Fighting Scots put on dominant showing in shutout win over Vikings

LAURINBURG — Before Scotland’s game against Jack Britt earlier this month, head coach Richard Bailey mentioned he would reward his defense with a pizza party if they get a shutout this season. If Bailey’s wallet is already full of green, it may not be next week, as he’ll be supplying pies to his defense after they held the Union Pines Vikings scoreless Friday night.

But it wasn’t just a dominant showing on one side of the ball; the offense and special teams showed out, too. Scotland’s offense went for 499 total yards and 22 first downs, and kicker Cameron Cole connected on a 34-yard field goal and six extra point attempts against the Vikings. The combined team effort led to a 45-0 win for the Fighting Scots on Homecoming night.

“I think it probably was our best performance this year, no doubt,” Bailey said. “I think we did a good job across the board. Defensively, I think we’re getting better. And as long as we keep doing that, we’ve got a chance. We really could have shut out, maybe, the last three teams we’ve played. I’m proud of that. They’re not offensive juggernauts. I’m more about how we’re going about doing it. Are we doing things better, less blown coverages, people doing more of what we’re coaching them to do, and those are things happening.”

While the improvement was undoubtedly shown, it wasn’t a perfect night for the Scots (7-0, 3-0 Sandhills Athletic Conference), as they had a slew of penalties and turned the ball over three times.

“There are things we’ve got to clean up; still a few too many penalties,” Bailey said. “We’ve got to continue to get better.”

But Scotland forced four Vikings turnovers, including their second and third passes picked off this year.

After running back Zay Jones took the Scotland offense’s first snap to the house — the second straight week he’s done so — for 45 yards to put the Scots up 7-0, defensive back Joshua Adams came down with an interception at the Scotland 8-yard line after Union Pines quarterback Anthony Goswick Jr. threw a deep ball downfield.

“I just saw that ball come my way. I knew I had to grab it,” Adams said. “Our defense played a good part in (forcing) turnovers. We improved from the last game. But we’ve got to improve more (with) little things. We’ve got to improve in tackling and being disciplined.”

Just two plays after Adams’ pick, Jones trotted 65 yards to the end zone to push Scotland ahead 14-0.

Jones finished the game with 305 yards rushing.

“They (Union Pines) had so many people up, which people probably say, ‘Hey, well, you’ve got so many people, you should throw the ball,’” Bailey said. “If you get past the line of scrimmage, it’s 70-yard runs, which Zay had over and over again. He had over 300 yards rushing tonight. He only carried the ball (18) times. Our offensive line continues to dominate the football game. It’s pretty efficient.”

The following drive for Union Pines (2-4, 1-1 SAC) featured two third-down conversions — including a third-and-20 — but ultimately ended in a punt.

After Scotland QB Ji’San McPhatter fumbled the ball — recovered by Union Pines DB Lawson Fields at the Scotland 6-yard line — the Scots forced a Vikings stop on a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Scotland drove down the field, and Jones ran in his third TD of the first quarter from 19 yards out to make it 21-0.

Wide receiver Caleb Milton fumbled the ball on the Vikings’ ensuing drive, and Scotland defensive lineman Jonathan Graham recovered it at the Union Pines 35-yard line. But after Scotland took possession, a decision by McPhatter left many fans scratching their head as he spiked the ball on the drive. Bailey said the mistake was entirely on him.

“That’s the dumbest thing (I’ve done),” Bailey said. “I was talking to the officials. They were telling me they blew (a) call on (a) lateral, which they really did. I said, ‘That was bad, but it wasn’t near as bad as me spiking the ball in the first quarter.’”

Another awestruck decision from Bailey came at the end of that same drive when he elected to kick a 37-yard field goal — which came up short — as Bailey has a history of not attempting many field goals.

“I tried three of them,” Bailey said.

Scotland’s next score came with just under a minute to go in the second quarter when Jones rushed for an eight-yard TD to give the Scots a 28-o lead. Cole’s lone field goal on the night came as time expired in the first half after Scotland DB Marlin Moore intercepted Goswick Jr.

While Moore was returning the ball, Scotland DL Dylan Tilson was thrown out of the game for two blindside blocks on that same play.

“He was not ejected; he got disqualified, just so the fans know,” Bailey said. “He’s not out (in two weeks).”

A six-yard rushing score from Jones with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter and a 19-yard run for a TD by RB Corheim Hasty with 1:29 left in the third gave Scotland a fourth-quarter running clock to polish off the victory.

McPhatter finished 2-of-9 passing for 100 yards, while backup QB Grant McCoy was 0 of 1 and intercepted by Union Pines DB Zion Kiser in the fourth quarter.

“We probably should’ve connected on a few more passes tonight,” Bailey said. “But again, we completed some passes when we needed to.”

Hasty had 14 carries for 89 yards, and WR Quatavius Everette and tight end Kellum Hunt each had a reception for 50 yards for Scotland. On defense, linebacker Matrice McRae had a fumble recovery.

Goswick Jr. was 4-of-19 passing for 59 yards for the Vikings. QB Austin Mooring had 83 passing yards on 8-of-13 passing and 47 yards rushing; RB Ethan Biggs had five carries for 14 yards; WR Eric Jernigan had three receptions for 48 yards; Milton had four catches for 31 yards; and DL Micah Fernandez had a fumble recovery.

Scotland’s defense has slowly made strides over the last few weeks, but their recent strong showings haven’t been just because of the competition they’ve played. It’s also come from leaders who have a voice in the locker room, such as LB Malcom McGirt.

“Just keeping them positive, keeping them humble, in the game,” McGirt said about how he helps his teammates as a leader. “It gave our offense the opportunity to do what they had to do. It took a lot of hard work and trust in ourselves and each other.”

Scotland has an open date next week.