By John Clark
RED SPRINGS – Junior Jakelsin Mack ran for 2 touchdowns, and senior Scottie Locklear threw for 2 touchdowns as Red Springs outlasted West Bladen 32-18 Friday night in their Waccamaw Conference regular season finale.
Mack carried 10 times for 158 yards and scored on TD runs of 24 and 41 yards. Locklear completed 9 of 11 passes for 164 yards and tossed TD passes of 41 yards to Justice McMillan and 71 yards to T. J. Ellerbe.
The marathon contest (over 3 hours) was marred by several skirmishes – the most notable one occurring near the Knight bench with just over 5 minutes remaining resulting in multiple ejections for both teams.
When order was restored, sophomore quarterback Hunter Hester connected with junior Hezekiah Adams on a 40-yard pass play. Senior Jahmar Richardson bolted 11 yards for a West 1st down at the Red Devil 13 yard line.
The Red Devils incurred a trio of half the distance unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, before Hester flipped a 4-yard touchdown pass to junior Noah Hall to trim the Red Springs lead to 24-18 with 2:18 left to play.
Three plays later Locklear found Ellerbe in the left flat, and the speedy sophomore scooted 71 yards for a clinching touchdown with 59 seconds on the clock. Curtis Wilson ran for the 2-point conversion and a 32-18 lead.
Hester completed 12 of 22 passes for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns. Adams caught 6 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown and rushed 6 times for 39 yards. Hall grabbed 4 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. Senior Messyah Whitted carried 19 times for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Senior Aaron Lewis sparked the Knight defense with 10 tackles, a sack for -5 yards, a tackle-for-loss for -3 yards and a fumble recovery.
Wilson finished with 52 yards rushing on 12 carries for Red Springs. Ellerbe finished with 4 catches for 86 yards and a TD. McMillan caught 2 passes for 42 yards and a TD.
In the penalty plagued game, the Red Devils were penalized 21 times for 171 yards, while West Bladen was flagged 8 times for 79 yards.
McMillan’s 41-yard TD reception from Locklear, and Locklear’s conversion pass to Julian Bowan put the Red Devils up 8-0 with 9:26 left in the 1st period.
Adams sped down the field for 64 yards on a jet sweep to start an 81-yard Knight scoring drive. Whitted picked up 8 yards, before Adams snared a Hester pass to complete an 8-yard touchdown play. A conversion pass was ruled to be caught out of bounds and West trailed 8-6 with 6:19 left in the half.
West Bladen’s Cayden Moore recovered a Red Devil fumble to stop an 81-yard Red Devil drive at the Knight 14 yard line 39 seconds before halftime.
The Knights covered 84 yards in 3 plays. Hester fired an 18-yard pass to Hall, then connected with Adams for 33 yards. After a roughing the passer penalty, Hester hooked up with Adams again for an 18-yard gain, but Adams was tackled at the Red Springs 2-yardline as time expired in the half.
West Bladen was stopped on downs at their own 35 yard line early in the 2nd half. Three plays later Mack dashed 24 yards for a touchdown. Locklear hit McMillan for the conversion and a 16-6 Red Springs lead with at the 8:53 mark.
The Knights drove 55 yards in 10 plays with Whitted gaining 31 yards on 6 carries before banging off the left side for the touchdown from a yard out to slice the lead to 16-12 with 7:23 left in the game.
Back came the Red Devils with Mack busting loose for 16 yards then racing 41 yards for the touchdown with 6:16 on the clock. Wilson tacked on the conversion to pad the lead to 24-12.
West Bladen, now 2-8, will await the release of the playoff brackets Saturday to find out if their season will continue.
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