Scotland cruises to first-round win against South Central

LAURINBURG — Bruce Wall threw three touchdown passes and ran for three more scores as sixth-seeded Scotland routed No. 11 South Central 56-13 on a cold and wet Friday night in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.

The Fighting Scots advanced to face No. 3 Jordan in Durham next week.

“I’m proud of our kids. For the most part we played a lot better tonight,” Scotland coach Richard Bailey said. “We did what we had to do. We had to throw the ball tonight to be able to be successful. At one point when I looked at halftime, they had all 11 players within 6 yards of the football. You’ve got to try and throw it when they’re doing that.

“And we threw it successfully. That’s the big thing”

Wall completed eight of his 16 passes for 217 yards. Junior Tyler Barfield took over at quarterback in the second half, and he logged 29 yards on two completed passes. Receiver Mandrell Johnson tallied 91 yards and two touchdowns (26 and 56 yards) on three catches. DeAndre McKinnon logged a 52-yard touchdown reception.

Scotland took control of the game after losing a fumble on the game’s opening drive. But the Falcons then had a fumble of their own on a backwards pass inside South Central territory, and Scotland’s Zymere Reddick carried the loose ball in for a touchdown.

After Wall helped give the Scots a 21-0 lead with a 52-yard touchdown pass to McKinnon and another touchdown on a 4-yard quarterback keeper, Zyaire Williams put the Falcons on the scoreboard with a 4-yard run. South Central scored once more in the first half on a 35-yard pass from Xavier Meachem to Jyquan Sheppard late in the second quarter. The extra-point kick was blocked, and the Falcons were silenced for the rest of the game.

Scotland notched 500 yards of total offense. Wall picked up 72 yards rushing, Kyshaun Galberth rushed for 70 yards and Savion Leak rushed for 56 yards. R.J. Nicholson picked up 19 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Jaleel Purvis added 37 yards on three carries.

For South Central, Meachem tallied 105 passing yards. Williams logged 46 yards on three carries.

“Defensively, we stopped the run,” Bailey said. “I’m still a little disappointed in our third-down defense. Giving up big pass plays will kill us. We’ve got to figure that out.”

Brandon Tester | Laurinburg Exchange Scotland quarterback carries the ball into the end zone during the Scots’ first-round playoff win against South Central on Friday.

https://laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_IMG_5841.jpgBrandon Tester | Laurinburg Exchange Scotland quarterback carries the ball into the end zone during the Scots’ first-round playoff win against South Central on Friday.