Gibson powers Woodruff over Fountain Inn

WOODRUFF | While the defenses of Fountain Inn and Woodruff had solid games to help both teams win their respective season openers, Friday's matchup in this budding rivalry seemed to have enough star power for this to turn into an explosive night of offense. That's exactly what those stars delivered.   By the end of the night though, the story was this: Woodruff's [player_tooltip player_id='1036753' first='Aiden' last='Gibson'] caught so that [player_tooltip player_id='1036753' first='Aiden' last='Gibson'] could run.   Gibson had 199 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to power the Wolverines to a 46-27 win. It marked the 50th win in the career of Woodruff coach Brett Sloan.   "They (Fountain Inn) are good and their quarterback is really good. He can beat you all by himself," Sloan said. "So I was really happy with our resiliency and our will to just keep playing."   From the start Friday, Fountain Inn seemed bound and determined to not let Gibson beat them on the ground. Woodruff's star running back wasn't exactly shut down, but with less than a minute remaining in the first half he had 36 yards on 12 carries.   It was around then that a critically important chapter of the game was written. The Fury trailed 18-13 and was facing fourth-and-one from their own 29-yard line with 1:07 left and the Wolverines were out of timeouts. Fountain Inn decided to go for it, but its star quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='429920' first='Sam' last='Holliday'] was dropped for a loss of four yards. It was one of just three negative run plays for Holliday all night and one of those was a sack.   After Woodruff took over at the Fountain Inn 25, it appeared the Fury might survive the gamble. But on a fourth-and-seven play, junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1823657' first='Connor' last='Davis'] threw to the left side of the end zone for Gibson. Even though Fountain Inn was flagged for interference, Gibson still went up and made a terrific catch for a touchdown. That helped the Wolverines take a 25-13 lead into halftime.   "I just went up and got it," Gibson said. "My team and my coaches just trust me with the ball. Before I was a running back, I thought I was a receiver."   Fountain Inn drove 94 yards on 10 plays to open the second half. [player_tooltip player_id='1603971' first='Bojack' last='Johnson'] ran 41 yards on the first play of the drive and then scored on the last play of it. On the two-point conversion, Holliday completed a pass to Ben Ruwe but Fountain Inn was flagged for illegal man downfield. On the two-point try from seven yards out, Holliday hit Ruwe again to cut the lead to 25-21.   Woodruff answered on its ensuing possession, which began at its own 49 thanks to a 46-yard kickoff return by [player_tooltip player_id='1592034' first='Kori' last='Moates']. Davis completed 4-of-5 passes on the eight-play drive including a 17-yard pass to Gibson on fourth-and-eight and a 22-yard pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1823666' first='Rhylan' last='Renfrow'] on a third-and-15 play. On the next play, those running lanes were more open than they ever were in the first half and Gibson ran for a 15-yard score. That helped push the lead to 32-21 and Fountain Inn never got within 11 the rest of the way.   On the Wolverines' final possession, Gibson capped his big night with five carries for 53 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown in which he bulldozed a defender at the goal line.   "I delivered that hit, but I felt it a little bit too. I'm not going to lie," Gibson said. "My offensive line blocked their butts off on that drive."   Special teams also were a big part of the win for Woodruff (2-0). In the second quarter, a snap sailed over the head of Fountain Inn punter Caleb Ruzicka resulting in a 34-yard loss and Woodruff's ball at the Fury 12. Three plays later, Gibson scored from two yards out.   Late in the third quarter, Holliday was sacked for the only time all night when Adrian Hill brought him down on third down. Woodruff's [player_tooltip player_id='1823655' first='Jackson' last='McCarley'] blocked the ensuing punt to set the Wolverines up at the Fountain Inn 17. On the next play, Davis had a push pass to Moates who raced around the left side to the end zone to extend Woodruff's lead to 39-21.   Earlier in the game McCarley, who's the holder for kicks, scored on a two-point conversion run. Woodruff kicker Diego Tranquilino also made his only field goal attempt of the night from 30 yards out.   Gibson finished with 115 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 20 carries along with six catches for 84 yards and one score. Davis completed 11-of-21 passes for 173 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and also ran for 26 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1817414' first='Dre' last='Jenkins'] made his only catch of the night count when Davis found him in the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown on the third play of the game.   Holliday completed 14-of-30 passes for 288 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had 86 yards rushing on 16 attempts. Johnson finished with 100 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Also for Fountain Inn (1-1), [player_tooltip player_id='1581469' first='Colby' last='Flood'] had 108 yards receiving on three catches. [player_tooltip player_id='1824285' first='Aaden' last='McDowell'] had three catches for 69 yards, including a 54-yard scored. Ruwe finished with 51 yards on three catches. [player_tooltip player_id='1818033' first='Chance' last='McClure'] caught three passes for 43 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown.

WOODRUFF | While the defenses of Fountain Inn and Woodruff had solid games to help both teams win their respective season openers, Friday's matchup in this budding rivalry seemed to have enough star power for this to turn into an explosive night of offense. That's exactly what those stars delivered.