Scots lose nailbiter to Pinecrest 30-21

SOUTHERN PINES – The Fighting Scots (4-4) knew if they could win against the Pinecrest Patriots (6-2) Friday night, they would be two wins away from a Sandhills Athletic Conference title. Instead, a heartbreaker for the Scots in Moore County was the result, as they would lose 30-21 to the Patriots. It is now the fifth straight time the Patriots have defeated the Scots.

In the first quarter, the Scots received the ball, but would be forced to punt on their opening drive. On the Patriots’ first possession, running back Zymire Spencer would take it 67 yards to the house to give Pinecrest an early 7-0 advantage.

On the Scots’ next possession, they would find themselves at the Pinecrest 12-yard line after a big kickoff return by Cadyn Graves. Running back Patrick Primus would get the carry in the red zone, but fumble on the goal line, giving the Patriots another opportunity at points.

After multiple punts by both teams, the Patriots would find themselves at the Scotland five-yard line on a third and three. But, a high snap would result in a fourth and 18 for Pinecrest before the first quarter came to a close.

In the second quarter, Pinecrest would look to convert the fourth down in Scots territory. Pinecrest quarterback Mason Konen would find a man downfield in receiver Hunter Neifert, but Neifert would have the ball go off his fingertips for a turnover-on-downs.

After several possessions by both teams that ended in punts, Pinecrest kicker Will Miller would find himself in position for a 28-yard field goal, which he would convert, to give the Patriots a 10-0 lead.

The Scots would answer on their next possession however. Scots quarterback Carter Revelle would rush in a touchdown from the one-yard line. The extra point would be no good after going underneath the cross bar, making it a 10-6 game with 1:43 to go in the first half.

But, Pinecrest would find points before the half. Konen would set up a 56-yard touchdown pass to Neifert which would make the score 17-6 at the end of the second quarter.

In the third quarter, after a Pinecrest punt on their first drive of the half, Revelle would find an open target in receiver Demarion Davis for an 85-yard touchdown after a blown coverage by the Patriots. A two-point conversion by Revelle on a run would make the Scots deficit just three at 17-14.

The Scots defense would come up big on the next Patriots drive by making them punt and giving the Scots offense a chance to tie or take the lead. But, a Revelle interception would give the Patriots the ball at the Scots 20-yard line.

Pinecrest would be unable to capitalize on the excellent field position though, as the Scots defense forced the Patriots into a fourth and goal from the Scots 18-yard line. Pinecrest would look to convert the fourth down, but would be stymied by the Scots defense.

The Scots would struggle to move the ball to begin the fourth quarter, resulting in a punt back to the Patriots. And, Pinecrest would use their next drive to get their first points of the second half. Konen would locate his tight end Ilyas Kalila on a seam route to grow their lead to 23-14, after the extra point was doinked off the upright.

On the next drive for the Scots, Revelle would hit receiver Izeem Graham downfield for a contested catch to give the Scots the ball in the red zone. Graham’s big catch would be rewarded with a touchdown off an end-around play to make it 23-21 with 3:56 remaining.

The Scots defense continued to make stops in the second half, forcing a three-and-out on the Patriots and giving the Scots a chance to win the game. But, on the Patriots punt, the Scots would muff the return and give Pinecrest possession at the Scots 24-yard line with just over two minutes to go.

The Scots would have to allow Pinecrest to score a touchdown, as time became an issue, making it 30-21.

On the final drive for the Scots, Revelle would go down with cramps. And, with backup quarterback Ji’San McPhatter unavailable for the game, they turned to freshman JV quarterback Shylan Harrell. But, even with Harrell connecting with his receivers, Primus would have the ball stripped after a catch, leading to a Pinecrest recovery to end the game.

Revelle finished the night 6-of-9 for 165 yards, two touchdowns (one rushing), and an interception.

Primus went for 60 yards on 12 carries.

Scotland running back Zay Jones had 13 rushes for 55 yards.

Graves had three catches for 42 yards.

Graham recorded two catches for 39 yards.

Despite the loss, Scots head coach Richard Bailey was pleased with his team for how hard they competed.

“I’m so proud of of our kids and our coaches,” Bailey said. “We fought hard, tried extremely hard (against an) extremely good football team over here. They’ve got some great athletes. I said we were going to probably need 28 or 35 (points)… and that’s what we needed. We didn’t quite get there.”

But, even though Bailey is happy with his team’s performance, he knows they had a shot to win the game near the end.

“We got the stop we needed, we got the punt, and then we muffed it,” he said. “We can go around and around in circles, but that’s what it comes down to. We lost that last possession that we needed to have a chance to go win the football game. Then, Carter went down with cramps and that’s unfortunate that late for that to happen. I thought Shylan came in and did a couple good things real fast on the fly. It would have been nice to have Ji’San back for that instance right there. But, again, I’m proud of us, but we’re never going to win a conference championship or state championship till we eliminate some of the stuff that’s really (hurt us).”

The Scots will be back at home on Oct. 21, as they host the Lee County Yellow Jackets. The winner of the game will officially be the 3A SAC champions after the Scots’ loss to Pinecrest, and also likely earn a NCHSAA playoff spot. Kickoff for the game is slated for 7:30 p.m.