Hartsville holds off South Florence

FLORENCE — For the last few years, the Hartsville Red Foxes have been known for their high-powered offense.

On Thursday against South Florence, it was the Red Foxes’ defense that came up huge. Stephen Segars stopped South’s Terrion Brown a half-yard short of the goal line with a second left to preserve a 27-20 victor yat Memorial Stadium.

Hartsville’s win clinches a Class 4A postseason berth and sets up a meeting with Sumter next Friday at Kelleytown Stadium for the Region 6-4A championship.

“It’s a shame somebody had to lose this game,” Hartsville coach Jeff Calabrese said. “This was a heck of a game, and we’re fortunate to come out of (Memorial Stadium) with a win.”

“We don’t worry about those people who say we don’t have a defense,” Segars said. “We play hard on both sides of the ball.”

Trailing by seven points, the Bruins marched toward the end zone on the legs of backup quarterback Michael Muhammad, who replaced an injured Caleb Griffin in the fourth quarter and his running backs.

South converted three fourth-down conversions on the drive, including a 12-yard run by Vincent Johnson that set up first-and-goal from just inside the Hartsville 2.

Three plays later, however, the Bruins found themselves a half-yard away from paydirt. For a second, Brown seemed to have an easy touchdown.

But Segars shot through the gap and stood up the senior running back to hand possession of the ball — and a win — to the Red Foxes.

“Our defense hasn’t had much respect this season,” said Calabrese, whose team improved to 9-1 overall, 4-0 in region play. “What a way to earn it.”

“We needed a stop to get a win and play for the region title (next week),” Segars said. “I just tried to run hard at him to make a play.”

Despite the result, South coach Lynn Fleming doesn’t regret his play-calling on his team’s final drive.

“It’s easy to look back and second-guess, but we called the plays we thought could get us in the end zone,” he said. “We needed to be able to get that half-yard.”

With the loss, South Florence (5-5 overall, 1-3 in region) needs a win over rival West Florence in its season finale next Friday and a Carolina Forest loss to Conway to earn the final playoff spot in Region 6-4A.

Brown finished with 81 yards rushing and a score.  Griffin threw for 132 yards, two TDs and two interceptions before leaving the game at the 6:56 mark of the fourth quarter with a leg injury.

Trent Dowd was Griffin’s favorite receiver, catching five passes for 90 yards and a score. The senior tight end also completed a 33-yard pass to Jeremiah Reaves on a fake punt in the third quarter. Charles Nettles also had a TD reception for the Bruins.

“We as a coaching staff are more proud of (our team) tonight than we have been in any of our wins,” Fleming said. “Hartsville’s one of the better teams in the state, and we came a half-of-a yard away.”

Quarterback Shawn Smith was erratic in the passing game for Hartsville, going just 3-of-10 for 41 yards and two picks. Smith did rush for 50 yards and a TD.

Dre Scott led the Red Foxes with 130 yards on 12 carries and a score. Ronnie Jackson added 86 yards on the ground and a score, and Eric Williams gained 66 total yards and a TD.

Said Calabrese. “(South Florence) played great defense, but our kids got it done. Shawn didn’t have a good game, but Dre ran it well and we got a win.”