Brothers Stevenson lift Manning over Battery Creek in 30-24 playoff win

Manning – The sport of football is filled with the lore of a coach having a play that he sticks in his back pocket and is waiting for just that perfect moment to use it.

Manning High School football head coach Reggie Kennedy now has a story he can reminisce over a few years down the road with anybody and everybody.

Trailing Battery Creek 24-21 with nine seconds remaining in their first-round game in the AA state playoffs on November 6, Monarch senior quarterback Lovell Stevenson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to his little brother but fellow senor, tight end Lovon Stevenson, with three seconds left to clinch what would be a 30-24 triumph at the BCHS field in Beaufort.

“It was a tight end delay,” said Kennedy, whose team improved to 6-5 with the victory and will be back on the road to face Dillon in the second round on November 13. “It’s a play that we work on in practice every day, but this was the first time we’ve used it all year. We’d been holding it back, waiting for the right time. But I had told the guys, ‘When we run this, it will be for the win.’ “

And so it was.

It wasn’t completely a do-or-die situation for MHS. The winning score wasn’t on fourth down so Kennedy told his left-handed throwing quarterback if the play wasn’t there to throw the ball away and junior placekicker David Leon would get a chance to boot a game-tying field goal from about 30 yards out.

It didn’t come to that.

“It’s just a little throwback to the tight end,” Kennedy said. “The tight end is selling the pass blocking and then at the last second Lovon stepped out and went backside. He was wide open.”

Leon added the extra point and Manning came up with a safety on the game’s final play for the final count as Battery Creek tried some tomfoolery to get someone free for a game-winning score.

“This time of year you just want to survive to play another week,” Kennedy said. “It felt good to get a win, especially with the way that we did it, scoring after they went ahead with 1:41 left in the game.

“It says a whole lot about our kids. That was a heck of a drive for us to score that touchdown with just three seconds left in the game.”

The possession got off to a good start when junior A’majai Dow returned the kickoff to the Monarch 45-yard line. Manning later picked up a first down when Lovell Stevenson connected with senior wide receiver Jordyn Thompson for a 15-yard gain to the Battery Creek 20.

Stevenson had a big night spinning the football. He connected on 14 of 19 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He only rushed for five yards on five carries, but he did run for one score.

Thompson was Stevenson’s top target with five catches for 39 yards. However, he did spread the wealth. Senior wide receiver CJ Robinson had two catches for 89 yards, one of them a touchdown.. Sophomore running back Destin Thames had two catches for 56 yards, Dow had two catches for five yards, junior running back Cameron Green had a 24-yard reception, senior running back Daniel Robinson had a 9-yard catch, and Lovon “Duck” Stevenson had the game-winning snag.

Manning ran the ball effectively, picking up 148 yards to finish with 382 yards of total offense. Thames was the leading rusher with 15 carries for 79 yards, while Daniel Robinson had 52 yards and a score on nine attempts. Junior running back Isaiah Baxter, who had missed the last few games with an injury, returned and had four totes for 12 yards.

It was no surprise that senior middle linebacker Ethan Lowder was the leader of the defense. He finished with a team high 12 tackles to go with one quarterback sack and one tackle for a loss.

Senior defensive end Ethan Morales, junior cornerback Derahjae Wheeler and senior cornerback Malachi Rankins had six tackles apiece. Rankins also broke up a pass.

Junior free safety Jaden Woods had an interception and four tackles, junior noseguard Vijay Donaldson had three tackles, two of them for a loss, and Lovon Stevenson had four tackles and a sack from his defensive end slot.

Manning will be making the 76-mile drive north on Interstate 95 to take on Dillon, its Region 6 foe, for the second time this year. In the first meeting at Dillon Memorial Stadium on October 16, the Monarchs led 14-10 at halftime but a bad third quarter helped the Wildcats gain control and go on to a 37-22 triumph.

Dillon, the No. 1 seed in the lower state portion of the bracket and the No. 2 team in the High School Sports Report AAA rankings, will bring an 8-1 record into the contest after getting a first-round bye.

“The last time, we played really well for two quarters,” Kennedy said. “We kind of let it get away from us in the quarter (giving up a long scoring drive then fumbling the ensuing kickoff to set up a short scoring drive to make it 24-14).

“I felt like we kind of beat ourselves and let it get away from us in the third quarter. We’ve also to get past this hurdle of the second round and advance in the playoffs.”

Baxter had a big game against the Wildcats, the last time he was completely healthy. Baxter ran for 115 yards on 22 carries and also had a 35-yard reception. Thames also had a solid game with 59 yards on 12 carries.