Pinewood Prep Wins Hard-Fought 35-21 Over Northside Christian to Advance To AAA Finals Against Wilson Hall
Pinewood Prep's running back sensation Jeremiah Singleton, photo by Roger Lee
By Billy G. baker
Publisher
Summerville—With the winner advancing to the SCISA AAA title game, Pinewood Prep and Northside Christian battled to a 14-14 deadlock at half-time on Nov. 15, but with an unrelenting ground attack, led by running back sensation Jeremiah Singleton, the host team pulled away to earn a 35-21 win.
The gold medal round of the SCISA AAA football will be contested between the Panthers and Wilson Hall on Saturday night at 7:30pm at Charleston Southern University, just 12 miles away from the Pinewood Prep campus.
After the big win over Northside Christian, highly experienced head coach Devonte Holloman, a former South Carolina and NFL player, told the HSSR, “It was a fight tonight and our kids love the game and they kept battling,” said Coach Holloman. “This is the spot we had hoped to be in when we started the season.
“I love these players, and I love coaching them, and they competed hard for all four quarters tonight, and coming out on top makes all the hard-work worth it,” said Coach Hollomon. “I felt like we wore them down in the second half. We had a complete team effort tonight from the entire team.
“Now we have to focus on playing our best game of the season against Wilson Hall in the state championship this week,” said Coach Hollomon. “Although we beat them earlier (49-7) they are a vastly improved team, and we need a good week of practice to get ready to make some school history.”
Northside Christian, head coached by Dean Howell, told the HSSR, after the game, ”Pinewood Prep is number one in SCISA AAA for a reason, and they really took it to us in the second half,” said Coach Howell. “I am very proud of our team and what they accomplished with 11 wins for our program.
“Sam Burks and Jake Jeffrey played very well for us on offense tonight,” said Coach Howell. “At the half, when we were all tied up, I told my team that we came down here to win a ball game, and we came out strong with good field position on the kick-off return but the blocked field goal turned the momentum away from us. On another drive we got a penalty, and then we came up a yard short when we went for it on fourth down and that hurt a scoring opportunity also.
“This is a hard lost, but we have a lot of good younger players returning,” said Coach Howell. “We set a lot of records this year with wins, total offense etc., so our goal is to keep working hard and stay focused on our goals for next season.”
Singleton (5-10,185) ran through the Northside Christian defense for 230 yards on 32 carries and he scored four touchdowns in willing his team to the state finals with extra effort all game. The senior leadership of quarterback Asa Windham (6-0,175) was also on full display as he contributed 68 rushing yards on six carries while completing six passes for 58 yards in the victory.
Any time a team pounds out 358 yards rushing in a single game, one must tip their hat to a Pinewood Prep offensive line led by seniors Jackson Spafford and Sami Abuhakema, along with junior MacGregor Tuten and three up and coming sophomores in Jacob Sweet, David Harper, and Kenneth Robbins.
Junior defensive end/athlete prospect JT Kelly (6-4, 235) helped lead the defense along with talented junior quarterback/strong safety Will Watson (6-2, 175) and both have strong next level potential. Senior MLB Connor White was a pre-game co-captain and he also played well on defense. Watson also had 48 yards on seven carries and a touchdown in the second half. On his touchdown run he looked like he had been shot out of a cannon as he sped by defenders on the way to the end zone.
From the receiving corp, senior Terrence Stallworth has been a play-maker all season with 35 receptions for 655 yards and 12 touchdowns and he caught two passes for 13 yards against the Crusaders.
The Panthers took the opening kick-off and marched 52 yards in six plays with Singleton scoring from the 9- yard line with 10:11 left in the first period. Alex Hylton added the first of his five PATs on the night.
Northside Christian put together a 73-yard drive on six plays, late in the first quarter, with senior running back Sam Burks (5-10,178) scoring on a one-yard run. The PAT failed and Pinewood led 7-6 with 37 seconds in the first quarter.
The Crusaders took the lead after the combination of an interception and personal foul on the same play put them in business at the Pinewood five- yard line. Burks scored a three-yard run with 8:07 left in the second period and QB BJ Suits passed to Jake Jeffrey for a two-point conversion as NC led 14-7 at this point.
On the ensuing kick-off, the Panthers put together one of the better scoring drives of the game, going 88 yards in 9 plays capped off by Singleton’s 15-yard up the middle scoring run. Hylton’s PAT tied the game at 14 at the half.
NC received the third quarter kick-off and they got an excellent return by JR Kinard all the way to the Pinewood Prep 34-yard line. After the drive bogged down at the Pinewood 19, the Crusaders attempted a 36-yard field goal but Prep’s Daniel Wiggins blocked the field goal for a great play on special teams.
The next score in the game was set up by Preston Holiday’s recovered fumble at the 47-yard line for Pinewood Prep. Six plays later, Watson burst over from the 13-yard line out of a Wildcat look, and the PAT gave the Panthers a 21-14 lead with 3:08 left in the third period.
Early in the fourth period, NC DB Dalton Gadsen scooped up a fumble and ran 80-yards for a touchdown to knot the game at 21 after the PAT.
From here on out, Pinewood Prep dominated the game on offense. The Panthers marched 65 yards in seven plays, aided by a face-mask penalty, as Singleton scored on a 12-yard run with 5:47 left in the game. Hylton’s s PAT made it 28-21. Then after taking over on downs from the NC 34-yard line on their next possession, Singleton scored on the first play on a run up the middle and the PAT made the final score 35-21.
Coach Hollomon is still updating defensive tackle leaders for the season but there no doubt Pinewood is a force on offense. They have compiled 4,577 yards of offense in 11 games. They have rushed for 2,653 yards and passed for 1,924 that defines a team balanced on offense.
Singleton has rushed for 1,771 yards on 178 carries and 28 TD’s averaging 9.95 yards a carry. Windham has completed 110-of-160 passes for 1,801 yards and 24 TD’s with just four interceptions. Windham has added 423 rushing yards on 46 carries and he has four rushing touchdowns.
Watson, among the fastest players on the team, has completed 12-of-23 passes for 242 yards and two TD’s while adding 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns to his resume this season. Watson should be near the top of the tackle index when those numbers are released shortly.
In an e mail to the HSSR Monday night, Coach Hollomon said, “With history on the line, the Panthers are confident, excited, and hungry!”
