Conway keeps foot on the gas to top Socastee in game with bizarre ending
Conway scored two touchdowns in the opening six minutes and kept its foot on the gas en route to a 50-28 win over region rival Socastee on Friday.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead on Tim Shelton’s interception in the end zone, a play that was set up by back-to-back sacks. Conway’s defensive line stayed in the backfield for much of the rest of the night, too, piling up eight sacks and five additional tackles for loss.
It was enough to keep the Braves and talented quarterback Hunter Illing and his receivers from keeping pace with the region-leading Tigers. That’s because the Tigers ran for 280 yards with seven different ball carriers and D’Wuan Grainger threw for another 194.
The game was put on hold for 19 minutes in the fourth quarter with Conway leading by 22 points because of lighting issues. After play resumed, the majority of the lighting went out again, and the game was finished with fewer than half of the bulbs burning. All any of that did was delay the inevitable, though.
It was the second week in a row the Braves allowed at least 50 points, following last week’s 56-27 loss at Carolina Forest. The back-to-back defeats dropped Socastee to 4-3, but more importantly, 0-2 in Region VI-AAAAA, with a road game at West Florence coming up next week.
As for Conway, the Tigers (6-1, 2-0) joined fellow region undefeated teams Sumter and Conway. The Tigers will play host to South Florence.
Turning point
Conway held a two-touchdown advantage through most of the game, but the Tigers put it away on Antonio Long’s 12-yard touchdown run with 7:24 to go.
Key performers
Juwon Moody: The Conway speedster had four receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
D’wuan Grainger: The Tiger quarterback threw for 194 yards and ran for another 83.
Hunter Illing: Despite constant pressure, Illing finished with 347 passing yards and three total touchdowns.
By the numbers
6
The teams combined for six plays of 50 yards or more. Four of those six were scoring plays.
227
Edward Tucker and Devin Stamp each went over 100 yards receiving and finished with 227 combined.
556
The teams combined for 556 yards of total offense in the first half alone.
They said it
“That quarterback (Hunter Illing) is a tough guy. They gave us fits at times. We were able to get some sacks with our defensive front, but they torched us a few times.” - Conway interim head coach Carlton Terry, on Illing’s 347 passing yards compared with the Tigers’ eight sacks.
“We didn’t know what to expect. We knew they were potentially potent on offense. But we wanted to establish the running game first.” - Terry, after his team ran for 193 first-half yards.
Up next
Conway: vs. South Florence
Socastee: at West Florence
Conway | 20 | 17 | 6 | 7 | — | 50 |
Socastee | 7 | 13 | 0 | 8 | — | 28 |
First quarter
C - Tim Shelton INT return (Will Smith kick)
C - Rakim Bellamy 1 run (Smith kick)
S - Devin Stamp 68 rec from Hunter Illing (Preston Carter kick)
C - D’Wuan Grainger 5 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
C - Juwon Moody 78 rec from Grainger (Smith kick)
S - Edward Tucker 65 rec from Illing (Carter kick)
C - Grainger 5 run (Smith kick)
S - Deshaun Myers 14 run (kick failed)
C - Smith 31 FG
Third quarter
C - Moody 58 rec from Grainger (kick failed)
Fourth quarter
S - Illing 12 run (Myers run)
C - Antonio Long 12 run (Smith kick)
Individual leaders
Rushing: Conway: D’Waun Grainger 11-83; Daiquawn Clark 9-49; Antonio Long 10-75. Home: Socastee Deshaun Myers 19-54.
Passing: Conway: D’Wuan Grainger 8-17-0, 194 yards. Home: Socastee Hunter Illing 16-30-1, 347 yards.
Receiving: Conway: Juwon Moody 4-146; Rakim Bellamy 1-26. Home: Devin Stamp 8-132; Edward Tucker 2-116.
This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Conway keeps foot on the gas to top Socastee in game with bizarre ending."