South Carolina Wins 89th Shrine Bowl

Saturday afternoon, the high school football all stars of both North and South Carolina met on the gridiron for the 89th installment of the oldest such game in America – the annual Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. The yearly tussle more often than not ends up being a defensive struggle that is decided by a couple of key plays/moments, and this game was no exception.

The Tar Heels deferred to the 2nd half after winning the toss – which ended up backfiring on them as the Sandlappers came out swinging with an 80 yard touchdown pass from Stratford QB Jachin Davis (Liberty University commit) to UNC-bound Dillon wide receiver Zamarious Robertson on the first play from scrimmage, giving South Carolina a 7-0 lead after the Will Love extra point.

Things looked like they could be getting lopsided quickly when on 3rd and 12 on the Tar Heels’ first drive of the game, the Clemson-bound Dorman standout linebacker Kentavion Anderson came up with a diving interception to set the Sandlappers up at the Tar Heels’ 49 yardline. But, the promise of extending the lead waned three plays later when a screen from Gaffney’s Banks Bouton (who is signed with Furman) to Crescent wideout Amiri Acker was fumbled along the near sideline, recovered by North Carolina at their own 31. Nothing came of the turnover, as the SC defense forced a three and out, but that set the stage for the rest of the game to be a defensive slugfest in which turnovers would play a key role.

Following the Tar Heel punt, on which South Carolina was flagged for holding to set them up at their own 25, the turnover bug bit again when the Sandlappers once again fumbled – this time on the first play. The Sandlappers ran a reverse where the ball was tossed to Northwestern receiver and Lafayette commit Kameron Vance. He was met at the far sideline and had the ball knocked loose, recovered by the Heels at the SC 23 yardline.

That turnover yielded the first points of the game for North Carolina when facing 3rd and 4 from the Sandlapper 5, Tar Heel quarterback Brody Norman (Mooresville HS) was flushed and forced to cut back towards the wide side of the field. Once he got the edge, he powered his way forward and dove, tapping the pylon for a 5 yard touchdown to even things up at 7.

That score held for a while thanks in part to another turnover by the Sandlappers – this time on downs – when South Pointe’s J’Zavien Currence took a direct snap out of the wildcat and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on the NC 10 yardline. After an exchange of punts, South Carolina was finally able to reclaim the lead on a 40 yard field goal from Love, who would get the opportunity to add on right before the half after an interception by SC Defensive Back Jordy Best (Ridgeview HS, NC State). However, Love missed the 53-yard attempt short by about 7 yards, making for a 10-7 halftime advantage for the Sandlappers.

The second half, as has been the tendency for the game, went by as fast as lightning. But, for the South Carolina side, things got dangerously uncomfortable multiple times over the final 30 minutes. The Tar Heels biggest threat of the game came on their opening drive of the third quarter when they drove 74 yards to the South Carolina 1. But the Sandlappers managed to come up with a huge goal line stand, forcing a turnover on downs when Terry was stuffed by Cross HS’s Caden Ramsey at the 2 yard line.

Both sides traded empty possessions from there with South Carolina ending the quarter in the worst imaginable way. McKinney was scrambling and ran towards the near sideline. He held on to the ball and rather than throwing it away or taking a sack, threw it back across the middle of the field where Myers Park HS’s Brody Keefe was waiting for an easy interception. He returned the pick to around the NC 40 yard line, but thanks to a dead ball unsportsmanlike call, the Tar Heels were set up at the SC 45.

Fortunately, the Tar Heels were called for a personal foul that moved the ball back to their own 40 on the first play of the fourth quarter, which derailed any scoring chance on that drive, instead having to punt it back to the Sandlappers. South Carolina would end up turning it over on downs, once again sparking a volley of three and outs before they were finally able to put the dagger in the game with an incredible play in the waning moments.

On third and goal from the Tar Heel 9, Davis was flushed from the pocket and threw an ugly ball towards the back of the endzone that was caught one-handed by Christ Church wide out and Arkansas commit Jude Hall for a touchdown with just under a minute and a half to play in the game. Love’s extra point made it a 10-point lead and the Sandlappers were able to put away the pain of last year’s 49-24 loss that at the time snapped a 4-game win streak in the series with a 17-7 victory.

The Sandlappers outgained the Tar Heels 350 yards  to 136. Davis was 10 for 15 passing with 185 yards and two touchdowns while Banks Bouton was 4 of 7 through the air for 37 yards to go with 18 yards on 6 carries. Zamarious Robertson was the top receiving target with 4 catches for 131 yards and a score. Jude Hall was the lone other receiver with a TD snag – hauling in three passes for 30 yards. Stratford running back Meliq McGowan was the leading rusher for South Carolina, tallying 42 yards on 9 carries.

Chester Linebacker Terry Radford garnered defensive MVP honors with 11 tackles (six solo) and 1.5 tackles for a loss. On the offensive side, Davis got the most valuable player nod.  Among the local stars (aside from the aforementioned Bouton), Kentavion Anderson finished the game with 5 tackles (3 solo), and a pass broken up. His Dorman teammate Christian Waring had 1 assisted tackle and Byrnes’ Justice Hopkins logged 2 solo tackles, one of which was for a loss.

The Shrine Bowl game is always a fun one to tell the story of, but the real tale of the game is not found in the score or results. Rather, it is found in telling about the players’ experiences getting to be a part of it. This week is always an unforgettable experience for the players involved, but for each of the guys – in particular the young men from our coverage area – to get to represent their schools one last time and beat North Carolina is the perfect exclamation point to close the last sentence in the chapter that is their illustrious high school career.

“It is hard to articulate”, said Will Love, who got the added bonus of not only representing South Carolina on a big stage but also getting to play his final high school game wearing the iconic gold helmet of Spartanburg High School on his own field.

“I am really grateful for this opportunity and I am extremely happy that I got to do it here at home. It is the icing on the cake that we got the win”, Love later elaborated.

For others, this experience meant a lot because they not only got to rep their school colors one more time while getting to play for their home state, but because they also got to do it in front of a raucous crowd of their friends and family.

“It meant everything”, said Christian Waring. “I am happy that my family came out and that we had a huge fanbase. I am glad I got the opportunity to play in one last high school game with my brothers. It feels great to get the win, especially after what happened last year. It feels great to get a dub and then go hold your family and celebrate.”

There is no doubt that the camaraderie that comes with being chosen to represent your school alongside some of the best athletes in the state is the most invaluable part of the entire experience.

“It is a really good feeling to get to represent South Carolina and Dorman”, said Kentavion Anderson. “It is a great group of guys that were picked to come out and play this game. The team bonded really well this week and I am going to miss these guys even though we only played together for 6 days.”

Whatever the viewpoint, the story is written. South Carolina is back in the win column and order is restored with a new win streak as the goal when the 90th edition of this game is played a year from now.