Special teams carry Summerville past Hillcrest

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GREENVILLE |</strong> When you rush for more than 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons as Summerville's [player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams'] has, you're going to be the focus of most defenses. Such was the case for the Green Wave Friday night against Hillcrest at historic Sirrine Stadium. The game was moved there as the Rams' new home turf isn't quite ready for games yet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After one quarter of being somewhat contained - if you can somehow call 29 yards on seven carries that, Williams found a new way to make an impact. In the second quarter, Williams (pictured) blocked a punt that [player_tooltip player_id='2349057' first='Toreyion' last='Jackson'] scooped up and raced 20 yards to the end zone to snap a 7-7 tie. That was the first of three second quarter touchdowns for Summerville, all of which were the result of special teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big night on special teams made the Green Wave's 192-mile road trip very special as they went on to a 45-28 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Summerville (2-0) got on the board first when [player_tooltip player_id='1822301' first='Ethan' last='D'Water'] found <strong>Jaelyn Pounds</strong> for a 40-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter. After a 34-yard kickoff return by [player_tooltip player_id='1818941' first='Elijah' last='Jackson'], Hillcrest (0-2) answered on the next snap when [player_tooltip player_id='1604046' first='Jackson' last='Free'] threw a bomb to [player_tooltip player_id='1724433' first='Kadyn' last='Stevenson'] for a 67-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Green Wave never relinquished the lead after Williams raced in from the right side to block the punt of Hillcrest's <strong>Easton Demarski</strong> and Jackson scored.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Coach (Ian) Rafferty saw an adjustment that needed to be made. I'm the guy he put in right there and I'm going to make the play every time," Williams said. "Special teams really gave us momentum tonight."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After the Green Wave's [player_tooltip player_id='2082975' first='Nate' last='Beaver'] made a 30-yard field goal to push the lead to 17-7, their defense forced a three-and-out. With 10 Summerville players packed along the line again for the punt, the Rams seemed a bit rattled and Demarski had to fall on a low snap at the Hillcrest eight-yard line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two plays later, Williams ran for a five-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trailing 24-7 with 2:30 remaining in the half, Hillcrest took to the air. Free threw on all 12 plays of an 80-yard drive capped by a seven-yard touchdown to <strong>Tayler Tolbert</strong> with 36.8 seconds left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just when Hillcrest felt it was back in the game as it appeared to cut the lead to 24-14 going into halftime, Jackson had other ideas. He returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to push Summerville's lead back out to 31-14 at the break.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Special teams are an important part of the game," Jackson said. "Their kicker usually puts (kickoffs) in the end zone, so I was surprised it came to me, but I was ready to go."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillcrest put together a long drive in the third quarter that saw the Rams overcome a third-and-34 when Free found [player_tooltip player_id='1149053' first='Luke' last='McCourry'] on a 39-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-19 play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But every time the Rams tried to get back in it, Summerville had swift and impactful response. This time it was Williams doing more of what he's known for. After a touchback on the kickoff, Williams took the next snap 80 yards for a score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I thought we played a really good first half. Got a little sloppy in the second half, but I told our kids that's (Hillcrest) probably the best 0-2 team in the state. They're really good," Rafferty said. "We executed at the right times and I thought we played dominant defense in the first half."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Summerville backup running back <strong>Maxwell Grant</strong> pushed the lead to 45-21 early in the fourth quarter. Hillcrest got the final score of the night when backup quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1103042' first='Caden' last='Bauer'] hit backup tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1825325' first='Landin' last='Harris'] for a 64-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams finished with 129 yards on 14 carries, while Grant ran nine times for 50 yards. D'Water completed 13-of-17 passes for 157 yards with no interceptions, and Pounds finished with 77 yards receiving on three catches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Free completed 20-of-34 passes for 266 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. McCourry had seven catches for 126 yards, while Stevenson had 86 yards on four receptions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A week after rushing for 106 yards against a stout Dorman defense, Free had no yards rushing on seven attempts against a swarming Summerville defense led by [player_tooltip player_id='1615024' first='MJ' last='Respass'], [player_tooltip player_id='1061094' first='Jaylen' last='Pryor'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1816961' first='Demarcus' last='King']. The Green Wave held the Rams to a total of 47 yards rushing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":2349057,"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":2349062,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a9265edd47d3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In addition to his two touchdowns on special teams, Jackson provided a boost to the offense Friday as he caught five passes for 30 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He showed electric speed on the special teams scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"He's a dog. He's not really known, but he's going to be," D'Water said. "He's got speed, and he plays hard and physical."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->