Pinewood Keeps Rolling with Win Over Laurence Manning

By Roger Lee

Contributing Writer HSSR 

Summerville ­– Despite some self-inflicted wounds by both teams, there was a lot of scoring during Pinewood Prep’s home game against Laurence Manning Academy.

Pinewood Prep handed Laurence Manning Academy a 50-32 loss Sept. 19 at Knight Family Field. The game featured a number of penalties, but also several big plays as both teams had some success moving the ball.

The Panthers (4-1) turned the ball over five times while the Swamp Cats (2-3) turned it over four. Non-offensive highlights included Pinewood defensive lineman Jacob Sweet’s sack in the end zone and fumble recovery for a touchdown, a safety by each team, Pinewood defensive back Carson Good’s return of an onside kick for 51 yards and a TD and a 38-yard field goal by Laurence Manning kicker Daniel Vargas.

“There is a lot for us to clean up,” said Pinewood coach DeVonte Holloman. “We made a lot of unforced mistakes. On offense we need to do a little bit better job of taking care of the ball. We had too many turnovers, but for every one we gave away our defense pretty much got one back. I’m very proud of the way our defense played and proud of the team in general for fighting through adversity when things didn’t go our way to come out with a win.”

Pinewood quarterback Silas Brawner threw four TD passes, connecting with senior Jayden Alexander for two scores and with junior Trey Green for two more. The QB finished with more than 350 passing yards.

Junior Lavoris Lucas led the Panthers’ receivers with five catches for 133 yards. Alexander had three catches for 109 yards and junior Heyward Moore had two catches for 89 yards. Junior Grayson Salego led the Pinewood rushers with 11 carries for 117 yards.

The Panthers pulled out to a 16-0 lead in the opening quarter. They led 36-9 at the half, but gave up seven points in the third quarter and 16 in the final six minutes of play.

Junior Swamp Cats’ QB Grainger Powell passed for more than 200 yards and made some big runs. Sophomore Scoop Dennis was his favorite target, but Asher Sanders, Zy Dennis and Rob Briggs also had multiple receptions. Junior running back Pierson Gamble led the LMA rushing attack.

“Pinewood is very talented on offense,” said Laurence Manning coach Jimmy Noonan. “They have some kids who can go the distance on any given play. Our goal was to get some sustained drives to keep their offense off the field, but we were unable to establish the run early on. Still, I’m extremely proud of our effort. We kept fighting and were able to move the ball especially in the air. Our pass protection got better in the second half.”

Pinewood 50, Laurence Manning 32

 P – Silas Brawner 65-yard pass to Jayden Alexander, Patryk Dzierzanowski kick

 P – Team safety

 P – Brawner 10-yard pass to Trey Green, Dzierzanowski kick

 P – Brawner 26-yard pass to Green, kick blocked

 L – Daniel Vargas 38-yard field goal

 P – Brawner 24-yard pass to Alexander, Dzierzanowski kick

 L – Grainger Powell 1-yard run, run failed

 P – Will Watson 7-yard run, Dzierzanowski kick

 L – Pierson Gamble 7-yard run, Vargas kick

 P – Carson Good 51-yard kickoff return, Dzierzanowski kick

 P – Jacob Sweet sack and fumble recovery in end zone, Dzierzanowski

 L – Powell 33-yard pass to Gamble, Vargas kick

 L – Team Safety

 L – Gamble 7-yard run, Vargas kick