Pee Dee suffers opening round playoff loss

A football season that had more than it's share of ups and downs came to an end last Friday night for Pee Dee Academy. The site of their first round playoff game was Lincolnville and the opponent was a high-powered and highly favored Northwood team, led by one of the top runners in the state.

On paper, it seemed to be a slaughter waiting to happen. But, the Golden Eagles came out and played a first half worthy of a champion and had the heavyweights back on their heels until a third quarter surge.

At first, however, it looked like the critics would be right on the money. Northwood took first possession and ran their highly touted back right at Pee Dee. Uriah Singleton would gain 22 yards on his first touch and 42 on his second. The second went for a score that happened faster than any Golden Eagle could react. One minute in, it was 7-0 Chargers.

Pee Dee responded by gaining a pair of quick first downs on their first drive. Runs by Kevin Driggers and Storm Page had them at the 40. But, when they were unable to gain another first down, the Golden Eagles were forced to punt.

Back came the Northwood offense, back came Uriah Singleton and back down the field he went! One play resulted in an 80-yard romp and it was 14-0 halfway through the opening quarter.

However, Pee Dee had an answer. When they could have rolled over and quit, Matthew Snipes decided instead to one-up his opponent from North Charleston. Snipes took the ensuing kickoff on one bounce and answered the 80 yard score with a 92 yard score. The senior returner would explode through a hole in the Charger coverage and run untouched for the touchdown the cut the deficit to 14-6.

Then, the fired-up Golden Eagle defense held on three straight plays. But, Northwood had a trick up its sleeve, running the fake punt for a big first down. Driving the ball to the one, Singleton would again get his number called and he scored his third touchdown of the night to make it 21-6 after one quarter.

Again, Pee Dee could have quit but they did not. Will Daniels drove the Golden Eagles deep into Charger territory. With the ball at the 35, he would gain twelve on QB keeper for a first down. Then, he would float a pass over the top to senior Zack Small for the touchdown. The quick strike had made it 21-12 at the half as the defense held strong the rest of the way.

The skeptics who were predicting a large blowout apparently under-estimated the heart and the resolve of Pee Dee as they had hung in through one half with one of the top-ranked teams in the state.

When the second half began, order was restored and Northwood showed why they were one of the favorites in Class AA.

On their first two possessions of the second half, Singleton would find running room for scores. The pair of touchdowns made it 35-12 after three.

Despite the large deficit and injuries mounting to key players, the Golden Eagles players and fans hung tough. They would lose by the 35-12 score, but would gain a huge measure of respect from patrons on both sides of the field.

In the loss, Storm Page led the ground game with 68 yards. Daniels would complete 2 of 4 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown and would also lead the team in tackles with seven.

The loss finishes the football season for the blue and gold with an overall record of four wins and seven losses, but with a winning 3-2 region record.