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LAST MINUTE CATCH PROPELS SOUTH POINT TO WIN OVER RS CENTRAL

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A Perkins
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“Rhinehart to King Connection Keeps South Point in the Southwestern 2A Conference Race”

By: Anthony Perkins

Rutherfordton – In a Southwest Conference contest RS
Central hosted South Point on Friday night and with both teams entering the
contest with identical 2-1 conference records a win would be critical to stay
in the hunt for a conference title and a potential spot in the playoffs.  The RS Central Hilltoppers were playing their
final home game of the season on “Senior Night” before closing out the regular
season against Burns and Chase.

The visiting Red Raiders started the scoring on the first
possession of the game with a 13-play, 61-yard drive that consumed nearly half
of the first quarter.  Devon King started
that first drive under center and capped it off on a three-yard quarterback
keeper.  Carson Smith followed up with
the point-after to give the Red Raiders a 7-0 lead that didn’t change until the
second half.  The Hilltoppers did challenge
the lead on their first drive but it stalled inside Red Raider ten-yard line and
a 25-yard field goal sailed wide to end the Hilltoppers first drive which
consumed the remainder of the first quarter.

In the second quarter both teams moved the ball well however
both teams were hampered by penalties and South Points Will Rhinehart picked
off a Jaiden Coston pass to put a stop to another Hilltopper drive.  The Red Raiders also missed a 42-yard field
goal attempt as the clock went to all zeroes to bring the first half to an end.

When the second half cranked up a light rain had begun to
fall and the Hilltoppers used less than three minutes to get in the scoring
column thanks to a 65-yard run by Xavier Toms that capped off the 79-yard
drive.  Nick Trevitz added his first of
two, point after kicks to even the score at 7-7.  After both teams traded punts South Point
took the lead again when fullback Naseem Jones scored on a 2-yard run that
capped off a three play, 66-yard drive with less than two minutes left in the
third quarter.  Following the touchdown and
hoping to catch the Hilltoppers napping, the Red Raiders attempted an on-side kick
but the alert Hilltoppers fell on the ball at the South Point 49 gaining
excellent field position.

Six plays later and only forty seconds into the fourth
quarter, RS Central scored their second touchdown on a two-yard run by Ken
Hines III and the extra point would have tied the game at 14-14.  However, an encroachment penalty by South Point
followed by a successful 2-point conversion run by Hines gave the homestanding
Hilltoppers a 15-14 lead.

After the ensuing kickoff South Point started their next
possession at their 41-yard line.  It took
only two plays; a 15-yard run by fullback Hunter Hogue and a 44-yard jaunt by Rhinehart
to push the visitors back into the lead at 21-15 and there was still almost
eleven minutes left in the game.

RS Central’s running attack steadily moved down the field on
their next possession as they used nearly seven minutes of precious time on an
80-yard drive that Hines capped it off with a five-yard run.  Trevitz added the extra point to give the
Hilltoppers a 22-21 lead with only 3:47 remaining on the clock.

After the kick-off the Red Raiders were 65-yards away from the
end-zone but they only needed a field goal for the lead.  After five plays and an RS Central personal foul
penalty the Red Raiders had advanced the ball only to the Hilltoppers 34.  Facing a third and eleven and with clock
already below 60 seconds, Will Rhinehart dropped back to pass and spotted Devon
King sprinting down the right side who had gained a step on his defender.  Rhinehart’s pass dropped over King’s left
shoulder and fell into his hands as he tumbled into the end-zone with the
winning points.  King also converted a
two-point conversion run for a 29-22 lead. 

The Hilltoppers tried to mount a comeback but they ran out
of downs after three incompletions and a quarterback sack.  South Point went into the victory formation
to run off the final three seconds before securing a very hard-fought victory
over a very good RS Central squad.

South Point head coach, Adam Hodge was elated with his team’s
victory and commented, “Both teams played their hearts out and it was a game
where you hated to see either team lose. 
But I am so proud of my kids tonight. 
This team (RS Central) played us as tough as anyone has, they are really
good and they wanted it too.”

Hilltopper head coach, Brad Hutchins was also proud of his
team and the effort they put out for the evening.  He said, “We’re making real progress with this
offense but they (South Point) have been running it a lot longer than we have
and they run it better than we do right now.”
   I also asked him what he thought was the main
reason(s) for the marked improvement of his team over the last few years.  His response was, “One reason is because we
have some good leadership from some of our seniors and our team really has been
hitting the weight room and (this is really big) I think they have bought into
what we are trying to accomplish.”

Next week RS Central will travel to Burns and South Point
will travel to Chase.


   
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