Earl, Belton-Honea Path Run Past Powdersville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>POWDERSVILLE | [player_tooltip player_id='1639798' first='MJ' last='Earl']</strong> knew the third of his four touchdowns on Friday night in the 3A Upper State championship game was coming.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A break through the line. A wiggle to get past the safety. Then the race was on, and there was nobody close. Earl went 64 yards to the house for a back-breaking touchdown in Belton-Honea Path's 35-7 win over Powdersville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I called it," Earl said. "I knew it. I knew if the safety was one-on-one over the top, I was gone. I put one move on him, and that was it."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That was pretty much it from the very beginning. Earl had a phenomenal night for the Bears, and the team put in a fantastic performance on the ground. Earl ran 21 times for 212 yards and scores of 3, 3, 64, and 2 yards as the Bears piled up 360 yards on the ground as a team. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283891' first='Noah' last='Thomas']</strong> carried 11 times for 75 yards, and five other Bears notched carries on the night. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823141' first='Malachi' last='Hester']</strong> provided the only BHP score that didn't belong to Earl with a late1-yard score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thomas didn't have his usual night throwing the ball, but that's largely because he didn't have to. The rushing attack was working well for the Bears, and the defense was making Powdersville's life miserable. The Bears constantly harassed Powdersville QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821270' first='Keagan' last='Reid']</strong>, and forced three turnovers on the night as <strong>KJ Miles</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820566' first='Jacus' last='Paul']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820570' first='Demarion' last='Chester']</strong> all came up with picks on the night. Meanwhile, <strong>Ty Dubose</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592470' first='Kylan' last='Dixon']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823140' first='Ty' last='Rainey']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1372151' first='Jakyri' last='Anderson']</strong> made play after play, nearly constantly eating up space in the Patriots' backfield. After Earl's second TD of the night made it 14-0 early in the second quarter, Powdersville had managed just one yard of total offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriots put together their best drive of the night on their ensuing possession, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821275' first='Xavier' last='Huggins']</strong> getting a big kick return to set up a scoring drive. Reid cashed in with a 34-yard TD pass to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823887' first='Bennett' last='Brooks']</strong>, and the Powdersville had cut the lead in half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That was as close as the Patriots could get, as the game started to slip away in a hurry. First, Earl struck for his long touchdown run to make it 21-7. Then, with Powdersville driving near the end of the first half, Reid suffered an apparent leg injury after a long gain on the ground, and did not return. Freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1824602' first='Steele' last='Gamble']</strong> shifted over from receiver to play QB for the Patriots, but they couldn't convert the drive into a score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earl ended his night, and basically ended the game, on the Bears' first drive of the second half, surpassing 200 yards on the night and scoring his fourth TD to make it 28-7. Powdersville's best chance came following an interception and long return by <strong>Ryan Dunn</strong>. The Patriots had a good look at the end zone, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779428' first='Tajeh' last='Watson-Martin']</strong> made a great play to break up a pass in the end zone, and a sack ended the threat. Hester's touchdown in the fourth quarter removed any doubt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now, the bears will advance to again take on Oceanside Collegiate for the 3A state title. It's something they've been waiting on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We want to get back and show we can do it," Earl said. "We want to show people that BHP can get it done."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->