What We Saw: North Augusta 56, Airport 8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WEST COLUMBIA |</strong> After a 27-day layoff, North Augusta running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402503' first='Michael' last='Doe']</strong> (pictured number 8) was more than anxious to get back on the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday's Region IV-4A matchup at Airport provided an opportunity for the junior Yellow Jacket to release his pent-up energy. He only needed one half of football to rush for 127 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns and turned a [player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman'] screen pass into an 80-yard score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Doe's performance helped North Augusta coast to a 56-8 victory over Airport.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I was ready to get back,” said Doe, who's now rushed for 748 yards this season. “Ready to get back, put some points on the board.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Doe was not the only Yellow Jacket running back creating havoc. Sophomore <strong>Jayden Hatcher</strong> displayed explosive speed with three touchdowns on just three carries for 113 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter saw him race down the visiting sidelines at break neck speed and outrun two Airport defenders who had an angle to tackle him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second half, Tillman shook off some rust as North Augusta ran seven straight pass plays on its first drive. The final play saw Tillman hit a wide-open <strong>Nick Grant</strong> for a 39-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tillman finished with 233 passing yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big lead also allowed promising freshman <strong>Alkaleb Terrell</strong> to see action. A penalty nullified his first varsity touchdown run from 21 yards, but he displayed a running style similar to Doe which could keep the Yellow Jackets' backfield buzzing after Doe's graduation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“K-5 has a lot of potential,” North Augusta head coach Richard Bush said. “He runs hard as a freshman. He got his first taste of varsity football tonight. Looking forward to his future. It's bright.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Augusta's ground success was made possible by a fully healthy offensive line. Tackles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1251916' first='Malcolm' last='Gaston']</strong>, <strong>Brigs Watkins</strong> and <strong>Seth Short</strong>, center <strong>John Burke</strong> and guards <strong>Joshua Simpkins</strong>, <strong>Ethan Fitzgerald</strong> and <strong>Cesar Grant</strong> all saw action together after battling injuries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've been hard on those guys and trying to get those guys to continue to improve and they did a tremendous upfront tonight,” Bush said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Having experienced depth was not a luxury available for Airport. The Eagles entered the game without three defensive starters, forcing head coach Shane Filder to utilize freshmen <strong>Braylon Johnson</strong> and <strong>CJ Faulk-Davis</strong> in the secondary with senior Jeremiah Gilcrest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The offensive line had its challenges slowing down defensive linemen <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214944' first='Davion' last='Mckinnis']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254097' first='Deondre' last='Baskett'] </strong>and sophomores <strong>CJ Smith</strong> and <strong>Simeon Jones</strong> and linebacker <strong>AJ Warren</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McKinnis had two sacks and defensive back Zeddy Tillman had one of two interceptions of Airport quarterback <strong>Jay Eady</strong>. The freshman scrambled to escape trouble during which he ran for yardage or made throws on the run to wide receivers <strong>Richard Harley</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734528' first='Toian' last='Nabriat']</strong> and running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819890' first='Isahia' last='Clemons']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Airport's lone touchdown came in the second quarter on defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158030' first='Bryant' last='Cherry']</strong> managed to chase and tackle Tillman and force the football out of his hands.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Heath Bernhagen</strong> made the recovery and returned the football 70 yards for the score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams will play four games in three weeks to close out the regular season. On Tuesday, Airport (1-5, 1-2) travels to Midland Valley and North Augusta (5-1, 3-0) visits Aiken.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->