Hammond isn’t ready to give up its grip on SCISA football.
The Skyhawks used a physical brand of football and strong running game to defeat Cardinal Newman, 35-20, on Friday at Edens Stadium.
The win extends Hammond’s winning streak over Cardinal Newman to 23 straight games.
But for the first time in a while the Cards (6-1) came in with their best shot to knock off the Skyhawks, who have won six straight S.C. Independent School Association state titles.
“I’m proud of our guys for staying even keel,” Hammond coach Jon Wheeler said. “We knew they would come at us. They are a heck of a football team with great coaches.”
Running backs Manny Johnson and Kinson Holland were a 1-2 punch on the ground for Hammond. Johnson rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns and Holland added 118 and a score. As a team, Hammond rushed for 318 yards.
Will McQueen was the star of Hammond’s defense with five sacks in helping the Skyhawks to hold the Cardinals to a season-low in points. Cardinal Newman was averaging 46.3 points a game.
“We heard their names all season, so we were preparing for this game,” McQueen said. “We had some tough matchups early in the season so we came out ready to play. They are a great team, but I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
Hammond (6-2) set the tone early with a 14-play, 76-yard opening drive that lasted more than eight minutes and was capped off by quarterback Robert Malanuk’s 1-yard run.
The Skyhawks added to the lead on Johnson’s run to make it 14-0.
Cardinal Newman fought back as QB Duncan Skehan hit Amarii King on a 15-yard pass to cut the lead to 14-7 with 46 seconds left in the first half.
The Cardinals tied it at 14-14 on their first drive of the second half on Skehan’s 18-yard run.
Hammond answered with touchdowns on its next two possessions – runs by Johnson and Holland – to go up 28-14 with 2:23 left in the third.
The Skyhawks looked to put it away but fumbled on its next possession. Skehan then hit Tyler Wilson on a 48-yard touchdown to cut it to 28-20 with 1:23 left in the third quarter. The senior was 22-of-33 passing for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
But Johnson broke loose on a 39-yard run early in the fourth to make it 35-20.
Cardinal Newman got inside the Hammond 20 later in the quarter and turned it over on downs.
White Knoll makes statement
White Knoll (7-0, 2-0) is proving that it’s a legit championship contender in Class 5A. On Friday, the Timberwolves did something not many teams have done in the last decade – hand Dutch Fork a region loss.
Landon Sharpe threw two touchdown passes as White Knoll defeated Dutch Fork, 17-14. It was the Timberwolves’ first win over Dutch Fork (2-5, 0-1) since 2009 and the Silver Foxes’ first region loss since 2015 (when they lost to Ridge View). The five losses are the most in a season for the Silver Foxes under coach Tom Knotts, who took over in 2010.
White Knoll, which was outscored 112-7 in its last two games against Dutch Fork, is 7-0 for the first time in school history and can clinch at least a share of the region title next week with a win over Lexington.
The Timberwolves held Dutch Fork to 38 yards of offense in the first half and led 10-0.
But Dutch Fork’s Maurice Anderson returned the opening kickoff of the second half to cut the lead to 10-7. The Silver Foxes took a 14-10 lead on Jon Hunt’s 8-yard pass to Ron DiPietro late in the third quarter.
Sharpe put the Wolves up 17-14 on a 25-yard pass to freshman Tiyon Fanning. The Timberwolves QB was 15-of-26 for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Dutch Fork looked to regain the lead on the next possession but had a touchdown called back because of holding. The Silver Foxes turned it over later in the drive and also on its next possession as Charles Plange recovered a fumble with 1:51 left.
Irmo, Gilbert stay perfect
Irmo and Gilbert stayed perfect on the season with a pair of region wins.
* Irmo (7-0, 2-0) scored 31 points in the first half to defeat Ridge View, 38-6. Quarterback AJ Brand threw three touchdown passes and ran for one. Brand was 10-of-15 passing for 143 yards and also rushed for 70 yards. Donovan Murph had five catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Jaden Allen-Hendrix ran for 200 yards.
The Yellow Jackets’ defense was strong, not allowing a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.
* Gilbert moved to 7-0 with a 60-0 win over Swansea. Quarterback Drake Braddock threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns and Trevon Williamson rushed for 101 yards and three scores.
RNE sets scoring record
Richland Northeast set a school-record for points in defeating A.C. Flora, 73-58, in a Region 5-4A contest.
The 73 points broke the record of 55 set in 2016 in a win over Swansea. The win snapped a five-game losing streak to A.C. Flora (3-4, 1-1).
The game was tied 31-31 at halftime, but the Cavaliers (4-3, 1-1) forced three turnovers in the second half and scored on each of them to take a 59-37 lead. The lead grew to 73-44 before the Falcons scored two touchdowns in the final minute.
RNE quarterback and N.C. State commit Will Wilson threw five touchdown passes, three to Blake Betette, and also rushed for a score. Wilson was 20-of-28 passing for 335 yards. and carried it 14 times for 150 yards.
Running back James Willingham ran for 238 yards and three scores. OD Grier returned an interception for a touchdown.
Roper Wentzky threw four touchdown passes and Heath Moser caught three for the Falcons. Aiden Mosley had three TD runs for Flora.
Around the Midlands
Lexington 35, River Bluff 21: The Wildcats (6-1, 2-0) rallied from an early o defeat their rivals. Christian Sexton ran for a pair of touchdowns as the Wildcats rushed for 304 yards and got touchdowns from four different players in the win. Matt McAulay led the way with 101 yards and a TD.
Jayden Pinkney had two rushing TDs for the Gators (5-3, 0-2), who led 14-0 in the first quarter. Quarterback Parker Murray threw for 206 yards and Stephen Collier had 10 catches for 113. yards.
Camden 41, Darlington 6: Grayson White threw four touchdown passes, three to Ja Mayrant as Brian Rimpf won his 100th game as a coach. It also was the Bulldogs’ school-record 20th straight region win.
Strom Thurmond 48, Saluda 3: Quan Edmond threw six touchdown passes, three to Tennessee commit Braylon Staley, in the region win.
Ben Lippen 22, Trinity Collegiate 18: Taevion Copney rushed for two scores and Jayvon Gilmore had a TD pass to Buzz Buxton in the Falcons’ come-from behind win.
CA Johnson 52, Great Falls 6: QBCaleb Pearson had five total touchdowns and an interception for the Green Hornets (5-3, 1-1).
Lugoff-Elgin 14, Westwood 6: Aiden Fitzgerald had a TD pass and Ryikeez Brown rushed for a score in the Demons’ first region win.
Clearwater Academy (Fla.) 34, Gray Collegiate 27: Zion Job and Jamarious Lockett each had TD catches in the loss for the War Eagles (9-2). Caleb Ford also had a TD run.
Pelion 21, Fox Creek 3: Luke New threw a pair of touchdown passes in the second half, and Michael Cottrell had a TD run in the win for the Panthers (3-4, 1-1).
Brookland-Cayce 42, Lower Richland 19: The Bearcats (5-2, 2-0) shook off a slow start in defeating the Diamond Hornets.
North Central 40, Buford 15: Jonathan Clarkson rushed for 275 yards, four touchdowns and Ashton Brazell picked off three passes for the Knights (3-4, 2-0).
Newberry 35, Mid-Carolina 0: Five different players had touchdowns as the Bulldogs (4-3, 3-0) defeated their county rivals for the 12th straight year.
Dreher 28, Orangeburg-Wilkinson 14: The Blue Devils (4-3, 2-0) won their second straight region game. Dreher’s four wins are the most in a season since 2018.
Northside Christian 34, Anderson 2: The Crusaders got defensive touchdowns from John Lizewski and Clayton Myers in the win over Anderson.
Keenan 53, Columbia 0: The Raiders (2-4, 1-2) won their second game of the year and fourth straight over the Capitals.
Midland Valley 56, Airport 7: Traevon Dunbar scored four touchdowns, and Preston McNair had three for the Mustangs (7-0, 1-0).
Heathwood Hall 13, Camden Military 6: The Highlanders got their second win of the season and first for interim coach Rip Blackstone.
Richard Winn 38, Faith Christian 32: Quarterback Charlie Bonds rushed for two touchdowns and threw two for the Eagles. Bonds finished with 285 yards of total offense. Drew Spires caught seven passes for 117 yards and three TDs.
Nation Ford 34, Blythewood 28: Kaleb White scored on an 18-yard run with 42 seconds left to help the Falcons (3-4, 1-1) over the Bengals (3-4, 1-1) on Thursday. Blythewood had a chance to tie and appeared to do so as Harrison Collins hit Trent Lewis on a TD pass on the final play of the game. But the Bengals were called for an ineligible receiver down field. Blythewood got one more play but Collins’ pass was incomplete. Collins finished with two TD passes to Kaleb Kelly and also ran for two scores.
Nation Ford quarterback Kaden Burnett had three TD passes to Josh Ameo.
Lou Bezjak: (803) 771-8419, @LouatTheState
Caption:
Sam Wolfe Special To The State
Manny Johnson (24) of Hammond reacts to a touchdown during the first half of the Skyhawks’ game against the Cardinals in Columbia on Friday.
Sam Wolfe Special To The State
Kinson Holland of Hammond carries the ball during the first half of the Skyhawks’ game against the Cardinals in Columbia on Friday.
Sam Wolfe Special To The State
Robert Malanuk (12) of Hammond throws a pass during the first half of the Skyhawks’ game against the Cardinals in Columbia on Friday.
October 8, 2023 | State, The (Columbia, SC)
Author/Byline: Lou Bezjak; Staff Writer | Page: 1B | Section: Sports