NORTH AUGUSTA 12

NORTH AUGUSTA — In an absolute slugfest Friday night, South Aiken made the right plays at the right time to get out of North Augusta with a win over the Yellow Jackets.

Drew Stevens' 38-yard attempt at the end of the game went just to the right of the uprights, and the T-Breds took a knee to run out the clock.

The game started out with North Augusta looking dominant in the run game, as the Yellow Jackets drove down the field on the shoulders of running back DJ Curry. The drive stalled in South Aiken territory, but Stevens drilled a 45-yard attempt to give his team an early lead.

After that, both defenses showed their might and forced lots of drives that went nowhere but the punter's leg until the beginning of the second quarter.

South Aiken put its first points on the board after quarterback Terrence Smith hit Mason Royals for a wide open 16-yard touchdown for the lead, with North Augusta's defense appearing to blow a coverage on the play.

On the ensuing North Augusta drive, Austin Harrell threw an interception to Tyler Cruse, who returned it to the North Augusta 39-yard line. The T-Breds were unable to capitalize on the momentum, with Thomas Demedicis missing a 41-yard field goal attempt.

Taking over with 33 seconds left in the half, the Yellow Jackets got a few first downs to get into range for Stevens. The kicker nailed a 51-yard field goal as time expired to cut the halftime deficit to just one point.

The third quarter featured nothing but punts, setting up a final quarter that proved to be a thriller.

Shortly into the fourth, Stevens lined up for another field goal to possibly take the lead, but the T-Breds managed to block the attempt. The North Augusta crowd wanted an offsides call on the defense, but no flags came out.

After a few more punts, South Aiken's offense got the ball in great field position at the North Augusta 38-yard line. The team took advantage of the opportunity, with Smith sprinting for a 32-yard touchdown on a fourth down.

The T-Breds went for two to make it a two-possession game, with Smith running left from shotgun formation. The quarterback stretched his arm out to get the ball across the plane for a successful attempt.

North Augusta quickly responded, despite having to start the drive at their own 8-yard line. Using Harrell's arm to guide the team down the field, Taylon Washington caught a 21-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 15-12.

However, the extra point failed, keeping the game within a field goal.

North Augusta's defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out from the T-Breds offense to give the Yellow Jackets one more chance to tie or win the game.

The team drove down the field, with the help of a massive fourth-down conversion pass from Harrell to Kaden Usry. After a few more plays, North Augusta ran Stevens onto the field to attempt the field goal that ultimately missed, sealing the game for South Aiken.

For South Aiken, Smith completed five of 10 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown, while rushing 10 times for 63 yards and a touchdown. Jevon Edwards rushed 16 times for 41 yards. Tylan Creech caught two passes for 43 yards.

For North Augusta, Harrell completed 15 of 22 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown, while rushing six times for 23 yards. DJ Curry rushed 17 times for 83 yards. Kaden Usry caught three passes for 66 yards.

South Aiken (5-1, 2-0 Region 5-AAAA) will travel to play Airport next week, while North Augusta (3-5, 1-1 Region 5-AAAA) will play at Midland Valley.

SA 0 7 0 8 — 15

NA 3 3 0 6 — 12

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

NA — Drew Stevens 45 field goal 8:34

Second Quarter

SA — Terrence Smith 16 pass to Colson Brown (Demedicis kick) 8:53

NA — Stevens 51 field goal 0:00

Fourth Quarter

SA — Smith 32 run (2-point try good) 4:41

NA — Austin Harrell 21 pass to Taylon Washington 3:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

SA — Terrence Smith 10-63-1, Jevon Edwards 16-41, Demaurion Ginn 1-4, Me'Kiye Overton 1-1. Totals 28-109-1.

NA — DJ Curry 17-83, Austin Harrell 6-23, Christian Jackson 2-15, Colson Brown 1-(-1). Totals 26-120.

Passing

SA — Terrence Smith 5-10-71-1-0.

NA — Austin Harrell 15-22-207-1-0, Colson Brown 0-3-0-1. Totals 16-25-209-1-1.

Receiving

SA — Tylan Creech 2-43, Mason Royals 1-24-1, Jevon Edwards 1-5, Braylen Bowers 1-(-1). Totals 5-71-1.

NA — Kaden Usry 3-66, Taylon Washington 2-60-1, Mekhi Bosket 3-41, Austin Brown 2-17, DJ Curry 2-10, Colson Brown 1-7, DaRon Dunbar 1-4, Brailen Jackson 1-2. Totals 15-207-1.

Interceptions

SA — Tyler Cruse.