Patterson, Warriors Rally Late To Top TL Hanna

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ANDERSON </strong>| <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467825' first='Matt' last='Kucia'] </strong>went down with an injury in the closing moments of Indian Land's third round matchup against TL Hanna on Friday night, trailing 41-37 with 2 minutes to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Insert [player_tooltip player_id='1819992' first='Sequel' last='Patterson'] - who you might have heard of in other capacities. On the very next play, the University of South Carolina commit took the next snap at quarterback and hit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1042719' first='Hayden' last='Morris'] </strong>for a 90-yard game winning touchdown pass <em>and </em>then snagged the game-sealing interception on 4th down as the Warriors came from behind to win in a 43-41 thriller in the third round of the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Warriors head coach Adam Hastings knew something big was about to happen on the headset&nbsp; before the game winning touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“When I saw them line up in man coverage, I turned my back and walked down and said, ‘Touchdown.' Game over,” Hastings said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was also no panic from Patterson.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I was remembering my coaches, they always tell me, it's never as bad as it looks, it's never as good as it looks. I stared at my grandma and my dad and I looked at the offensive line. I felt the emotion, I felt that everybody was looking at me like, ‘what are you going to do?' I'm going to be that guy if we win by 100 or lose by 100. I just wanted to put the team on my back and we made the play. Hayden made me look good. It wasn't the best throw but we got it done,” Patterson said of the game winning touchdown pass.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It looked as if Hanna had things in firm control following <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1791455' first='Brock' last='Cole']</strong>'s 28-yard touchdown run giving them a 41-29 lead with 5:19 to play in the contest. But Indian Land had different ideas, going 93 yards in two minutes with a score from Kucia to Patterson, who also converted a two-point play to keep them within striking distance at 41-37 with 3:49 left in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TL Hanna was determined to keep it on the ground, and they did it with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1791520' first='Jimmarion' last='Boston'], </strong>who had a big carry on the Jackets' first drive of the contest. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664582' first='Elijah' last='Grimes'] </strong>converted on a 4th and 1 with 9:24 to play in the first quarter. Oliver helped get the Jackets inside the 20, but a long drive ended with a <strong>David Gorcyca </strong>field goal to make it 3-0 with 5:46 to play in the opening quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Warriors went with the quick game in the first half, as Kucia hit <strong>Jayden Clyburn </strong>on the first play from scrimmage on a bubble screen, but the drive fizzled as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818582' first='Connor' last='Ash'] </strong>came up with a sack to end the drive near midfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It didn't take long for the Jackets to take advantage as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='302810' first='Emari' last='Nance'] </strong>got the ball near the Warriors 46-yard line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='595709' first='Gavin' last='Magin'] </strong>connected with Cole<strong> </strong>for a 37-yard touchdown pass. They went for two and got it to extend the lead to 11-0 with 51 seconds to play in the opening quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Indian Land went on their first of two long drives as Kucia hit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822507' first='Kenneth' last='Wilson'] III </strong>on a key third down, before capping the 90-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown reception to make it 11-7 Hanna with 9:45 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Warriors struggled in the first half with making tackles against the Jackets' Wing-T attack. Cole had a big carry down to the Warrior 30 yard line on the next series, which was extended by a penalty. Nance capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 18-7 with 6:05 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Excellent kickoff coverage from Hanna doomed <strong>Jayden Clyburn </strong>and set Kucia and the Warriors up at their own 4-yard line. Insert long drive No. 2. All the offense did was methodically move the ball down the field with <strong>Cameron Hunt </strong>in the run game. One of the highlights was Kucia to Patterson on a corner route. Kucia connected with Wilson III for a first down inside the Hanna 10, before capping the drive with a short Hunt run to cut the lead to 18-14 heading to the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming out of the halftime break, Indian Land tried a fake punt with Patterson but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1791514' first='Carson' last='Cole'] </strong>snuffed it out, and a penalty negated the play, giving the Jackets the ball at the Warriors 17. It took two plays for them to take advantage as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592687' first='Jameerion' last='Oliver'] </strong>scored on a 2-yard run to increase the lead to 25-14 with 8:45 to play in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And then the back and forth began.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A big kickoff return from Indian Land set up Patterson again for a big completion, before he scored from 3 yards out and the two-point try to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592557' first='Michael' last='Johnson'] </strong>was good as the Hanna lead was cut to 25-22 with 7:19 left in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following a Hanna field goal, Wilson III made a circus catch that you had to see to believe with a defender draped all over him to give them their first lead of the night at 29-28 with 10:43 left in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Things got dicey for Hanna on the ensuing series as back-to-back penalties backed them up into a third-and-long. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1579733' first='Walker' last='Kelley'] </strong>got a first down on a screen, setting up Nance's 2-yard touchdown run as Hanna retook the lead at 34-29 with 7:03 left in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“To perform the way they did and get down and I felt like we were down the whole game it looked like. I'm just so proud of the resilience they showed and it's a lot of good stuff for us to build off of,” Hastings said.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>UP NEXT FOR INDIAN LAND</em></strong><strong>: </strong>They will travel to Rock Hill for a rematch against Northwestern in the Upper State Championship next Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->