What We Saw: Abbeville 58, Cross 20

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ORANGEBURG | [player_tooltip player_id='1249802' first='Damarcus' last='Leach'] </strong>has played defense in spots for Abbeville this season and manned the quarterback spot where he had passed and rushed for over 1,000 yards on the season. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But with a state championship hanging in the balance, Leach played his natural position of safety and showed why he is a South Carolina signee in the Class of 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leach had an interception that he returned 81 yards and added two rushing touchdowns to help propel Abbeville to its 13^th overall state championship in a 58-20 dismantling of Cross in the Class A state championship Thursday night at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. The 13 state championships are second in state history to the 17 titles by Gaffney.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I can't go to practice next spring at Abbeville, so it feels a little different based on that right there,” Leach said. “We had the same common goal. We practiced hard all week and came together like we knew we could. We're title town and we like to stand by that.” &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Abbeville was its dominant self in the decisive first half. Leach, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1700046' first='Darius' last='Riley']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249809' first='Karson' last='Norman']</strong> and <strong>Jha'Louis Hadden</strong> all scored touchdowns in the first half that saw the Panthers jump to a 30-12 lead over the first 24 minutes. Norman also added an interception, and the Panthers defense limited the Trojans to just 102 yards of offense in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Almost half of the Cross first-half yardage came on a 47-yard touchdown pass from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604028' first='Tyler' last='Harris']</strong> to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473021' first='Caden' last='Ramsey']</strong> with 35 seconds remaining before the break to give the Trojans a little bit of life.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the lifeline didn't last long. Leach scored the first Panthers TD of the third quarter on a 40-yard scamper where he jumped over a defender and went untouched into the end zone. Hadden then added his second score of the night on a 23-yard run and Abbeville led 44-12 late in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leach then capped his championship night with a 74-yard TD pass to <strong>Jayden Baylor</strong> to push the lead to 51-12 by the end of the third quarter. Baylor had all 81 of the Panthers receiving yards and added an interception.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leach finished with 118 yards rushing on 11 carries with two rushing TDs, 3-of-5 passing for 81 yards and a touchdown plus his 81-yard interception return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We don't have that much time,” Nickles said when asked what Leach has meant to the program. “He's meant so much to this program, so much to me personally, so much to our coaching staff. He's just a sponge. He works out hard in the weight room. I wish nothing but the best for him.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leach was far from the only one with a big game. Five players scored touchdowns, and four players finished with over 79 yards rushing. <strong>Mi'Darius Burton</strong> gained 91 yards on seven carries and Norman added 84 yards with Riley ending up with 79 yards. All three of those had TDs with Hadden joining Leach with two rushing scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Abbeville tallied 510 total yards with 429 yards coming on the ground.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers defense had three interceptions and limited the Trojans to 198 total yards. <strong>Cameron Lee</strong> and <strong>Thomas Ferguson</strong> led a balanced defensive effort with three tackles each. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ramsey and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012859' first='Karmello' last='Jones']</strong> more than accounted for themselves despite the lopsided loss. Ramsey finished with three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown and added nine tackles from his safety position. Jones finished with 54 yards rushing with a touchdown and he added 4.5 tackles from his linebacker spot. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360328' first='Preston' last='Fuller']</strong> added seven tackles and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422604' first='Jailyn' last='Broughton']</strong> chipped in with six stops for Cross.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->