5 hours Ago
GRAY COLLEGIATE 63, SOUTH AIKEN 13 A rough week turned even tougher for South Aiken on Thursday night, leaving the T-Breds with more questions than answers as they head into a brutal portion of the Region 4-AAAA football schedule. Thursday's Homecoming game against Gray Collegiate was the first of three games in 10 days for the T-Breds and others in the region after missing two games due to Hurricane Helene and subsequent school closings, and with the South Carolina High School League approving one extra week at the end of the regular season that still meant finding a way to cram two games into those additional days. South Aiken found itself in a 35-0 hole in the first quarter Thursday in a 63-13 loss that the T-Breds, now 0-3 in region play, have to find a way to get over before a road trip Tuesday to Gilbert.
"Yeah, it's rough," said head coach Chris Hamilton. "We've got to figure out in one day how to get this thing turned back around and get going again. I don't know.
It's just one of them things where we didn't come out very prepared. I thought we didn't have a great week of practice all week, offensive line-wise, and it showed. Defensively, some things changed up.
"We're banged up, still not full health and I don't know that we will get to there. But you can't make excuses like that. You've got to get ready to go play.
We were not ready to play, and that's on me as a head coach. I've got to figure out a way to get this group back together and play ball the way they were playing before a couple weeks ago." It was South Aiken's (2-4 overall) first game in nearly a month - they missed two games due to the storm and then had their bye week - and the T-Breds looked like a very different team than the one that last took the field Sept.
20. A defense that has shown plenty of signs of improvement this season allowed 449 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns on 37 plays, as Gray Collegiate needed only four plays to score on its opening possession and didn't slow down much from there - the War Eagles scored on all seven of their possessions, including one lone drive in the second half with a running clock and the final two quarters reduced to 8 minutes. Gray Collegiate also added a pair of defensive touchdowns, one on an interception return on the first play after the T-Breds got their first first down on their fourth drive of the game, the other on a fumble return on the final play of the first half after quarterback Tucker Bryan dropped the ball going out of bounds with no time remaining.
The bright spot for the T-Breds came from the deep passing game, with Bryan and Kyson McLeod connecting four times for 151 yards and two touchdowns. The first was a 76-yarder midway through the second quarter to make it a 42-6 deficit, and the second was a 39-yarder midway through the third to cut the War Eagles' lead to 56-13. Jevon Edwards rushed for 73 yards on 10 carries against a tough War Eagles defense.
He broke free for four gains of 10 yards or more, but there wasn't much else working for the T-Breds on the ground. Gray Collegiate's Tyler Waller completed 10 of 11 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, and BJ Montgomery ran the ball eight times for 104 yards and three first-half scores of his own. The loss leaves South Aiken in a tough spot at 0-3 in the region, and the T-Breds have to find answers quickly with Gilbert looming Tuesday and then Midland Valley paying a visit next Saturday.
"Yeah, you've got to flush it. Say, 'OK, we screwed up, messed up bad here. Let's go see what we can do,'" Hamilton said.
"We're 0-3 in the region, so if we're going to make the playoffs we need to go get some wins." GC 35 21 0 7 -- 63 SA 0 6 7 0 -- 13 SCORING SUMMARY First Quarter GC - BJ Montgomery 4 run (Junior Gonzalez kick) 10:32 GC - Montgomery 55 run (Gonzalez kick) 7:47 GC - Tyler Waller 24 pass to Zion Job (Gonzalez kick) 4:47 GC - Waller 27 pass to Job (Gonzalez kick) 2:30 Three developments are planned around Aiken's Powderhouse Connector. Here's what we know.
Second arrest made in Aiken County dogfighting investigation Internet providers continue restoring service after storm damage in Aiken County Two subdivisions could be built one property apart north of Aiken. Here's what we know. Aiken woman accused of holding man at gunpoint, ordering him to lie on firestarter-covered mattress Thomas, South Aiken sweep titles at Region 4-AAAA girls' golf tournament Western SC Economic Development Partnership celebrates 40th anniversary in Aiken Job fair for Masters postponed; applications for 2025 Masters Tournament roles still open Aiken County Council gives final approval to ordinance involving the sale of the old hospital Over 6K church volunteers serve Southeast including CSRA residents following Helene GC - Caleb Raysor 51 interception return (Gonzalez kick) 1:44 Second Quarter GC - Montgomery 8 run (Gonzalez kick) 8:12 SA - Tucker Bryan 76 pass to Kyson McLeod (kick blocked) 6:48 GC - Waller 29 pass to Quinton Stroman (Gonzalez kick) 1:33 GC - LJ Holley 40 fumble return (Gonzalez kick) 0:00 Third Quarter SA - Bryan 39 pass to McLeod (Jack Ziegler kick) 4:14 Fourth Quarter GC - MJ Hornsby 10 pass to Kaleb Berry (Gonzalez kick) 4:04 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing GC - BJ Montgomery 8-104-3, Tyler Waller 4-64, Nate Dixon 7-31, MJ Hornsby 4-4.
Totals 23-203-3. SA - Jevon Edwards 10-73, Juju Tooks 1-0, Blain Drake 1-(-4), Tucker Bryan 5-(-13). Totals 17-56.
Passing GC - Tyler Waller 10-11-185-3-0, MJ Hornsby 3-3-61-1-0. Totals 13-14-246-4-0. SA - Tucker Bryan 7-9-183-2-1, Blain Drake 0-1.
Receiving GC - Kaleb Berry 4-78-1, Zion Job 3-71-2, Quinton Stroman 2-56-1, Hiszari Gantt 4-41. Totals 13-246-4. SA - Kyson McLeod 4-151-2, Blain Drake 1-24, Ryan Lubeck 2-8.
Totals 7-183-2. Interceptions GC - Caleb Raysor 1-51-1..
