Vereen makes big plays to lead South Florence past Socastee

David Vereen didn’t get his hands on the ball that many times on Friday.

But when he did, South Florence’s senior receiver and defensive back made Socastee pay.

Vereen turned two identical quick screen passes into big first-half touchdowns, then picked up a fumble and ran nearly the length of the field for a second-half score that helped the Bruins to a 25-13 win over Socastee at Memorial Stadium.

“Teams have done a lot to try to take him away, so we’ve had to get creative in getting him the ball sometimes,” South Florence coach David Prince said. “He’s just a special player that makes big plays for us.”

Vereen’s first big play came in the second quarter with Socastee (2-8, 1-4 Region VI-AAAA) leading 7-0. He took a quick screen pass from quarterback Austin Moore and zipped 20 yards to make it 7-6 with 9:04 left in the half.

With his team down a point, Vereen gave the Bruins the lead on their next possession. Same play call, same result as Vereen took the pass, split two Socastee defenders and raced 41 yards. Shane Neal’s PAT made it 13-7 at halftime.

Vereen again struck early in the third quarter, but this time on defense. Socastee receiver Zach Cain caught Hunter Illing’s pass for a first down, but was stripped of the ball from behind by a South Florence defender. Vereen picked the ball up at his own 18, got a couple of blocks and weaved his way through traffic before turning on the afterburners, going 82 yards to put South up 19-7.

The Braves, though, didn’t go away quietly.

They got the ball after Vereen’s fumble return and drove 71 yards in 18 plays, getting a 5-yard scoring pass from Illing to Taylor Karnap to make it 19-13 just a minute deep into the fourth quarter.

But after the teams exchanged turnovers on downs, South Florence’s Hykeem White scored from 46 yards out, giving the Bruins a 25-13 lead with 4:58 remaining.

The Braves couldn’t muster enough in the closing minutes to give themselves a realistic chance. After a high snap when South Florence was trying to punt gave Socastee the ball at the Bruins’ 5 with 2:31 left, the Bruins again turned Socastee away, taking over with less than a minute remaining.

The victory improved South Florence to 5-5 overall and 2-2 in Region VI-AAAA. The Bruins will earn a trip to the AAAA playoffs if they can beat rival West Florence next Friday night.

“We have a lot to play for,” Prince said. “We’re playing for a winning season and hopefully we can win the city championship. And we know if we win, we’ve got a playoff game. That’s all you can ask for at this point.”

Socastee closes its season next Friday at home against Sumter.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Vereen makes big plays to lead South Florence past Socastee."