LAURINBURG — Winning and proving doubters wrong are at the top of the list of things Scotland head coach Richard Bailey enjoys.
Scotland’s football team has done both during throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs, and they have a chance to continue what many thought would be an improbable postseason run when they play at Seventy-First in the 4A East Regional on Friday night.
“There was a lot of people outside our locker room and our coaching staff that didn’t have a lot of faith in us,” Bailey said. “Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t give them a lot of reasons to have faith with how we were playing.
“But I always thought this football team had enough talent, and I’ve been telling that the whole year.”
After finishing the season with an overall record of 5-5, the No. 10 Fighting Scots knocked out No. 7 Durham Jordan, No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons and No. 3 Pine Forest to earn a spot in the regional.
Now they have another shot against the Falcons, a Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent that defeated the Scots 21-6 in Fayetteville during the regular season.
Scotland’s defense turned in what Bailey called a ‘lights out’ performance against the Falcons. Both teams were scoreless at halftime, but Scotland racked up four turnovers on offense in the second half.
Those turnovers, which included an interception, two errant snaps and a muffed punt return, helped Devante Wedlock and the Falcons gain momentum on offense. Wedlock rushed for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
Linebacker Nick Callahan had an interception for Scotland. Several mistakes on offense contributed to Scotland’s inability to convert in the red zone and put pressure on Scotland’s worn-down defensive unit late in the game.
Bailey said it is going to be hard for his defense to replicate its performance from that game, but he also said the Scots have improved as a team since their first matchup with the Falcons.
Scotland was 3-2 when it played Seventy-First for the first time. Running back Syheam McQueen, who rushed for 90 yards against the Falcons, was working to return to full strength after suffering an MCL sprain earlier in the season.
“We’ve made changes that helped us be a better football team since then,” Bailey said. “We changed our center position near the end of the year, which really helped us with some snap issues we had that were a problem in the Seventy-First game. Poppa (Joseph McKoy) has moved to corner, which has helped us a little in the secondary.”
Linebacker Tymere Graham, Scotland’s leader in tackles for loss this season, was used sparingly against the Falcons because he was recovering from multiple injuries. He has returned to his full-time defensive duties since then.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Scotland — Syheam McQueen, RB
McQueen rushed for a combined 533 yards in Scotland’s first three playoff games. McQueen wasn’t fully healthy when the Scots played Seventy-First in October, but he still fell just 10 yards short of 100.
Assuming his heavy postseason workload hasn’t caught up to him, McQueen has an opportunity to carry his team to the state championship game when he lines up against the Falcons on Friday.
Seventy-First —Kyler Davis, QB
The Falcons’ mobile quarterback stayed quiet for most his team’s regular-season win over Scotland. He threw for 82 yards and rushed for 50 more against the Scots.
Davis averages 135 passing yards and 69 rushing yards per game.
“One thing he’s been doing lately is running the ball a little bit more, so we’re going to have to honor him as a runner as well as a thrower,” Bailey said.
Leave a Reply