Chris Moore / The Item Amanda Joos goes low for a dig Monday during practice at the Sumter High School Gymnasium. The Lady Gamecocks will host Lower Richland today in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.
Having lost six players, including all-state performers Margaret Stafford and Sallie Ortmann, from a team that won the Region VI-4A title didn't leave Sumter High School volleyball coach Warren Coker with the highest expectations entering this season.
The Lady Gamecocks did not meet Coker's expectation; instead they exceeded them in a big way. SHS has defended its region title and will take a 15-7 record into its first-round match against Lower Richland today beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the SHS gymnasium.
Crestwood and Lakewood begin play in the 3A state playoffs today, while Sumter Christian School will be trying for its third straight South Carolina Association of Christian Schools title when it plays host to a quarterfinal match today.
"Nobody gave us a shot at being at the top of the region," Coker said. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting us to be there, even though I did think we had the potential to be at least in the top of the region. We've exceeded all of my expectations."
COLUMBIA — Consider the Sumter High School football team’s struggles on kickoff returns a thing of the past.
The Gamecocks ran back two kickoffs for touchdowns in the first quarter and held off an otherwise strong Richland Northeast team 35-31 in a Non-Region VI-4A matchup Friday at Harry Parone Stadium.
“We haven’t done that in a while. To get two of them back to back, that’s probably a record for us,” said Sumter head coach Paul Sorrells on Roderick McDowell’s 92-yard kickoff return coupled with Brian Leneau’s 90-yarder shortly afterward. “That’s pretty sweet, and our kickoff (coverage) team did a pretty good job, too.”
Richland Northeast quarterback Gary Gray, who committed recently to Notre Dame, got his yards. He rushed 21 times for 186 yards and a touchdown and completed eight of 12 passes for 93 yards and two scores — but the Gamecocks got the win.
“They’ve got a real good team and run that option extremely well,” said Sorrells, whose team improves to 6-2 overall. “It gave us fits the entire night, but we got the stops when we needed them in the second half and that was big.”
Gray, the multitalented force for the Cavaliers, picked up just 17 yards on six carries in the second half.
SHS quarterback Kendrick Pressley, however, kept consistent, delivering 99 yards on 10 carries and completing seven of 11 passes for 81 yards and a TD with one interception. Pressley set the stage for McDowelll, who besides running for an early score on a kickoff, carried the ball 20 times for 133 yards and a score.
RNE head coach Jay Frye, however, especially lamented his special teams on the Gamecocks’ kickoff return in the first quarter.
“Worst special teams I’ve ever seen in a single ballgame,” said Frye, whose team drops to 4-5. “Bottom line, worst I’ve ever seen. I take responsibility and it was atrocious. It flat right cost us an opportunity to win the ballgame.
“We’ll be better off next week,” Frye added, “but it’s just unfortunate because these kids worked their tails off.”
Sumter High School’s 21-6 football victory over West Florence Friday at Memorial Stadium may not have been a blowout, but the outcome was just the same. The Gamecocks’ defense limited the Knights’ to 182 total offensive yards and one score, while the offense produced two 100-yard rushers and another cleanup performance from quarterback Kendrick Pressley.
Sumter High School’s homecoming festivities abounded at Memorial Stadium Friday night.
The Gamecocks football team, coming off a come-from-behind upset of Spring Valley on the road last week, had hoped neither to be distracted nor lackadaisical going up against South Florence in the Region VI-4A opener.
The result? Certainly a mix. Sumter did hold off the Bruins 39-29, but the Gamecocks had to overcome a 21-10 deficit shortly before the half to do it.
“It’s always been a fear of mine of coming out after an emotional victory like last week, and add homecoming to it, and not playing well,” said Sumter head coach Paul Sorrells, whose team improved to 5-2 overall.
SHS quarterback Kendrick Pressley finished the night with 111 yards rushing and a touchdown on seven carries. He also completed six of eight passes for 87 yards and an interception.
Sumter got the game started on the wrong foot when it fumbled the ball away on the game’s second play from scrimmage. South Florence recovered at the Gamecock 28-yard line and punched the ball in four plays later. Anthony Fonville put the Bruins up 7-0 when he barreled into the end zone from 10 yards out with 10:11 to go in the first quarter.
Sumter held onto the ball on the next possession, though, as it drove 70 yards on seven plays and tied the game at 7-7 when Jamarious Ward pounced into the end zone from two yards out with 8:19 to go.
After holding the Bruins to a 3-and-out, the Gamecocks drove 67 yards to the South Florence 8, where placekicker Daniel Nesbitt nailed a 25-yard field goal to give SHS a 10-7 lead with 2:14 left in the first.
The Bruins then marched down the field 69 yards — converting on fourth down twice — and scored on a 2-yard Desmond Douglas touchdown run to take a 14-10 lead with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter.
South Florence then caught a break when kicker Max Bibbo’s high and short kickoff toward the right sideline touched a Sumter player and the Bruins’ Ryan Douglas grabbed hold of it before stepping out of bounds at the Sumter 27.
Three plays later, Desmond Douglas walked into the end zone again from two yards out to give South Florence a 21-10 lead with 6:26 left in the half.
Sorrells said that the Gamecocks’ first-half miscues canceled out an otherwise decent first-half showing.
“That first fumble didn’t help us at all, and the onside kick didn’t help us either,” Sorrells said. “You take those two plays away — you take those scores away — and it’s a totally different ball game.
COLUMBIA – Sumter High School head football coach Paul Sorrells always wanted to know whether he had the guts to call a game-winning 2-point conversion play.
He doesn't have to wonder anymore.
After a late touchdown pass that brought the Gamecocks to within 27-26 of undefeated Spring Valley, Sorrells called for a 2-pointer to determine whether Sumter would upset the Vikings or lose the game at Harry Parone Stadium Friday night.
Indeed, the Gamecocks scored on the bonus play with 32 seconds left on the clock to close out a 28-27 victory.
"I just said, 'We're going to win this thing and get out of here,' " said Sorrells, whose team improves to 4-2 overall. "I've always heard all my life, that in a game like this on the road, you go for two. I always wondered if I had enough guts to do it."
The Sumter High School Gamecocks take on an undefeated Spring Valley football team today at Harry Parone Stadium in Columbia. And there is nothing more that SHS head coach Paul Sorrells would like to see his team do than put a mark in the loss column for the Vikings.
"A win would be great," said Sorrells, whose squad is 3-2 on the season while Spring Valley is 5-0. "There is no way you can downplay how good that would be. (A record of) 5-0 speaks enough for itself. I'm sure Spring Valley has got a little swagger, feeling good about itself, establishing an identity."
Sumter High School knew not much was expected of its opponent, Lower Richland, Friday at Memorial Stadium. The Gamecocks showed why as they jumped out to a 32-0 halftime lead on their way to a 45-12 victory.
JV and B-team Schedule Change - Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The B-team and JV football games scheduled for this Thursday, September 21, at Lower Richland have been moved to Sumter Memorial Stadium. The games will still start at the scheduled times of 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (full story)
LEXINGTON – Had one play been just a little different, the Sumter High School football team may well have gone into overtime with Lexington in its 28-21 victory over the Wildcats Friday night at Wildcat Hollow.
Down 28-14, the Wildcats got a 62-yard run from running back Torrance Carter to set up Carter’s 3-yard touchdown run with 4:16 left in the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lexington almost caught a huge break when the ball landed dead near the left sideline at the Sumter 6-yard line with no Gamecocks returner near it. As a Lexington player pounced on the ball and slid out of bounds, it appeared the Wildcats would have a first down and goal situation with plenty of time left.
The officials, though, had a different take. They ruled that because the player did not have possession of the ball as they both went out of bounds, it would put the ball at the Sumter 35 – and give the Gamecocks offense a first-and-10 situation to work with.
SHS head coach Paul Sorrells, whose team improved to 2-2, certainly didn’t object to the call, but he acknowledged that a Sumter player should have covered the kick in that area.
“We’re supposed to run over there and make sure that ball gets out of bounds,” Sorrells said. “We’ll work on that. I think our kids just thought that the ball was out and didn’t feel like they needed to run over there, but we’ve got to make sure of that.”
The Gamecocks later fumbled the ball away on that drive, but the defense stepped in and stopped the Wildcats with about a minute to go to seal the victory.
Sorrells, reflecting on a hard-fought win that snapped a 2-game losing streak, said he was glad to see his team rise to the occasion.
“After a couple of tough losses, you’d like to beat a team pretty good, but I’m not sure what they needed was that,” Sorrells said. “Tonight what they needed was a little character check. It gave our defense a chance to see what they were made of.”
The Sumter defense indeed had a challenge in the option running attack led by Lexington quarterback Sean Devereaux and Carter at tailback. Carter finished the night with a game-high 217 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, but aside from his big second-half run that set up Lexington’s final score, Carter was sealed up.
Lexington dropped to 0-4 on the season.
“I thought our boys played their hearts out,” said Wildcats head coach Bart Miller. “In the second half, Sumter started adjusting and giving us trouble running the ball. I probably made the mistake of trying to throw the ball too much in the second half. I should’ve just stuck with our ground game.”
Sorrells credited Lexington’s ground attack that generated 297 yards on the night, but noted that his team needs to play better in the first half.
“Two weeks in a row we’ve come back and played really well in the second half,” said Sorrells, alluding to last week’s 38-34 loss to Spartanburg. “We’ve got to start getting out and playing better in the first half, but I was proud of our guys to go out there when they had to.”
Sumter quarterback Kendrick Pressley rushed 12 times for 92 yards and a touchdown. He also completed six of 12 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
After one of the wildest first halves a high school football game could possibly have, Sumter's clash against Spartanburg at Memorial Stadium Friday got back to normal in the second half. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, Spartanburg was able to make their 35-28 halftime lead stand up for what turned out to be a 38-34 victory.
After one of the wildest first halves a high school football game could possibly have, Sumter's clash against Spartanburg at Memorial Stadium Friday got back to normal in the second half. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, Spartanburg was able to make their 35-28 halftime lead stand up for what turned out to be a 38-34 victory.
GOOSE CREEK — The kicking game laid the groundwork for everything that followed.
Stratford punter/placekicker Nick Kinney outperformed his Sumter counterparts to gain valuable field position and the Knights defense did the rest, shutting out the Gamecocks 26-0 Friday.
Sumter head coach Paul Sorrells was not a happy man after watching his team fall to 1-1 on the season.
“There was not one thing that happened good for us in the game,” said Sorrells, whose squad pulled out a 28-27 season-opening win over Crestwood last week. “Tonight was probably the worst game we’ve played here in 20 years. It was awful. We got hit in the mouth by a good football team and we didn’t respond at all.
“It was definitely a wakeup call for us,” he added. “We did not play hard, and that’s all we preach; when all else fails, play hard. We didn’t and I’ve got to find a way to stop that. We didn’t show up.”
Neither team had success moving the ball on their first two series, but Kinney’s first two punts averaged 43 yards compared to Sumters first two attempts for an average of 23.5. Kinney essentially gained 39 yards with his foot as Stratford, which improved to 2-0 on the season, began its third possession on Sumter’s 47-yard line.
As it stands right now the game will still be played Friday night, but that could change depending on the path and speed of Tropical Storm Ernesto. If anything changes it will be posted here immediately. The decision has already been made that if a make-up is needed, we will try to play it on Saturday evening.
Varsity Game @ Stratford Still A Go At This Point - Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Attention is on tropical storm Ernesto and the affect it will have on HS football in the state on Friday. As it stands now, the game is still on for Friday @ Stratford. If this changes you will be alerted immediately, so stay tuned. Plans have already been tentatively made to make the game up on Saturday if the weather requires a change. (full story)
