What We Saw: Woodmont 34, Mauldin 28

PIEDMONT | Woodmont senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1254085' first='Ezekiel' last='Belcher'] admitted that was "a little upset" when his name wasn't revealed as a selection for the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl a.k.a. the North-South All-Star Game on Monday. After 24 hours to stew about it, Belcher (pictured) unleashed some frustration on Mauldin Tuesday night.   Belcher ran for nearly 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help Woodmont win its first Region I-5A game of the season with a 34-28 victory over Mauldin. Belcher saved two of his most important runs for last. After the Mavericks scored with 3:20 remaining to cut the lead to six, they passed on an onside kick attempt and instead kicked deep. On a third-and-four play, Belcher ran for five yards to get the first down and forced Mauldin to take its last timeout with 2:12 left. On third-and-18 with 43 seconds left, Belcher ran for seven yards and then slid down before running out of bounds to keep the clock moving and the Wildcats (2-5, 1-3) didn't have to take another snap.   "As all the all-star games and whatever comes out, if there's somebody in this state better than Zeke Belcher, I want to see it," Woodmont coach Ty Sutherland said. "Zeke is special and we've got a good group of guys and a good locker room. We continue to get better. We still had too many mistakes, but we're going to enjoy this one."   Of the first 21 snaps of the game, 20 belonged to Woodmont. Belcher set his tone for the night when he raced 80 yards to the end zone on the game's first play, but it was wiped out by a holding penalty. The Wildcats proceeded to shed nearly seven minutes off the clock before the 14-play drive stalled and they settled for a Bradley Crowell field goal of 30 yards. Mauldin's first play ended on a Tarell Tate interception for Woodmont. The Wildcats once again settled for a Crowell field goal, this time from 32 yards out to take a 6-0 lead with 1:43 left in the first quarter.   Mauldin standout running back [player_tooltip player_id='1013112' first='Nehemiah' last='Floyd'] carried on the first four plays of its ensuing possession to get his big night started. The 80-yard drive was capped on a nine-yard keeper for a score by quarterback Jaxon Vicars as the Mavericks took their only lead of the night.   Mauldin's next two possessions ended on interceptions by Woodmont defensive back Tijay Heyward and defensive lineman Demario Moore, respectively. Belcher turned both of those turnovers into points. After Heyward's 70-yard return to the end zone was nullified by a block in the back, It took Belcher two plays - a 48-yard run and a four-yard run - the get the ball back in the end zone.   After Moore's interception set the Wildcats up at the Mauldin 28, they were faced with a third-and-17 play with less than 20 seconds left in the half. It appeared that Woodmont was content with handing off to Belcher, letting him get whatever he could, calling timeout and kicking another field goal to end the half. Unless of course, Belcher did what he did. He ran right, juked right, then spun right before racing down the sideline for a 24-yard touchdown with seven seconds left in the half.   "I felt like I had to put on a show and put myself on the map by showing why they should've picked me (for the All-Star game)," Belcher said. "Our offensive line was a big help to all of us tonight."   Much like Woodmont did on the opening possession of the game, Mauldin took more than six minutes off the clock on its possession to start the second half. Floyd accounted for 45 yards on the 67-yard march that ended on a two-yard touchdown run by AJ Norfus as Mauldin cut the lead to 20-14.   Every time the Mavs (2-5, 2-2) got the lead down to six, Woodmont had an answer. Mauldin appeared poised to force a three-and-out and a punt in a game which ended up having none. On third-and-18 and the momentum clearly with Mauldin, Woodmont snatched it back when quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='421471' first='Jordan' last='Sink'] threw deep down the left sideline to Lorenzo Hurley for a 78-yard touchdown.   On a night when the Wildcats' ran wild and Sink only threw seven passes, completing four for 95 yards, that score might have been the biggest of the game. Woodmont ran a unique offense Tuesday in which Belcher stood next to Sink in the shotgun, but Belcher probably received more snaps out of that formation than Sink did. Hurley was also in that rushing mix as he took five handoffs in a modified jet sweep for 53 yards rushing.   "We just called Lorenzo on a stutter-and-go. We had someone in motion, so I think they thought we were going to run that sweep like we'd been doing. So when I faked that and threw it, Lorenzo was just gone," Sink said. "I'd been out several weeks with a dislocated shoulder and last week was my first one back, so I'm kind of easing back into everything."   After Mauldin's [player_tooltip player_id='1822852' first='Taurus' last='Thomason'] rumbled for a 31-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left in the third quarter, Woodmont's [player_tooltip player_id='347760' first='Tavorace' last='Williams'] answered with a 39-yard score to push the lead back to 34-21.   The Wildcats appeared set to put he game on ice midway through the fourth quarter before a fumble in the red zone kept hope alive for Mauldin. The Mavericks put together a 13-play, 84-yard drive capped on a one-yard touchdown by Floyd with 3:20 left to wrap up the scoring.   Belcher finished with 198 yards rushing on 26 carries. That helped open holes for others such as Williams in the second half. After rushing five times for seven yards in the first half, Williams had 11 attempts for 96 yards for the game.   "This is the duo right here," Belcher said while pointing to Williams. "We both had 1,000 yards (rushing) last year and I think we can do the same this year."   Floyd led the Mavericks with 140 yards on 21 carries, while Thomason ran eight times for 93 yards. Vicars ran four times for 56 yards and completed 7-of-21 passes for 92 yards.

PIEDMONT | Woodmont senior running back Ezekiel Belcher Ezekiel Belcher 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Woodmont | 2025 State SC admitted that was "a little upset" when his name wasn't revealed as a selection for the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl a.k.a. the North-South All-Star Game on Monday. After 24 hours to stew about it, Belcher (pictured) unleashed some frustration on Mauldin Tuesday night.