Mullins All Stars advance to district championship

In what could be called an “instant classic” the Mullins All-Star football team advanced to the Eastern District 12-year old and under championship game with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Dillon this past Saturday.

Mullins and Dillon clashed at Freedom Florence for the third year in a row and the rivalry added another chapter, this time with a storybook ending.

Dillon took an 8-0 lead in the opening quarter and then took a commanding 22-8 advantage at halftime.

Head coach Marcus Graves fired up his squad for a major rally with a speech.

“At halftime I told them this is where you end being a little boy and become a young man. If you give up now, you will give up in life,” Graves said. The coach also turned to his dynamic athlete at wide receiver Bernard Jones. “I told Bernard that I read a article about how a basketball game when his team was losing, he took over and I told him that I needed him to step up and take over not just for me but for his mom, his sisters, his team and everyone that was there supporting us” Graves said.

The second half featured an amazing momentum swing as the Mullins defense ended the first half preventing a touchdown near their own goal line and began to shutdown Dillon’s drives thanks to seven tackles from Jac’Quan Mullins.

With 2:09 remaining in the first half, quarterback Dominick Pritchett connected with Kyrie “Tank” Platt on a 55-yard screen pass to give Mullins their first score.

With under a minute remaining in the third quarter, Pritchett and Platt ran for big gain yardage on a much needed scoring drive, highlighted with a 45-yard touchdown reception from Jones on a jump ball, stepping over his defender and running free to towards the end zone.

The third quarter ended with Mullins down 22-14.

Jones didn’t waste anytime in the final quarter, starting with a 60-yard reception, followed with a 30-yard touchdown grab, blowing by defenders on a bubble screen play and setting up a 22-20 score.

Mullins recovered the ensuing kickoff, but a late turnover provided Dillon with another touchdown and 28-20 lead with 1:23 remaining in the game.

Mullins took over at the Dillon 40-yard line and wasted little time as Pritchett connected with Jones on the fade pattern for a 12-yard touchdown pass, followed by the two-point conversion, tying the game with 44 seconds on the clock.

Mullins recovered a fumble on Dillon’s next possession and with 2.8 seconds remaining, Pritchett threw a bomb 23-yards downfield and Jones snagged the game-winning touchdown over three defenders for the 34-28 victory.

Mullins advanced to the championship game against Florence after 17 teams competed for the crown.

“Every year I get a great group of young men. I feel like I have a great group of parents also that allow me to coach these young men the way the late Mack Willie Nelson coach me,” Graves said, adding that he asks for his players to give 110 percent. “I have two great assistants in Shawn Troy and Terrell Davis and we see eye to eye which makes it really easy to coach these kids at a high level,” he said. Graves thanked all of the parents and fans that made the trip over to support the team, as they defeated Lake City and Waccamaw in route to the final.

“We just were telling our kids to dig deep and hold their head up,” Troy said, adding that defensively the squad added more pressure and the offense executed the plays needed for the victory. “Bernard’s game was unbelievable and he showed real character and leadership,” Troy said.

The Mullins All-Stars football roster: Sherman Smith, Nakeem Grice, Derrick Drawhorn, Jamael Ham,Corey Mullins,William Godfrey, Markel Williams, Quinton Godfrey, Bernard Jones, Fabion Carroll, Dominick Pritchett, Jac’Quan Mullins, Tyrei Platt,Andrew Thigpen, Montrel Lakin, Javaris Smith, Jy’shon Gilliard, Malek Legette,Cameron Rush, Jamar Finklea,Davon Fryson and Kyrei Platt.