Conway football steamrolls South Brunswick in Carolinas Kickoff Clash

Conway didn’t just need a win.

The Tigers, nearly two years removed a double-digit victory, wanted a convincing one. They can check that off the list of this season’s early successes.

Conway scored touchdowns on its first five possessions and then cruised with back-ups to a 55-0 victory over South Brunswick (N.C.) on Thursday at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in the Derrick Law Firm Carolinas Kickoff Clash.

“We needed this,” tailback Jah’Maine Martin said. “Last year we went 2-9. The year before that we went 2-9. So starting 2-0, this is a good feeling.”

None of those first five scoring series required more than five plays, and Martin did his part in quickening the pace.

The senior scored three first-quarter touchdowns from lengths of 36, seven and 14 yards. He had 66 yards rushing in the game, but they came on only five carries. He, receiver Bryan Edwards and quarterback Peyton Derrick were all pulled prior to halftime after helping to build a 33-0 lead.

Derrick threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns – a 30-yarder to Edwards and a 39-yard strike to Darren Stanley. Edwards finished with 100 yards, that touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Defensively, Conway was just as effective.

South Brunswick’s running game, one that went for 350 yards and produced 43 points in a win over West Columbus a week ago, never got going. Sophomore Josh Carter was held to 21 first-half yards on 10 carries, a far cry from his 146-yard effort last week.

The Cougars never crossed midfield in the opening half. They did reach the 1-yard line in the third quarter already trailing by 40 points, but a pass to an open receiver was dropped.

South Brunswick never threatened again.

It was the first time Conway posted a shutout since doing so twice in the 2011 season. And, like the team’s effort on offense and special teams, it was a refreshing site for the Tigers, even if they were playing an overmatched opponent.

“We need to keep driving, keep moving forward,” linebacker Austin Manchester said. “We can’t let this go to our head. We’re a good team, no doubt, but we’re going to be playing better teams.”

Conway will move on to play Socastee – one of the Tigers’ two victories from a year ago – and then face Hartsville, one of the top-ranked teams in Class AAA. While how much longer the team keeps its winning streak going is up the air, the lopsided win Thursday brought with it some history.

It was Conway’s largest margin of victory since a 56-0 win over Socastee on Sept. 1, 2006. More importantly, it moved the Tigers to 2-0 for the first time since 2008 and, as Martin pointed out, matched their win totals of each of the past two seasons.

It earned coach Chuck Jordan an ice bath from a couple seniors in the waning moments.

“The truth of the matter is we’ve got a long way to go,” Jordan said. “But I can tell you, 2-0 is a positive. We haven’t been good enough to challenge good teams and good enough to put the hurt on struggling teams. But we have so far [this year].”

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Conway football steamrolls South Brunswick in Carolinas Kickoff Clash."