‘I’m so proud’: Socastee goes into The Backyard and takes care of region foe Conway
Socastee coach Ben Hampton is beginning to string together quite a few firsts during his inaugural season at the helm of the program.
His first win came last week over St. James, now he’s got his first winning streak, stringing together two victories by going to The Backyard and defeating Conway 19-7 on Friday. Next, he’ll look to tackle his first victory over the reigning Region 6-5A champs in Carolina Forest.
“This was a big test for our players and this program,” Hampton said. “We had to come in here and play well in all three phases of the game to get a win and, tonight, I feel like we won all three phases. Most of all, we played with great effort and that’s something you can’t coach. I’m so proud of these kids for the week they had at practice and coming out here and putting it all together.”
The Braves (2-1, 2-1 Region 6-5A) rode their horses in the victory over Conway (1-2, 1-2 Region), feeding Michael James, Javon Cola and Jacob Marques while sprinkling in some quarterback runs by Rocco Wojcik to overpower the opposition. From the opening bell, Socastee showed its chops, putting together a five-play, 66-yard drive to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Conway showed offensive prowess, putting together drives of 10, 8, and 17 plays in the first half, but couldn’t execute in the red zone to put points on the board until late in the contest.
“We had a hard time scoring because we kept doing little things to move us backwards,” Conway coach Carlton Terry said. “We had holding penalties, mental mistakes, and just poor execution that put us behind the chains a few times. You can’t do those things and expect to win a game.”
Early in the season, Hampton has been pleased with where his defense is at this point, as a unit that is flying around and making things difficult for the opposition. Former Braves head coach Doug Illing leads that unit and made life difficult on Carlton Terry Jr. and the Conway passing attack, holding Terry Jr. to under 30 percent passing and fewer than 50 yards on the night. Many times throughout the contest, Terry Jr. would look downfield for a target and have to scramble out of the pocket due to pressure or pull the ball down and run for what the defense gave him. His longest completion on the night was just 16 yards.
“We felt like we were able to move the ball, we just weren’t able to sustain anything,” said Conway’s head coach. “This was a big game for them and they did a good job preparing.”
Coming into the matchup, both Socastee and Conway found themselves behind the 8-ball in terms of playoff positioning. The loser of the game would need help to make the playoffs, while the winner would have a chance to play its way into the abbreviated 2020 playoffs. Socastee, played with an increased urgency that Hampton hopes will continue.
“Our guys knew what was at stake and what could (shake out) elsewhere in the region,” he said. “This game was a must-win for playoff positioning. With Carolina Forest losing to Sumter, second place in the region is in play for us. It will take a great effort by our team, but we put one together tonight and will try to do it again next week.”
SOC – 8 8 3 0 - 19
CON – 0 0 0 7 - 7
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
SOC – Jake Marlow 32-yard pass to Raymond Christian (Marlow pass to Rocco Wojcik for 2-point conversion) 10:31
Second Quarter
SOC – Luke Bozard 5-yard run (Michael James run for 2-point conversion) 00:49
Third Quarter
SOC – Dave Alderman 29-yard field goal
Fourth Quarter
CON – Rodney Huggins 4-yard run (Wayco Holland kick good) 00:22
Statistical Leaders
Passing
SOC – Jake Marlow 3-9-78-1-0
CON – Carlton Terry Jr. 10-34-48-0-2
Rushing
SOC – Michael James 15-54
CON – Carlton Terry Jr. 18-117
Receiving
SOC – Jacob Marques 1-33
CON – Jaiden Fignole 5-36
Interceptions
SOC – Caid Byrd 1-9
CON – None