Battesburg-Leesville builds off come-from-behind victory over Clinton
Panthers have reeled off three straight wins, two of them being region contests
Batesburg-Leesville -- After going 8-4 last season and 12-1 the year before, the Batesburg-Leesville High School football team knew this season could be a challenge, especially in the early going. The Panthers graduated 24 seniors and were having to replace them with a group of sophomores and juniors who had very little, if any, varsity playing experience.
B-L started the season with four straight losses, allowing 175 points in the process, albeit against a very difficult non-region schedule. When it trailed Clinton 28-13 entering the fourth quarter of its final non-region contest on September 25, it looked as though Batesburg-Leesville would be winless as it prepared for its first season playing a Class A region schedule.
That would not be the case though. The Panthers scored 15 points in the final stanza to force overtime, scored on the first play of their overtime possession and kept the Red Devils out of the end zone on their possession for a 35-28 home win at The Pit.
B-L has followed that victory up with triumphs in its first two Region 2-Class A contests. The Panthers beat C.A. Johnson 56-18 and Clear Dot Charter 48-0.
“That was a major shot in the arm,” even-keeled B-L head coach Greg Lawson said of the win over Clinton, which is ranked eighth in the latest High School Sports Report AA poll. “Defensively, nobody on the team that played Friday night had started a game before this season. I think they came into their own, and we’ve started to get the right people in the right places.”
The Panthers’ Mario Waters scored on a 6-yard run with 7:25 remaining in the game to cut the Red Devils’ lead to 28-19. Kentravius Green caught a pass from Terrance Cook for the 2-point conversion to make it 28-21.
Batesburg-Leesville put together a 12-play, 67-yard scoring drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Cook with 16 seconds left in regulation. Leo Gonzales added the extra point to tie the game at 28-28 and force overtime.
In the overtime, B-L got the ball first. Cook tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Graham Pierce on the first play to make it 35-28.
Clinton broke off a 9-yard run to the 1-yard line on the first play of its possession. The Panthers made a stop on second down before a penalty against the Red Devils made its third down and six yards to go. B-L held on the final two plays to secure the victory.
“It’s just a case of where they keep plugging away and playing,” Lawson said. “I didn’t see any give-up, nobody felt like we couldn’t win. You see them grow up right before your eyes.”
Cook had an outstanding all-around game. He rushed for 113 yards and two TDs on 16 carries while completing 10 of 22 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
Pierce had both of the scoring receptions, finishing with six catches for 147 yards. Waters rushed for 75 yards and a score on 14 attempts.
“Offensively, I think we’ve been pretty good.” Lawson said. “Our problem has been stopping people.”
Batesburg-Leesville was placed in Class A this season following the South Carolina High School League reclassification. With the class split into two halves and competing for two state titles, B-L will be going over the Division I crown.
The rest of the region schedule has them visiting both Eau Claire and Whitmire before closing out the regular season hosting Ridge Spring-Monetta.
“This is where you want to be,” Lawson said. “You want to hit your stride, play your best games going into region.”
