GREENVILLE — The Fighting Scots twice had J.H. Rose in a hole, and both times let the Rampants off the hook with costly penalties that breathed new life into a dying drive — and each time it led to a J.H. Rose touchdown Friday night.
That, along with a shaky pass game and additional penalties, all but made the difference in the game as the Rampants knocked off Scotland, 49-28, in the fourth round of the state’s Class 3A playoffs.
The loss ends the Scots’ season at 8-5, while J.H. Rose improves to 10-4 and will play for the East Region title against Jacksonville.
The Fighting Scots opened the game much as they had during the playoffs, with a big dose of RJ Nicholson. Starting from their own 23, the Scots got runs of 7, 9, 25, 6 and 19 from the workhorse running back — the last one a touchdown run. Christian Cole’s PAT gave Scotland a 7-0 lead just 2:03 into the game.
The Rampants quickly found themselves in a third and 18, but a Scots penalty gave them a first down and a 39-yard pass play took them to the Scotland 25. Three plays later, Rose scored with 8:21 left in the first quarter. The point after knotted the game at 7-7.
Scotland couldn’t get anything started on its next possession and a punt set Rose up at its own 22. But a 17-yard run was followed by a 61-yard touchdown pass, and the PAT gave Rose a 14-7 lead it would never give up.
On the Scots’ next possession, a fake punt resulted in an intercepted pass and gave the Rampants the ball at their own 42. Rose quickly moved the ball to the Scotland 15 before Jahari Brown intercepted a pass in the endzone to stop the threat as the first quarter ended.
The Fighting Scots returned the favor, however. After a first down thanks to a Rose penalty, Scotland committed a penalty of its own and, on the next play, had a pass picked off, giving Rose the ball at the Scotland 28.
The Scotland defense stiffened once again, and with the Rampants at the Scot’s 19, Ricky Swindell blew up a Rose screen play and caused a fumble that the Scots recovered at their own 15.
Once again, the Scots returned the favor — this time a pass was intercepted and returned for a Rose touchdown. The extra point gave the home team a 21-7 edge with 7:44 left in the half.
The Fighting Scots were able to answer this time.
Cadyn Graves returned the ensuing kickoff 34 yards to out near midfield and six straight runs by Nicholson took care of the rest. He scored on a 5-yard run with 5:31 left in the half. Cole’s PAT cut the deficit to 21-14.
The Rampants came right back.
Starting from its own 27, Rose used a 37-yard pass to get into Scotland territory and a 24-yard pass to score a touchdown. The kick was good and gave Rose a 28-14 lead with 3:32 to play in the half.
Scotland fizzled on its next drive and the defense stood tall, as Josh Bostic got a sack and Jarahi Brown picked off his second pass of the game to give Scotland the ball at its own 22 with 55 seconds left in the half. But the Scots never got going before the horn sounded.
“The defense played pretty good, but offensively … we ran OK, we’re just not hitting the open plays,” Scotland coach Richard Bailey said.
Rose opened the second half at its own 28 and went three-and-out. A 12-yard punt set the Scots up at the Rose 44 and four plays put them at the Rose 22. But after three plays went nowhere, a pass on fourth-and-10 went incomplete.
The Rampants did even less. A three-and-out forced a punt that gave Scotland the ball near midfield. Five plays put the ball at the Rose 27 and Nicholson broke loose for a 27-yard TD run — that got called back because of holding. It took a few more plays, but Scotland found pay dirt on a 17-yard pass from Carter Revelle to Izeem Graham. Cole’s PAT pulled the Scots to within 28-21 with 3:29 left in the third quarter.
Rose, however, answered moments later. Starting at its own 35, Rose appeared to go three and out, and set up to punt. But a Scots penalty — two offsides in succession — gave the Rampants new life, which they used to finish the 65-yard drive with a touchdown. The extra point gave the home team a 35-21 lead with 1:39 left in the quarter.
The Fighting Scots began their next possession at their own 25 and got something cooking quickly. When the third quarter ended, the Scots had moved to the Rose 29.
Just three plays into the final period, Nicholson ran 6 yards for a score and Cole’s point after pulled Scotland to within 35-28 with 11:23 to play.
Once again, the Rampants answered back — this time with a six-play, 55-yard drive that concluded with a TD. The extra point gave Rose a 42-28 lead with 9:16 to play.
Scotland worked hard to get things rolling on its next possession. Starting at its own 21, Scotland converted a fourth-and-3; then converted a fourth-and-5; then came up empty on a fourth-and-10 at midfield.
The Rampants sealed the game moments later with a touchdown and PAT that increased the lead to 49-28 with just under 5 minutes left to play.
The Scots couldn’t sustain their next drive and Rose ran out the clock on its final possession.
“We beat ourselves … we had chances to hit big plays and we missed them,” Bailey said. “It was the kind of game we felt like we had to score every play.”
Nicholson led the offense with 255 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries, and added a 13-yard catch. Revelle was 11-of-32 for 131 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Damarion Davis caught five passes for 54 yards; Graham caught three for 38 yards and a TD; and Graves had two catches for 26 yards.
On defense, Brown had two interceptions; Swindell forced a fumble; and Bostic had a sack.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or cvincent@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.