Marlboro County puts together 18-play, 97-yard scoring drive for winning TD in 21-14 victory over Manning

Manning – When Lovell Stevenson’s punt rolled dead at the Marlboro County High School 3-yard line, the Manning football team felt pretty good about its situation.

The Monarchs had opened the second half with a 16-play scoring drive to tie the game at 14-14 and forced a 3-downs-and-out series on MC’s first possession of the half -- that didn’t come until less than four minutes were left in the third quarter. Even though MHS’ ensuing drive stalled at midfield, Stevenson’s punt had the Bulldogs backed up to their goal line with 9:41 remaining in the game. Things looked good.

There was just one problem. Manning didn’t get the ball back until just 49 seconds were left. Marlboro put together an 18-play, 97-yard touchdown drive that sucked 8:52 off the clock to give it a 21-14 victory on Friday at Ramsey Stadium.

The triumph helped MC finish the regular season with a 9-1 overall record as it finished second in Region 6-AA with a 4-1 mark. The Monarchs fell to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in region play.

“We did a really good job on that drive,” said MC head coach Cory Johson, whose team rebounded from its first loss of the season, 17-14 to Dillon on a field goal on the last play of the game. “ We were able to eat away most of the clock and not give them much time at the end. Last week I feel like we may have given Dillon too much time at the end of the game. We did a better job of managing the clock.”

Of the 18 plays on the game-winning drive, junior quarterback Tre Blakeny had 10 carries and senior running back Jamorie Williams had six rushes. The other two plays were an incompletion thrown by Blakeney and a completion to senior Laquincy Leach for no gain.

The Bulldogs got a first down on three consecutive second downs to start the drive, the final one being a 16-yard run by Blakeney that put them at midfield. Marlboro actually had 117 rushing yards on the drive because of a holding penalty and a personal foul that came in the next sequence of downs before they could extend the drive.

Williams had a 3-yard gain on first down but the 10-yard holding penalty made it first and 17 from the MC 43. Blakeney scrambled for six yards before throwing the incompletion to bring up third and 11. Blakeney ran for 12 yards, but the 15-yard penalty made it third and 14. However, Williams broke off a 24-yard run for a first down at the Manning 30.

Williams was playing in the backfield because Marlboro’s two leading rushers, junior Khrishawn Smith and senior Tehvin Smith were out due to sickness or injury. Williams had two carries for six yards entering the game. He had 13 totes for 97 yards on Friday.

“Jamorie has never played tailback for me since I’ve been here,” said Johnson, who is in his third year at the Bennettsville school. “He did a really good job, and the offensive line did a good job. I’m super proud of my guys.”

After the completion to Leach for no gain, Blakeney had runs of seven and three yards for a first down He followed that with an 8-yard run and a penalty against Manning make it first and goal at the six. Williams had a 1-yard run before Blakeney went in for the go-ahead touchdown. Senior placekicker Westin Kirk added the extra point to make it 21-14 with 49 seconds to go.

The Monarchs actually got the ball to the MC 35 and got a snap off before the clock reached triple zeroes. However, Stevenson, who is the team’s quarterback, was intercepted by Leach in the end zone.

“It seemed kind of like déjà vu,” Manning head coach Reggie Kennedy said of Marlboro topping his team’s multi-play drive. “I have to give them credit. They put together a heck of a drive, going 97 yards. They just kind of wore us down right there at the end. It was a heck of a football game.”

Blakeney rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries with him losing 20 yards on a fumble that fortunately for Marlboro went out of bounds. He completed 6 of 10 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown of 19 yards to freshman standout wide receiver Carson Roberts. Senior Layton Chavis had three catches for 32 yards.

“Tre’s a winner, man,” Johnson said. “I love Tre. He does a great job with our football team. He’s always even-keeled and focused, one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around. He did a great job of finishing the game.”

Manning was playing without its top running back as well in senior Isaiah Baxter. Stevenson, a senior, rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Sophomore Destin Thames ran for 65 yards and a score on 17 rushes, and senior Daniel Robinson had eight totes for 44 yards.

Stevenson completed 9 of 16 passes for 93 yards against two interceptions. Senior CJ Robinson had three catches for 44 yards, and Thames had three grabs for 11 yards.

The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard first with a 9-play, 70-yard drive that started at the end of the first quarter and carried over to the second. The big play was a 30-yard completion to junior Royal Williams that gave MC a first down at the Monarch 25. Majorie Williams scored from one yard out to make it 7-0 with 10:10 remaining in the first half.

MHS answered quickly with an 8-play, 63-yard scoring drive. Stevenson connected with CJ Robinson for a 38-yard gain to the Marlboro 15. Stevenson scored on a 4-yard run three plays later. Junior placekicker David Leon tacked on the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:17 left.

Blakeney hooked up with Roberts for the 19-yard TD pass with 2:50 to go to make the halftime score 14-7. That set the stage for Manning’s massive drive to begin the second half.

MHS started at its 35 with Stevenson running for 11 yards on the first play. He then completed a 10-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jordyn Thompson on third and seven for a first down at the MC 41. Manning methodically picked up four first downs, the final one coming on an 8-yard run by Thames to set up first and goal at the 1. He went in on the next play. Leon’s PAT tied the game at 14-14 with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter, meaning Manning had drained 8:28 off the clock before the Bulldogs got to touch it.

“They just made one more play than we did,” Kennedy said. “I’m proud of the way our kids competed. Of course, I’m not happy with the outcome. This time of year you’ve got to figure out how to win.”

Marlboro County is the fifth seed in the 14-team lower state portion of the AA state playoff bracket. It will play host to Region 6 foe and No. 12 seed Waccamaw in the first round on Friday, November 6.

“We’re building a program down here,” said Johnson, who pointed out the Bulldogs had their first 9-1 regular season in 17 years. “I’m proud of what we’re doing. Anybody can win once you get to the playoffs. We need to get healthy (Marlboro had Covid-19 issues this past week) and see what we can do.”

Manning is the ninth seed and will travel to No. 8 Battery Creek in the first round.

“I told them it’s a brand new season,” Kennedy said. “All the records are out of the window, everyone is 0-0. You’ve got to win to advance.”