By MIKE ROSIER
ALLENDALE-FAIRFAX 38 MIDLAND VALLEY 8
GRANITEVILLE - Rick Knight thought that he had already witnessed just about all the evil that could possibly befall his young Mustangs in a forgettable week one game at rival North Augusta.
But there was some new devilry afoot at L.L. Willis Stadium on Friday.
In a competitive 16-8 ballgame late in the third quarter, punter Ben Padgett was clobbered by a hard-charging Allendale-Fairfax defender and linebacker Kadeem Gardener scooped the ball and scored on a 50-yard return, and the visiting Tigers went on to defeat Midland Valley 38-8.
"That was a play that I have not seen before," said Knight. "If you can think of it, it's happened to us this year. We have a lot of inexperience and new players, but we are just going to have to bend our ears back and just get better. We have to because the schedule doesn't get easier."
The Mustangs (0-2) travel to Aiken next week, while Allendale-Fairfax (3-0) plays host to Edisto.
The game-changing special teams play not only surprised Knight, but also Allendale-Fairfax head coach Eddie Ford.
"We don't normally rush on punts, but we did and (the punter) dropped it and they hadn't done that all night and we hadn't seen them drop one on film either so that was a surprise," Ford said. "We were putting the ball on the carpet tonight, but Midland Valley was playing hard and getting their hands on a lot of balls out there. They are going to have a good team."
Turnovers and penalties and the play of the Midland Valley defense had combined to keep the Tigers out of the end zone three times in the first half alone, but after the Mustangs' offense continued to struggle in the second half the ground game of the Tigers took over as quarterback Solomon McCormick began to keep the ball and gain bigger chunks of yardage.
Allendale-Fairfax took the game's opening drive and drove the ball 70 yards in 11 plays, mostly on the ground, before Brandon Jordan found the end zone on a 4-yard run. Jordan also carried it in for the 2-point conversion and an early 8-0 lead for the Tigers with 7:09 to go in the first.
The Mustangs could do nothing after three plays and Allendale-Fairfax resumed its drive up the field before bogging down just inside the Mustang 20 after an eight-play drive which included a 50-yard run by tailback Jahnari Devo.
Midland Valley punted after three plays and the Tigers drove back down the field to the Mustang 10, but a costly penalty moved them back and Midland Valley's defense held on fourth down. That gave the Mustangs a big boost along with the team's first first down on a 13-yard carry by back Dre Carr, but three plays later and Ben Padgett was punting again.
This time, however, Allendale-Fairfax would give the home team something to work with.
On fourth down inside their own territory, the ball was snapped high over the punter's head and the Mustangs quickly took advantage in scoring in four plays when quarterback Trenton Baughman, who finished with 85 rushing yards, made a nice cut back on a 9-yard carry into the end zone for his team's first score of the season.
That joy was short-lived for the home faithful though as the Tigers answered back on their very next possession when Hartzog took the pitch on a busted option play, reversed his field, and ran 54 yards untouched for the score and a 16-8 halftime lead after quarterback Solomon McCormick ran in for the 2-point conversion.
MiDLAND VALLEY 0 8 0 0 - 8
ALLENDALE-FAIRFAX 8 8 8 14 - 38SCORING SUMMARY
First QuarterAF-Brandon Jordan 4 run (Jordan run) 7:09.Second QuarterMV-Trenton Baughman 9 run (Baughman pass to Quincey Pressley) 2:46.
AF - Jamaree Hartzog 54 run (Solomon McCormick run) 1:37.Third QuarterAF - Kadeem Gardener 50 run on muffed punt (McCormick run) 2:52.Fourth QuarterAF - McCormick 5 run (McCormick run) 11:54.
AF - Devo 4 run (McCormick pass failed) 6:42.INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHINGMV-Dre Carr 5-21, Trenton Baughman 11-85 TD, Derrick O-Conner 5-17, Jalen Durham 7-34, Daniel Carr 2-17.
AF-Jahnari Devo 11-91 1TD, Jamaree Hartzog 9-65 TD, Brandon Jordan 13-86 1TD, Solomon McCormick 12-85 1TD.PASSINGAF - Solomon McCormick 4-10 80.
MV - Trenton Baughman 4-20 58, Daniel Carr 0-2 0.RECEIVINGAF -Reshawn Riley 1-8, Denzel Washington 2-64, Yousef Jenkins 1-8.
MV - Logan Wheat 1-5, Quincey Pressley 1-12, Kameron Brown 2-41, Tracy Gartrell 1-0.![]()
ALLENDALE-FAIRFAX 38 MIDLAND VALLEY 8
GRANITEVILLE - Rick Knight thought that he had already witnessed just about all the evil that could possibly befall his young Mustangs in a forgettable week one game at rival North Augusta.
But there was some new devilry afoot at L.L. Willis Stadium on Friday.
In a competitive 16-8 ballgame late in the third quarter, punter Ben Padgett was clobbered by a hard-charging Allendale-Fairfax defender and linebacker Kadeem Gardener scooped the ball and scored on a 50-yard return, and the visiting Tigers went on to defeat Midland Valley 38-8.
"That was a play that I have not seen before," said Knight. "If you can think of it, it's happened to us this year. We have a lot of inexperience and new players, but we are just going to have to bend our ears back and just get better. We have to because the schedule doesn't get easier."
The Mustangs (0-2) travel to Aiken next week, while Allendale-Fairfax (3-0) plays host to Edisto.
The game-changing special teams play not only surprised Knight, but also Allendale-Fairfax head coach Eddie Ford.
"We don't normally rush on punts, but we did and (the punter) dropped it and they hadn't done that all night and we hadn't seen them drop one on film either so that was a surprise," Ford said. "We were putting the ball on the carpet tonight, but Midland Valley was playing hard and getting their hands on a lot of balls out there. They are going to have a good team."
Turnovers and penalties and the play of the Midland Valley defense had combined to keep the Tigers out of the end zone three times in the first half alone, but after the Mustangs' offense continued to struggle in the second half the ground game of the Tigers took over as quarterback Solomon McCormick began to keep the ball and gain bigger chunks of yardage.
Allendale-Fairfax took the game's opening drive and drove the ball 70 yards in 11 plays, mostly on the ground, before Brandon Jordan found the end zone on a 4-yard run. Jordan also carried it in for the 2-point conversion and an early 8-0 lead for the Tigers with 7:09 to go in the first.
The Mustangs could do nothing after three plays and Allendale-Fairfax resumed its drive up the field before bogging down just inside the Mustang 20 after an eight-play drive which included a 50-yard run by tailback Jahnari Devo.
Midland Valley punted after three plays and the Tigers drove back down the field to the Mustang 10, but a costly penalty moved them back and Midland Valley's defense held on fourth down. That gave the Mustangs a big boost along with the team's first first down on a 13-yard carry by back Dre Carr, but three plays later and Ben Padgett was punting again.
This time, however, Allendale-Fairfax would give the home team something to work with.
On fourth down inside their own territory, the ball was snapped high over the punter's head and the Mustangs quickly took advantage in scoring in four plays when quarterback Trenton Baughman, who finished with 85 rushing yards, made a nice cut back on a 9-yard carry into the end zone for his team's first score of the season.
That joy was short-lived for the home faithful though as the Tigers answered back on their very next possession when Hartzog took the pitch on a busted option play, reversed his field, and ran 54 yards untouched for the score and a 16-8 halftime lead after quarterback Solomon McCormick ran in for the 2-point conversion.
MiDLAND VALLEY 0 8 0 0 - 8
ALLENDALE-FAIRFAX 8 8 8 14 - 38SCORING SUMMARY
First QuarterAF-Brandon Jordan 4 run (Jordan run) 7:09.Second QuarterMV-Trenton Baughman 9 run (Baughman pass to Quincey Pressley) 2:46.
AF - Jamaree Hartzog 54 run (Solomon McCormick run) 1:37.Third QuarterAF - Kadeem Gardener 50 run on muffed punt (McCormick run) 2:52.Fourth QuarterAF - McCormick 5 run (McCormick run) 11:54.
AF - Devo 4 run (McCormick pass failed) 6:42.INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHINGMV-Dre Carr 5-21, Trenton Baughman 11-85 TD, Derrick O-Conner 5-17, Jalen Durham 7-34, Daniel Carr 2-17.
AF-Jahnari Devo 11-91 1TD, Jamaree Hartzog 9-65 TD, Brandon Jordan 13-86 1TD, Solomon McCormick 12-85 1TD.PASSINGAF - Solomon McCormick 4-10 80.
MV - Trenton Baughman 4-20 58, Daniel Carr 0-2 0.RECEIVINGAF -Reshawn Riley 1-8, Denzel Washington 2-64, Yousef Jenkins 1-8.
MV - Logan Wheat 1-5, Quincey Pressley 1-12, Kameron Brown 2-41, Tracy Gartrell 1-0.