Unlucky bounce dooms Socastee in shootout loss to South Florence

Despite a fast start and a little good fortune, an unlucky bounce ultimately burned Socastee on Friday night in a 47-44 loss to visiting South Florence.

The Braves (2-5 overall, 0-2 Region VI-AAAAA) trailed for the first time in the game 40-36 after Hykeem White scored on an 80-yard run for the Bruins, but Socastee answered early in the fourth quarter when Hunter Illing found Aeneas Green with a touchdown pass for the third time in the game. The 2-point conversion put Socastee ahead 44-40, and the Braves recovered the ensuing onside kick, but were forced to punt.

Socastee stiffened on defense and forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back, but an Illing pass was bobbled and juggled and possibly bounced off the receiver’s foot before being snagged by the Bruins’ Freddy Sparks, who went 40 yards for what would prove to be the game-winning score.

“I thought the ball hit the ground and popped up, but that’s not the way (the officials) saw it,” Socastee coach Doug Illing said.

It was a disappointing finish for the Braves, who started out quickly, scoring on a 52-yard pass from Illing to Green on the third play of the game.

Todd Walker recovered a fumble for Socastee that helped set up a five-play, 43-yard drive capped by a Illing scoring pass to Dashaun Myers for a 15-0 lead.

South Florence answered with a 51-yard touchdown run by Tony McFadden, then Socastee’s Malachi McClendon scored on a 3-yard run to make the lead 21-7.

McFadden added another long scoring run, this time for 46 yards, but the Braves answered again with another touchdown pass from Hunter Illing to Green.

The Bruins (4-3, 1-1) added another pair of scores, one on a 38-yard pass from Austin Moore to White, the other on a 3-yard carry by Deshawn Williams and cut the margin to a point at 28-27.

Socastee was forced to punt on its next possession, but the snap sailed over the punter’s head. He was able to recover and get a punt away, but it didn’t reach the line of scrimmage, meaning the Braves could recover the ball, and McClendon scooped it up and went 60 yards for the score in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Braves a 36-27 edge at the break.

A pair of long touchdown runs in the third quarter gave South Florence a lead for the first time in the game, before the final Illing-Green connection of the night, but after the tip and interception, the Braves were unable to muster a comeback.

“Our kids fought hard. They competed. I’m very proud of them. Just unlucky tonight …” Doug Illing said. “The kids, they did what they needed to do tonight to win, and we just didn’t win on the scoreboard.”

McFadden finished with 131 rushing yards on nine carries and Williams had 171 yards on 26 carries for South Florence. Moore was 9-of-15 passing for 130 yards.

Doug Illing said he was especially pleased with his defense, which gave up 358 rushing yards, but also had some critical stops in the game.

“Our defense played their guts out,” Illing said. “I know they gave up a bunch of points, but they had some big stops and they kept giving us the ball back, and that’s huge.”

Hunter Illing was solid again under center, going 18-for-29 for 208 yards and the tipped interception. Edward Tucker led Socastee with 14 carries for 68 yards, Green had five catches for 91 yards and three touchdowns, and Devin Stamp had seven catches for 87 yards.

“We’re growing and it’s a process. Our team is growing, our seniors are finally stepping up and believing and our juniors are growing into football players. We’re becoming a competitive football team,” Doug Illing said. “We’ve just got to learn how to win.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 12:44 AM with the headline "Unlucky bounce dooms Socastee in shootout loss to South Florence."