What We Saw: Patterson Carries TL Hanna Past JL Mann

GREENVILLE | Class 5A No. 4 T.L. Hanna entered its showdown at No. 10 J.L. Mann Friday night boasting an absurd 8.9 yards per carry average as a team. Four different Yellow Jackets had at least 297 yards rushing coming into Friday's game.   The Patriots knew the task at hand. While their explosive spread offense certainly could outscore anyone, they needed to find a way to slow down the Yellow Jackets' wing-T offense that can strike in so many different directions. In some cases, they did. Seven of the eight Hanna ball carriers Friday combined for 103 yards on 34 attempts.   But oh that other one. That other one was [player_tooltip player_id='1157743' first='KD' last='Patterson'] and there was simply no stopping him. Patterson ran 19 times for 222 yards - 111 in each half - and six touchdowns to help Hanna pull away late for a 56-35 win.   "He's got elite speed. He's hard to bring down when he gets to the second level. He breaks a lot of arm tackles," T.L. coach Jason Tone said. "And you know, he's just a fun guy to watch."   Two completely different - but both explosive - offenses put on a show from the get go Friday. Mann's spread offense went to work on the first play of the game, as quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1144060' first='Ethan' last='Anderson'] threw deep to [player_tooltip player_id='1249825' first='Keyshun' last='Henderson'] for a 52-yard gain. That led to a 25-yard touchdown run by Anderson's other favorite target, [player_tooltip player_id='1142457' first='Mikel' last='McClellan'] on an end around.   Hanna responded with a typical 10-play, five-minute drive capped when Patterson took an inside handoff up the gut for a 13-yard touchdown on third-and-11.   On the next play from scrimmage, McClellan made a beautiful, fully extended diving catch to midfield for a 36-yard gain. Three plays later, Anderson found Henderson for a 15-yard touchdown.   The Yellow Jackets' response? A 12-play, seven-minute drive that culminated with a five-yard touchdown run by Patterson to tie things up 14-14 early in the second quarter.   At this point, it became pretty evident that the first defense to get any kind of drive stopper would be a big key in the game. The question was would one ever come. Then it did. Hanna's Cam Strong had an interception near midfield to end the Patriots' ensuing drive. On the very next play, Patterson took a sweep to the right all the way to the corner, turned it and took off down the right sideline for a 49-yard touchdown.   Mann responded on its ensuing drive as a four-yard touchdown run by Na'Cyus Morrison helped take the teams into halftime tied at 21-21.   The Yellow Jackets' got the ball to start the second half, but their drive ended with the first punt of the night for either team. The Patriots couldn't capitalize though as two plays later, an inside screen was bobbled and Yellow Jackets' linebacker Khilon Groves grabbed the ball and hopped into the end zone with a five-yard pick six.   "That was huge. ... We didn't play great defensively, but we made plays when we needed to," Tone said. "There's going to be a lot of stuff to watch on film, but we're extremely excited to fix those mistakes after a win."   The Patriots again had an answer when Henderson hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass as the game was tied at 28-28 with 5:07 left in the third quarter.   Antonio Hatton came up big for Hanna when he returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to the Mann 14. After converting a fourth-and-one with a three-yard run to the two, Patterson squeezed into the end zone under a pile to give the Yellow Jackets the lead for good.   After Hanna's defense came up with the only three-and-out of the night, it became a two-score game for the first time all night when Josh Donald scored from four yards out to push the lead to 42-28 with 10:24 left. The teams traded touchdowns one more time before Patterson wrapped things up with touchdown No. 6 - a 15-yard scamper on third-and-four. Earlier in the drive, he went for 30 yards on a third-and-14 play.   "I never done that before," said a smiling Patterson about his six-touchdown night. "I've just got to keep going for our team. When we play as a team, we come out here and win every time."   Friday's performance gives Patterson 1,095 yards rushing on 91 carries with 18 touchdowns this season.   After passing Friday's road test, Hanna (7-1, 2-0 Region I-5A) has another next week when it plays at undefeated and No. 2-ranked Hillcrest.   MANN'S SUPERLATIVES   The two interceptions put a damper on what was another solid performance by Anderson, who finished with 289 yards on a 19-of-31 passing. Henderson caught seven passes for 134 yards, while McClellan had five receptions for 83. Obadiah Jones ran 10 times for 82 yards, while Morrison carried eight times for 70 yards also for the Patriots (6-2, 1-1).

GREENVILLE | Class 5A No. 4 T.L. Hanna entered its showdown at No. 10 J.L. Mann Friday night boasting an absurd 8.9 yards per carry average as a team. Four different Yellow Jackets had at least 297 yards rushing coming into Friday's game.