WHAT WE SAW: South Pointe Rallies Late To Defeat Mallard Creek

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ROCK HILL, S.C. </strong>| For the first three quarters offensively at District 3 South Stadium, neither team could get anything going.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the fourth quarter provided the intrigue of the night as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='167343' first='Malachi' last='Marshall'] </strong>connected with <strong>Jaevan Sanders (cover photo above) </strong>on a beautiful 11-yard touchdown on a designed rollout to the right with 1:25 to play in the contest as South Pointe defeated Mallard Creek, 16-13 on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/1BStockdale/status/1565881187524116481","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/1BStockdale/status/1565881187524116481 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following a South Pointe three-and-out, the Mavericks would break the scoring drought as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='131672' first='Justin' last='Wheeler'] </strong>connected with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='396831' first='Benjamin' last='Black'] </strong>on a deep vertical route, beating the one-on-one coverage for a 71-yard touchdown reception to cut the Stallions lead to 9-6 with 9:40 to play in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That touchdown seemed to give the visitors from Charlotte a jolt. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='396912' first='DJ' last='Hamilton'] </strong>made a diving catch, finding the soft spot in the zone coverage on 4th and 11 before <strong>A.J. Miller </strong>and the South Pointe defensive line penetrated to stop the inside run play on the goal line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game over, right? Not exactly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mallard Creek forced a fumble on the goal line and recovered it in the end zone with 3:25 to play in the game to take their only lead of the game. South Pointe head coach Bobby Collins referenced a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as his message to the offense prior to the game winning drive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“The ultimate measure of a man is not when he stands at in times of comfort and convenience, but where does he stand at in times of challenge and controversy? I wanted to see our guys rally back. The quarterback wanted the ball in his hands. Notice one thing – they didn't sack him all night. OL is getting in there. They're playing with grit. They're playing hard. I'm excited for them. We're going to make mistakes. (A) first year starter at quarterback, three first year starters at the offensive line and we're getting there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I know everybody wants to put us on the mountain top right now. We're going to stop reading the newspaper clippings and play football,” Collins said.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DEFENSIVE SLUGFEST</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pointe would score the only touchdown prior to the fourth quarter rally as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91357' first='DJ' last='Barksdale II']</strong> converted on a 4th and inches in a jumbo package where he took the direct snap before <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='167343' first='Malachi' last='Marshall'] </strong>and <strong>Demari Kendrick </strong>connected on a 14-yard TD in the left corner on 3rd and long to make it 7-0 with 7:25 to play in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Commence the defensive slugfest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For every Mallard Creek drive that got into South Pointe territory early, they couldn't punch it into the end zone. Whether it was penalties or fumbles, the drives stalled. Mallard Creek head coach Kennedy Tinsley was frustrated with his team's performance offensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We shot ourselves in the foot too much and when you play really good teams, you can't do that. We've got to do what we're supposed to do and be more disciplined as a staff and as players,” Tinsley said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pointe's <strong>Zantawn Nelson </strong>made the play of the first half defensively with 4:57 to play as he jumped the route perfectly to make the play. But the Stallions could not score on the goal line as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91357' first='DJ' last='Barksdale II'] </strong>was stuffed as the defensive line converged on the James Madison commit at the 1-yard line just before the half. But the Stallions made up for it with a safety to make it 9-0 at halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MALLARD CREEK STANDOUTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='396910' first='Jameel' last='Muldrow'] </strong>made a nice pass breakup on a wheel route that would've been a touchdown in the first quarter. The Mavericks defense was athletic and did not give South Pointe much room.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='396831' first='Benjamin' last='Black'] </strong>high pointed the ball on a ball to make an interception in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marquis Harris </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='307823' first='Michael' last='Short'] </strong>combined for a TFL in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SOUTH POINTE STANDOUTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A.J. Miller </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139304' first='Chris' last='Dixon'] </strong>for the Stallions made it tough to run inside on 3rd and short. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->