Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl – North 24, South 7

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MYRTLE BEACH |</strong> Saturday's Touchstone Energy Bowl was not an All-Star game for the North.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the moment all 44 players arrived in Myrtle Beach, they were committed to “winning” over the South. The tone was set by North head coach Robert Mustar of Powdersville and carried over through game day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Whether it's going to a flex period or stretching at the beginning or it's the very end of a practice or the very end of this game, we're always going to break on ‘Win',” he said. “We didn't come here for some exhibition. We came here because it's a game. It's a competition. Somebody fortunately to going to come out on top and unfortunately, somebody's not. But, last time I checked, the contest is to try to win a game and our kids came to compete.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The North came away with the 24-7 victory. It jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half boosted by two touchdowns by quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012707' first='Lincoln' last='Huskey']</strong> of Boiling Springs and wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359184' first='Justin' last='Rice']</strong> of Spartanburg (pictured left).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the first score, Huskey threw a screen pass to Rice. He turned up field and raced down the North sidelines for a 67-yard touchdown. The second score came when Huskey found a wide-open Rice in the back of the endzone from 21 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Huskey finished 8-10 passing for 145 yards. It was Smith who was named North offensive MVP with three receptions for 130 yards and the two scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It comes from practice,” said Smith about gelling quickly with Huskey. “We go against each other every year. It wasn't hard. He's a good quarterback. I'm a good wide receiver. So it was good to go.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A 34-yard field goal by Daniel placekicker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578838' first='Bruce' last='Brown']</strong> made it 17-0 at halftime. The North's final score came in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Dutch Fork tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1012701' first='Maurice' last='Anderson'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Helping to limit the South's offense was a tenacious defensive play by the North. Defensive linemen <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157988' first='Aakil' last='Brown']</strong> (South Pointe), <strong>Altavious Patterson</strong> (Abbeville), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254251' first='Jaidyn' last='Ferguson'] </strong>(Byrnes), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1552692' first='John' last='Sawyer']</strong> (Batesburg-Leesville), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249754' first='Josh' last='Merriweather']</strong> (North Augusta) and <strong>Antrez Nance</strong> (Hillcrest) held the South to just 28 rushing yards, collected three sacks and forced four turnovers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Those kids did an awesome job for us,” Mustar said. "I think they set the tone very early and often and I think that instilled some confidence throughout the course of the game. But that defensive line, we knew was going to be a handful. That was kind of our backbone I think on this whole team along with the linebackers.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157945' first='Spencer' last='Conn']</strong> (Daniel – pictured left) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249737' first='Wyatt' last='Ward']</strong> (JL Mann) and defensive backs Isaiah Hill (Palmetto), <strong>Joshaun Knuckles</strong> (Powdersville) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605526' first='Tyler' last='Morgan']</strong> (Wren) provided pressure and timely tackles. They sacked quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe']</strong> (White Knoll) three times and limited him, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464885' first='Chanston' last='Crosby']</strong> (Bamberg-Ehrhardt) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman']</strong> (North Augusta) to 14-30 passing for 170 yards and two interceptions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our D-line was destroying the O-line upfront,” said Conn, who was named North Defensive MVP. “Our linebackers and safeties were hitting real hard. They didn't want to run much after we hit them hard.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Late Addition make good</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both White Knoll quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe'] </strong>and wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360145' first='Aaron' last='Griffin']</strong> were not on the original South roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roster changes enabled the two Region 4-5A rivals to play in Saturday's game. Sharpe was named co-captain and he and Griffin were the South's most productive offensive players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 41 seconds left before halftime, Griffin fielded a kickoff following Brown's field goal. He found an opening and appeared headed for a 70-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A holding penalty nullified the score. With time expiring at the South 26, Sharpe escaped trouble and found an open Griffin downfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This time, there were no penalties as he broke away for a 74-yard touchdown. It was the South's only score of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sharpe accounted for most of the South's passing numbers. He finished 11-17 for 157 yards and an interception.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Smith, it was Griffin who won South Offensive MVP with six receptions for 123 yards. He's the first Gator to receive the honor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It means a lot,” he said. “Hard work. Coach (C. Blair) Hardin taught us day in and day out to hard work and came out here and laid it out on the field.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mr. Football</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After winning the Prep Redzone and Maxpreps Player of the Year, Westside quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346189' first='Cutter' last='Woods']</strong> was up for a third honor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He was one of five finalists for the Mr. Football Award. The others were running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605525' first='Marquise' last='Henderson'] </strong>of Belton-Honea Path, wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012834' first='Malik' last='Clark']</strong> of Rock Hill, offensive lineman <strong>Shed Sarratt </strong>of Gaffney and Richland Northeast quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272698' first='Will' last='Wilson']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wilson opted to practice with future college North Carolina State instead of playing in the Shrine Bowl. This allowed him to be in attendance for the award announcement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It went in his favor as he became the sixth Midlands player to receive the award since its inception in 1992.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I dream of it a lot,” [player_tooltip player_id='272698' first='Will' last='Wilson'] said. “It's a blessing. It's a blessing to be in this position.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite missing two games following knee surgery, Wilson threw for 2,482 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,144 yards and 20 touchdowns and finished his career with 11,080 all-purpose yards and 119 total touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->