West routs Hartsville

FLORENCE — After allowing 223 rushing yards to Seth Moreland in a loss to Conway, Hartsville’s football squad faced the daunting task of facing West Florence and Paul Pizzuti.

Unfortunately for the Red Foxes, Pizzuti brought company with him. The senior quarterback teamed with running Leon Richardson to hammer Hartsville for 220 yards in a 39-13 victory at Memorial Stadium on Thursday night.

“It’s a sweet victory,” said Knights coach Trey Woodberry, who earned his second straight win against mentor Jeff Calabrese.

“West’s offense played well tonight and didn’t make mistakes,” Calabrese said. “They beat us soundly.”

The Knights’ win meant more than pride and bragging rights. It also pulled West into a tie with the Red Foxes for fourth place in Region 6-4A. A South Florence loss to Conway tonight creates a three-way tie for the final automatic playoff spot with two games remaining.

“As a senior, this was a big win for us,” said Pizzuti, who also threw for 121 yards in the contest. “This was do-or-die for us, and we played great tonight.
“With what we have on offense and defense, we should be pretty well off for the playoffs.”

The game looked to have a different outcome from the outset. Hartsville marched 77 yards on 15 plays in a drive that took 7:13 off the clock. Ronnie Jackson finished the marathon march with a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Red Foxes a 7-0 lead with 4:47 remaining in the opening quarter.

As the air turned colder, however, Hartsville’s offense went into a deep freeze thanks to West’s defense. The Foxes didn’t score again until Dre Scott’s 5-yard scoring run on the final play of the third quarter.

“Offensively, we had a long field all night,” said Calabrese, whose team fell to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in region play. “West is great against the run, and they put us in a bind.”

“Our offense and special teams have hurt (our defense) a little the last few weeks,” Woodberry said. “Tonight, our offense didn’t have any three-and-outs, and that helped our defense a lot.”

The Knights’ offense took advantage, scoring 25 unanswered points. Pizzuti and Avery Murray scored second quarter rushing TDs to hand their team a 12-7 halftime advantage.

The second half provided more of the same for both teams. Pizzuti and Richardson each scored twice in the final 24 minutes as West (5-4, 1-2) earned its first region win of the season.

“We saw on film that (Hartsville) had some weaknesses up the middle,” said Pizzuti, who finished with 97 yards rushing and three scores. “Our offensive line was awesome tonight. They might be one of the best in the state.”

“(Running against the Red Foxes) was part of the plan,” said Richardson, who rushed for 123 yards and two TDs. “We felt sorry about last week’s (loss to Sumter), so we wanted to get back to running and passing the ball.”

Woodberry was even proud of his special teams in the win. Broddick Jones had 118 yards on three kickoff returns, while Landis Lane added 67 yards on three punt returns.

“We played horribly on special teams against Sumter,” he said. “This week, it was our shining moment, our bright spot.”

West Florence hosts Carolina Forest next Friday, while Hartsville hosts South Florence. Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m.