Red Foxes stomp rivals in season opener

The Hartsville Red Foxes faithful that packed into a muggy Kelleytown Stadium Friday night went home very happy, as their squad won the season opening, big play trading contest, 56-38.

Ranked No. 8 in preseason polls, the Red Foxes had much more on the line than bragging rights against archrival Camden, who bested Hartsville last year 26-14 to tie Hartsville at 21 wins apiece all-time in the match-up dating back to the 1960s. So this game also determined the rivalry's all-time leader. No pressure.

It was all smiles early for the Red Foxes as the team opened with a flurry of scores that forced the Camden Bulldogs to play catch-up all evening. Starting things off was Hartsville running back Eric Williams, who on 3rd-and-10 broke through the left side of the offensive line to daylight, then turned on the speed to sprint virtually untouched into the end zone for 59 yards to make it 7-0 with 9:30 to go in the first quarter.

Williams’ score was set up by an earlier connection on third down between quarterback Shawn Smith and receiver Brandon Beans, who caught the ball short of the first but slashed his way to the Red Foxes’ 41-yard line to pave the way for the later Williams’ scamper. The Beans play would foreshadow the rest of the half.

Following an intentionally short kickoff (not exactly an onside kick) that was recovered by Hartsville, running back Dre Scott made his presence known, sidestepping several would-be tacklers at the line and darting into the end zone to make it 14-0 with still more than nine minutes to play in the first quarter.

Following a sloppy series from Camden, the Beans/Smith show began for Hartsville. Camden simply had no answer for Beans’ speed.

Smith and Beans connected on the first of many touchdowns, as Beans outran his defender and nestled under a 61-yard lob to race for six points. That made it 21-0 with 8:24 to go in the first period.

But Camden would finally put together a drive. On a 3rd-and-5 at the Hartsville 13-yard line following a timeout, Camden’s quarterback rolled to his right and hit a receiver at the edge of the end zone to make it 21-6 with less than four minutes left in the first quarter. The extra point was blocked.

But soon running back Dre Scott would sneak out of the Red Fox backfield, catch a slant route from Smith and turn up field with all-would be tacklers behind him. There would be no stopping him, and his score would make it 28-6, still in the first quarter.

Moving on to the second quarter, with 9:30 to in the second frame, Hartsville quarterback Sean Smith would lob a long pass to receiver Brandon Beans, who simply ran under it and away from the defender for a 35-6 score. Not long after, from their own 24-yard line, they’d run the same play. Smith again simply lobbed the ball to Bean, who sprinted underneath it and caught it in stride to race to another touchdown, making it 42-6 with 7:22 to go in the second quarter.

The breathless first half would not end there. Camden would score two touchdowns to get in the game, but Hartsville’s Eric Williams would run a kickoff back to make it 49-18.

It would be 49-25 at halftime. The second half would calm down and see Hartsville cruise to the 56-38 final score.

Afterward, Red Foxes Head Coach Jeff Calabrese said he was thrilled with his team’s performance, especially in the first half and on offense, but would work on mistakes on the defensive side, saying some specific problem areas would be addressed.

Quarterback Shawn Smith ended the night with 7 out of 10 passes completed for four touchdowns and 300 yards. Four of those passes landed in the capable hands of Brandon Beans, who led the receiving team with 189 yards and three touchdowns. Dre Scott rushed for 74 yards with one touchdown and averaged 9.3 per carry. Scott also made two receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown. Eric Williams led the team in total rushing yards with 93 and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Adam Peterson got the only interception for Hartsville. Peterson also punted for 94 yards.

Hartsville next goes on the road to face county rival Darlington with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Friday. If realignment goes as planned, Darlington will be a region foe next season.

As a side note, the Hartsville coach who experienced a medical problem in the first half, causing a brief delay at the game, received medical treatment and was expected to be fine.