Golden Eagles celebrate homecoming

Homecoming is a special time for high school football teams. The old faces, the pageantry and camaraderie that come with it makes for a lifetime of memories for some.

It is also a time that motivates most teams to give their best on the field for this special night. However, the effort offered up by Pee Dee Academy's team this past Friday night was a quiet, unmotivated one and it resulted in a 34-22 loss to rival Byrnes.

Quarterback Lee Schurlknight, the Trojans recently shelved quarterback because of injury, took over and riddled the Golden Eagles with 387 yards and 5 touchdowns passing in the contest.

Schurlknight started early, taking the second possession and marching the visitors down the field. In the red zone, Schurlknight would go up high on the right side for a 19 yard score to Justin Robinson that made it 6-0.

Pee Dee was quick to respond. Bradley George, who ran like a man on a mission, broke free for a 74-yard touchdown run only a minute after the Trojans score. The long run plus Zack Small's 2-point conversion had the Golden Eagles up 8-6 after one quarter of play.

Possession changed a couple of more times before Schurlknight hooked up again with his receiver for the score. This time it was 43 yards and it was to Clay Dickson for the 12-8 lead.

However, as easy as they retook the lead, Pee Dee took it right back. This time quicker than the first as George took the first hand-off on the drive and 67 yards later had scored again. Small would again convert the two-pointer and it was 16-12 Golden Eagles at 5:58 of the second.

The fireworks continued to come fast as Schurlknight again brought Byrnes down field quickly. Once again inside Pee Dee territory, he would hook up with Barrett Goodson for his third scoring pass on the evening. The PAT run made the fourth lead change of the game and it was 20-16 Trojans late in the first half.

Pee Dee would get back down the field again, continuing the offensive fireworks. But, this time near the twenty, they would turn it over on downs with less than a minute to play in the half.

The Trojans were not content to take their slim lead into the half and they went deep for more. Schurlknight again burned the defender, going over the top to Dickson for a 64-yard strike. The score with 28 seconds to play made it 26-16 at the half.

Pee Dee needed to come out and take control to start the second half. It was Byrnes who would do so. First, they recovered an onside kick and then they went about chewing time off of the clock. They would score again to go up 34-16 and the Golden Eagles would run only five plays on offense in the quarter.

On the first play of the fourth, the Pee Dee defense jarred the ball loose from the Trojans runner. Small was there to pick up the loose ball and he would run untouched 57 yards for the score.

The touchdown did little to motivate the Golden Eagle crowd or players and they went quietly in the fourth quarter. They would get the ball back, but would be forced to punt on one possession and turned it over on the other.

The 34-22 loss drops Pee Dee to 3-4 on the season but they remain 2-1 in conference play.

Bradley George was the star on offense, totaling 221 yards rushing, 203 yards in the first half.

Cole McClam led the defense with nine tackles, followed by Ed Pittman with 5 tackles and 3 quarterback sacks.

This Friday, Pee Dee travels to Lake City to take on Carolina Academy in another non-region contest. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Buddy Wallace Field.