Purnell Swett fullback Jock Clark, bottom, was a load for Joe McMillian and the rest of the Scotland defense to bring down on Friday. Clark had 107 rushing yards, three touchdowns and four two-point conversion runs.
That plan went horrendously wrong for Scotland, as quarterback Kwashawn Quick was dragged down, and time ran out on the Scots in a devastating one-point loss that opened Southeastern Conference play for both teams at Big Mo Stadium in Pembroke on Friday.
Scotland scored first and trailed briefly 8-7 before posting two more first-half touchdowns to take a 23-8 halftime lead. Both teams drove the ball up and down the field throughout the game, and Purnell Swett was able to come back and take a 30-29 lead just past the midway point of the final quarter.
Scotland struck back in just 75 seconds, following a 62-yard burst by tailback Caison Murphy with a 4-yard touchdown run by Quick. Swett made it three touchdowns in a span of 87 seconds when Ethan Clark — also the Rams' starting quarterback — returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown.
Swett's 5-foot-11, 245-pound refrigerator of a fullback, Jock Clark, converted the go-ahead two-point conversion for the eventual game-winning score. The punishing Clark led Swett with 18 carries for 107 yards and three rushing touchdowns, and he successfully converted on 4-of-5 two-point conversion runs; the one conversion he missed saw the ball spotted just an inch or two short of the goal line.
"They ran the power, and no one was coming off the edge for us," said Scotland head coach Chip Williams. "(He) was a load to try and bring down."
Scotland falls to 2-5 and 0-1 in the SEC with the loss. Purnell Swett climbs to 7-0 and 1-0. There was a world of difference in the caliber of opponent the two teams had faced coming into Friday's game; some had the Rams rated with the weakest 4-A schedule in the state. The Rams were definitely not better than the Scots in the way the two teams' records would suggest, but they pulled off the comeback win nonetheless.
Scotland squandered another fantastic running performance from what has become the team's three-headed rushing attack. Quick glided for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries; seven of his 13 runs were for more than 11 yards, and he had a 43-yard run in the third quarter to set up a touchdown. Murphy ended with 123 yards and two scores on a dozen attempts, and Tony McRae had 128 yards on 14 carries, including runs of 22, 25 and 40 yards.
A 10-play, 80-yard drive on the Scots' first possession ended on a 4-yard TD run by Latrell Adams at the 4:21 mark of the first quarter. The Rams came back with a 65-yard drive that was capped on a 15-yard scoring run by Jock Clark, who was untouched as he ran up the middle. His two-point play made it 8-7 five seconds into the second quarter.
McRae had a 40-yard run on Scotland's second touchdown drive, which was finished off on a 10-yard run by Murphy. A 22-yard run by McRae got Scotland into Swett territory on its next drive, and Quick scored on a 13-yard run five plays later. Quick and Murphy both had successful two-point conversion runs in the second quarter, and the Scots led 23-8 at intermission.
A 1-yard run by Clark capped a five-minute drive to give the Rams their second touchdown with 5:15 left in the third quarter. His second two-point conversion run cut the deficit to 23-16. The Scots responded with an 86-yard TD drive in nine plays: Quick had an 11-yard run on the first play, knocked two would-be tacklers down with a spin move on a 19-yard run two plays later, and turned the corner on the left side during a 43-yard run on the sixth play of the drive; Murphy scored from one yard out with 55.2 seconds to play in the third period, and a failed two-point play left the Scots leading 29-16.
The Rams scored on their next two possessions to take their first lead since the first quarter. Ethan Clark threw a 26-yard TD pass to wideout Jason Hunt on a third-and-10 play, and Jock Clark had another 1-yard punch-in with 5:20 remaining. Jock Clark scored the two-point conversion after the touchdown pass, and he came up just short following his go-ahead scoring run.
Murphy's 62-yard run was followed by a 4-yard keeper that Quick took into the end zone. He added the two-point conversion on a similar run to give the Scots a 37-30 advantage with 4:05 left to play.
Ethan Clark ran across the field when the Scots tried to kick away from him. He nonchalantly scooped up the bouncing kickoff and hesitated momentarily before surging through the middle and breaking into a full sprint down the left sideline on a 79-yard scoring run. The game-winning two-point run by Jock Clark was made with great effort — Clark was stood up outside the 2-yard line, but spun, holding the ball over his head with both hands and powered over the goal line to make it 38-37.
Scotland drove 62 yards in 11 plays to get into position for the win. Murphy carried nine times on the drive, including a 19-yard run to put the ball at the 13 of Purnell Swett. Scotland called timeouts after three consecutive running plays, leaving the team without a timeout and the ball at the 10 with 9.8 seconds to go.
During the timeout, SHS kicker Balyn Krout started to lead the field goal unit out onto the field, but the field goal team was waved back, and the offense was given final instructions before going back out for what would be the last play.
The snap was a little off, Quick had trouble handling it and he was grabbed by the back of his jersey as he attempted to escape pressure. Quick flung the ball wildly but was ruled down, ending the game.
"Time was going down, and it was a two-play game at that point in time," said Williams. "The bottom line is we were going to throw a pass, and if it missed, we were going to kick a field goal.
"It was a bad snap and we mishandled it. A passing play takes six seconds... We should have had plenty of time."
Ethan Clark had 53 yards on 13 carries and 52 passing yards with a touchdown in addition to his 79-yard kickoff return score. The Rams had 221 yards rushing on 43 attempts.
Scotland ran for 401 yards on 47 carries, and Quick was 3-of-8 passing for 37 yards and one interception.
The Scots will try to overcome the disappointing loss when they host Pinecrest on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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