Stars Shine In Junior Showcase Thriller

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ROCK HILL |</strong> There was no shortage of talent at the High School Blitz Junior Showcase Game on Sunday afternoon on the campus of South Pointe High. Soon to be seniors for the Class of 2027 were on full display on both sides, but it was the West Team that came out on top, 24-23 in a thriller.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Midland Valley's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='644030' first='Xavier' last='Geter'] </strong>found the end zone on a scramble from 7 yards out with 49 seconds remaining in the contest, and the East team opted to go for two. They attempted a throw back pass, but were called for an illegal forward pass and the conversion was no good.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The East team came out swinging on their opening series as Geter connected with Lugoff Elgin's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603854' first='Eric' last='Richardson'] </strong>for a 52-yard touchdown reception to give them a 7-0 lead with 11:41 to play in the opening quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a quick-three-and-out for the East defense, Kennan's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822187' first='Hunter' last='O'Neal'] </strong>picked up a gain of 41 yards, but Pelion's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1618829' first='Brady' last='Cottingham'] </strong>came up with a key tackle inside the 10, as Berkeley's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603784' first='Ryland' last='Curwen']</strong> connected on a 27 yard field goal to give East a 10-0 lead with 7:39 left in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>River Bluff's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422592' first='Caleb' last='Pinkney'] </strong>came up with an interception, returning it to the East 21 with 10:44 left before the half. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823548' first='Joseph' last='Pohlmann'] </strong>from Dreher made an excellent pass breakup to prevent a score, forcing a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820612' first='Easton' last='Demarski'] </strong>37-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 10-3 with 9:18 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pointe's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='513067' first='Malik' last='Ratliff'] </strong>(pictured above) connected with a 44-yard completion inside the 15-yard line, before Byrnes's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036721' first='Tre' last='Segarra'] </strong>found the end zone from 2 yards out to tie the game at 10 with 3:51 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ratliff streaked down the sideline with a catch from Northwestern's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232624' first='Xavier' last='Means']. </strong>Woodruff RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036753' first='Aiden' last='Gibson'] </strong>made a nice catch out of the backfield inside the 10 before catching a 5-yard touchdown from Means to take a 17-10 lead with 13 seconds to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third quarter didn't feature a ton of offense as the defenses took over as a fumble was forced and North Augusta's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819540' first='Joshua' last='Simpkins'] </strong>recovered it late in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ratliff walked away as the game's overall MVP, finishing with four catches for 136 yards and one touchdown, which came midway through the fourth quarter on a 50-yard completion as he ran right by the defensive back, to give the West team a 24-10 lead. He was excited to have a chance to put on a show in his home stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“The key (today) was to stick to my roots. Every day, I come out to this field during the season, perform at a high level on gameday and on Fridays. Back on my home turf again, I had to keep the routine going.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rising senior was thrilled to compete with the best that this state has to offer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love surrounding myself with greatness. It fuels me and I pick up a lot of good habits from being around great players so it's good to be in that environment. “</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The East team would not go away quietly, however, as<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1515057' first='Aiden' last='Fitzgerald'] </strong>found Richardson for a 7-yard touchdown catch with 5:56 remaining, setting up the exciting finish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->