Rams Run Wild Over Red Raiders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SIMPSONVILLE |</strong> Halloween is still a week away, but Hillcrest got a head start on the spooky season Friday night and was rewarded with many treats. The Rams were clad in red jerseys and red pants on Senior Night against Greenville. That's nothing out of the ordinary as it's one of several uniform combinations Hillcrest has, but it was a spitting image of Clinton High's home gear. Once the game began, the real cosplay happened as the Rams' offense performed just like the run-happy Red Devils.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillcrest had runs on 23 of its first 25 offensive plays and never really stopped pounding straight ahead. Meanwhile, the Rams' defense and special teams were dominant and all that added up to a 45-14 win in a key Region I-5A game. The victory likely means that it won't be the final game at Chandler Stadium for Hillcrest's seniors as the Rams (6-3, 4-2) should host at least one home game in the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It was a great way to celebrate with all my other buddies that are seniors. It's awesome and a confidence booster, but we kind of have to flush it and get ready for next week," Hillcrest senior captain <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823183' first='Hamilton' last='Norris']</strong> said. "It starts in practice. It starts on Mondays when we come back here to lift and then transition to practice. We hit practice hard as a team and that's all it is. ... Our preparation is what won us the game."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From his right guard position, Norris and his fellow linemen - left tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734635' first='Jaden' last='Brinkley']</strong>, left guard <strong>Jalen Boyd</strong>, center <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603877' first='Max' last='Barnes']</strong> and right tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818931' first='Lucas' last='Hancock']</strong>, consistently moved a talented Greenville defensive front allowing Hillcrest to methodically churn out chunks of yardage. The only thing that slowed down the Rams offense was a running clock for the final 13-plus minutes. Hillcrest had only three offensive plays in the fourth quarter, but still finished with 224 yards rushing on 46 attempts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those numbers didn't seem likely when the Rams opened the game by going three-and-out and losing 12 yards in the process. That was mainly due to the Red Raiders' <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734829' first='Franklin' last='Whitley']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821969' first='Jacob' last='Christie']</strong> combining for a third-down sack that resulted in a 19-yard loss. Hillcrest didn't have another three-and-out - or another punt - until its final possession of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rams' next possession appeared to end on a fourth-and-two at midfield in which [player_tooltip player_id='1051192' first='Nydarrian' last='Allen'] was stopped for a gain of one, but he was taken down by the facemask and the penalty extended the drive. Three plays later, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604046' first='Jackson' last='Free']</strong> had a beautiful fake handoff before he pulled it back and ran 10 yards to the left front corner of the end zone for a touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillcrest's <strong>Easton DeMarski</strong>, who put all four of his first-half kickoffs into the end zone for a touchback, kicked a 26-yard field goal to push the lead to 10-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On its ensuing possession, Greenville faked a punt on fourth-and-four and punter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816275' first='William' last='Major']</strong> ran for 24 yards. A personal foul penalty against the Rams moved it to the Hillcrest 25. On the next play, the Rams forced a fumble and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819677' first='Gavin' last='Sullivan']</strong> recovered to thwart the Red Raiders' threat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillcrest drove 73 yards and Free hit senior tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823185' first='Logan' last='Moore']</strong> for an eight-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter. The Rams forced another three-and-out thanks to a sack by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818940' first='Matthew' last='Neal']</strong> on third down and then had an 11-drive. Free capped it with a two-yard touchdown run with just nine seconds left as Hillcrest took a stunning 24-0 lead into halftime. Allen had 86 yards on 12 carries in the first half, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734605' first='Josh' last='Smith']</strong> had 64 yards on 12 attempts and <strong>Trey Booker</strong> ran three times for 28 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We game-planned to kind of punch them in the mouth first and that's kind of what we did. Then we just kept going to it," Allen said. "We can't go anywhere without our offensive line though. ... They thrive in this offense."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were no momentum shifts at the half, as Hillcrest senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1680986' first='Chris' last='Briggs']</strong> had an interception on the first play of the second half. Two plays later, Free connected with senior tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820611' first='Reed' last='Collier']</strong> on a nine-yard score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A five-yard tackle-for-loss by Rams' senior linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818926' first='Caleb' last='Smith']</strong> on Greenville's next snap led to a three-and-out. Hillcrest proceeded to shave a ton of time off the clock on a 14-play drive that Free ended with his third rushing touchdown, this time on a three-yard keeper.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Red Raiders' next play resulted in yet another interception for a Hillcrest senior. <strong>La'Zarious Stephens</strong> returned that one 49 yards for a touchdown as the automatic running clock began with 1:05 left in the third quarter and the Rams leading 45-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I'm so proud of this senior group. Those seniors tonight were freshmen that spring when I got hired and those are the first kids I met," Hillcrest coach Bennett Swygert said. "Up front, we played great and cohesively as a unit. We've got a plethora of running backs. That's the deepest group we've got, but Ny Allen ran like a madman tonight. I'm so impressed with him."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greenville had 112 of its 154 total yards of offense the rest of the way. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1050653' first='Kiishawn' last='Farrow']</strong> kept for a four-yard touchdown to get the Red Raiders on the board midway through the fourth quarter, then threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1824828' first='Arkies' last='Shell']</strong> on the final play of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Allen finished with 99 yards rushing to lead Hillcrest, while Free completed 9-of-13 passes for 91 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jadyn Rice</strong> led Greenville (6-3, 4-2) with 74 yards rushing on eight carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->