Doing whatever it takes -- South Pointe defense leads way in tough region win over Fairfield Central

Photo by Joe L. Hughes II

South Pointe's Gerald Dixon tries to corral Fairfield Central running back Jimmy Walker in the pivotal region contest in Winnsboro last week. The Stallions were able to earn a hard fought win and a share of first place in Region IV-3A, 17-7.

WINNSBORO, S.C. -- South Pointe head coach Bobby Carroll could not have described last Friday night’s contest with region foe Fairfield Central any better -- “it was nothing short of a 12 round fight.”
A haymaker in the form of a 25 yard pass from backup quarterback Devin Pearson to Montay Crockett gave Carroll’s Stallions the cushion they needed late in the fourth quarter at Winnsboro’s E.K. McClendon Stadium, allowing the team’s stout defense to turn out the lights on the Griffins, defeating them 17-7.
“This team does not care about statistics, how many touchdowns one of them has or the number of shutouts are achieved,” Carroll said. “All we care about is what the scoreboard says at the end of the game.”
Facing a high octane Fairfield Central offense which had not previously scored less than 26 points this season, South Pointe yielded 212 yards on the night, holding Griffins’ star quarterback Danny Miller to 10- of-22 passing for 57 yards and an interception.
The theft of Miller, which occurred on Fairfield Central’s first series, led to the Stallions getting on the board first in the game, a 19 yard scamper by all-American Jadeveon Clowney.
Clowney, who is regarded as one of the nation’s top prospects for his exploits on the defensive side of the ball, proved he was not a “one trick pony” by toting the ball twice on the drive -- a 4th-and- 1 play and the touchdown run.
“One of our backs separated his shoulder early, so Clowney was able to step in and be effective for us,” Carroll said.
South Pointe would add a field goal by Landon Ard in the second quarter to take a 10-0 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Following a Stallions punt after the break, Fairfield Central’s running game cranked it up a notch, the legs of Griffins tailback Jimmy Walker eventually getting into the end zone from six yards out.
On several more occasions Fairfield Central would get into South Pointe territory during the second half, however, none of the drives would come away with points, much to the disappointment of head coach Reggie Kennedy.
“That’s a good defense over there, one of the best in the state; but we were able to run a bit in the second half and wear them down a bit,” Kennedy said. “But we knew this game would come down to who made the most plays. It just so happened they made more plays than us.”
Carroll also was not happy about his squad leaving points off the board, and more specifically, putting the ball on the ground.
“This was a tough, but sloppy ball game for us,” Carroll said. “To give up four fumbles and still win against a team this good is a tribute to how good our defense played (Friday night).”
South Pointe improved to 7-1 in 2010, and more importantly 3-0 in Region IV-3A going into a contest with Chester which will decide a region champion. Fairfield Central hopes to take care of business Friday against Fort Mill before finishing up the regular season at the rival Cyclones.