Scots offense stymied in second half by Hoke County defense, fall 52-35

Sep. 17—LAURINBURG — The Scotland Fighting Scots (2-3) lost their Sandhills Athletic Conference opener against the Hoke County Bucks (3-2) Friday night 52-35. It is the first time the Bucks have defeated the Scots since 2009.

Things started out well for the Scots in the first quarter, with running back Patrick Primus scoring a one-yard touchdown on their opening drive to give Scotland a 7-0 lead after the Cameron Cole PAT.

However, Hoke County running back Ethan Wallace would give the Scots defense a game to forget, going for 245 yards on the ground and scoring five-rushing touchdowns, including one on the Bucks' first drive. Wallace would find the end zone from five-yards out to even the score at 7-7 after the Ryan Ramirez extra point was true.

On the Scots' next drive, Primus would score a 20-yard rushing touchdown on a read-option play from Scotland quarterback Carter Revelle, giving the Scots a 14-7 lead with the made PAT.

But, with under a minute to go in the first quarter, Wallace would find an open gap and take it 60-yards to the house, tying the game at 14 a-piece after the extra point was good.

In the second quarter, both teams struggled to score early on, with Scotland being forced to punt, and Hoke County missing a field goal attempt.

But, with 3:18 to go in the first half, Primus would turn in his third touchdown of the game from five-yards out to regain the lead for the Scots 21-14 after the converted PAT.

Hoke County would find the end zone once more before halftime, however. Hoke County quarterback-turned-receiver Warren Avery would scamper for a three-yard touchdown on a wildcat play with 42 seconds left in the second quarter.

The score would be tied 21-21 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Hoke County would go on a nine-minute drive to begin the quarter, capping it off with another Wallace score to give the Bucks a 28-21 lead after Ramirez's extra point.

After Scotland received the kickoff from Wallace's go-ahead touchdown, Primus would fumble the ball, which would end with a Hoke County recovery at the Scotland 24-yard line.

After the fumble recovery, Wallace would, then, give the Bucks a two-score cushion with his fourth-rushing touchdown of the night. After the PAT, it was 35-21.

On the Scots' next drive, Revelle would have one of his pass attempts tipped by a Scotland receiver, ending in a Hoke County interception. Hoke County would take over at the Scots 37-yard line before the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Wallace's final touchdown would come on a six-yard carry to give Hoke County a commanding 42-21 lead with the PAT conversion.

Things didn't get better for the Scots either, as the second half turnovers continued on the ensuing drive. A fumble off a bad snap would be recovered by the Bucks at the Scots five-yard line. On the next play, Avery would take it in for his second-rushing touchdown of the night. The PAT would make it 49-21.

Avery was ejected after the touchdown because of an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty due to a hand gesture given to the Scotland crowd.

The Scots would continue to battle back, scoring two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But, ultimately, would fall 52-35 after a Ramirez late field goal.

Scotland's stats were unavailable at press time.

After the game, Scots head coach Richard Bailey said he felt his team had trouble containing Wallace because his defense wasn't in-sync.

"We just totally got outplayed, especially defensively. We didn't have an answer for (Wallace). And, he's a big kid. We couldn't tackle him. We just had a lot of guys out of position. Had some chances to make plays and we just couldn't get him to the ground," Bailey said.

Bailey also noted the struggle to be consistent offensively, and how the third quarter was an example of that.

"Offensively, we felt like we had to score everytime we had the ball. And, that creates such a high pressure leverage when you're calling plays," he said.

"I think we only ran three plays in the third quarter. You just can't beat anybody doing that, but you especially can't beat anybody doing that when you have to score every single play."

When Bailey was asked where does the team go after the loss, he said he felt his team would be better up to this point.

"We're not dead in the water. But, we have to come back (from this loss)," Bailey said. "And, maybe I just greatly overestimated how good we could be. I'm usually pretty knowledgable about how good we can be, and maybe I just overestimated it. You know, I just still believe in our guys. And, I believe we're going to be a great football team, but we're not right now."

The Scots will play at home again next Friday, when they host the Southern Lee Cavaliers for homecoming night at 7:30 p.m.