Tigers outlast Foxes in physical game

CONWAY – The Hartsville High varsity football team visited Conway for the first time since defeating the Tigers in the state playoffs last year; however, they lost a very physical game by a score of 28-21.

The game, and especially the first half, was a defensive match up. The only score in the first half came from Conway's Seth Moreland, who scored on Conway's second possession of the game. Moreland ran the ball in from four yards out to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Red Fox offense was unable to get anything going in the first half. One reason was field position. Hartsville averaged starting its drives on the 19-yard line in the first half, and the 24-yard line for the game as field position improved slightly in the second half. The Foxes had trouble catching a few kickoffs, and the Tigers special teams covered kicks and punts well.

Conway's defensive players were big and physical and displayed a notable ability to cover the field sideline to sideline. The Tigers' defense was led by defensive back Antwone Brunson, who repeatedly ran down Red Fox ball carriers from the opposite side of the field.

Hartsville's defense had its finest performance of the season in the first half as they consistently stuffed the Tigers' running attack and held the passing game at bay. Hartsville's defensive players played very physically.

The Red Fox offense did find rhythm in the final minutes of the first half as the team drove from its own 34-yard line to inside the Tigers' 20. The drive ended, however, on a costly interception in the end zone when quarterback Shawn Smith lofted a pass intended for Omar McDaniel. The Foxes went into the locker room at the half down 7-0.

In the second half, both teams made adjustments to the opposing teams' defenses and exploded for 42 total points.

After the Foxes' defense held the Tigers to a punt, Hartsville began a drive on their on 44-yard line. They engineered a 56-yard drive that took five minutes off of the clock and ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Smith. The Foxes converted three third-down opportunities and tied the game at 7 with 6:39 left in the third stanza.

Conway answered on its next drive, however, as they went 62 yards in three minutes and capped the drive with a 17-yard pass from quarterback Ryne Hardwick to Trevon Owens.

The Foxes refused to be outdone as they scored on their next drive as well. Smith rolled to the left side on an option play and was engulfed by a number of Conway defenders.

Somehow, he emerged from the pile and took the ball 79 yards for a touchdown. The game was tied at 14 with 1:28 left in the third quarter.

Conway responded as Moreland broke a 52-yard run for a score with 1:19 remaining in the third quarter. He finished the game with 223 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The second score gave the Tigers a 21-14 lead with 11:39 left in the game.

Hartsville was unable to score on their next possession.

Conway kept plugging away at the run, and running back Dallas Bellamy scored on an 11-yard run with 2:04 left to give the Tigers a 28-14 lead.

Hartsville went no huddle on their next drive and scored on a four-yard run by Ronnie Jackson to bring the score closer at 28-21 with 29 seconds left to play, but Conway recovered the onside kick and ended the game.

Hartsville's offense was unable to get anything going in the first half in the ground game as the Tigers played physically and stuffed the run for most of the night. The Foxes had a few opportunities in the passing game but missed on a few long passes. Conway placed eight and nine players on the line of scrimmage and blitzed the Foxes often making it very difficult for the offensive line to give Smith time to throw. Smith did using his bruising running style, however, and scored two touchdowns on the ground. Dre Scott shouldered much of the offensive load, along with Smith, and both earned their yardage with hard runs.

The Tigers' defensive front outweighed the Foxes' offensive line and created some mismatches, and Conway's linebackers and defensive backs covered the field well. Hartsville did find some holes in the second half outside of the tackles and exploited them for touchdowns, but Conway's power running game proved to be too much in the fourth quarter.

Conway coach Chuck Jordan said after the game that the game was everything it was billed to be. "We told our defense at the half just to keep playing," he said. "This offense hasn't been kept off of the boards yet . . . It was a very physical game, no doubt, and I think it fit the bill."

Hartsville head coach Jeff Calabrese listed the offensive struggles in the first half as a setback in the game but gave credit to the defense. He added the second half opened up a little. "In the second half, (Conway) made some plays, we made some plays. We just made ours a little bit later than they did."

The coach said the staff made adjustments to Conway's defense in the second half that opened the offense. Calabrese said the pressure from the defense prevented Smith from being able to set his feet on some throws. He also said field position weighed heavily in the game. “Our defense kept it close, but (Moreland) had a great second half . . . Hey, its two good football teams and Conway was certainly better tonight."

The Foxes’ record falls to 5-3 on the season and 1-1 in region play. They will travel to Florence on Thursday to take on another tough region opponent in West Florence at 7:30 p.m.