Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com
NEWBERRY — Newberry High School(5-5, 4-2 region) disastrous second quarter led to their 35-7 home loss against Fairfield Central(8-2, 4-1 region) in their regular season finale. The region 2-AA opponents kicked off at 7:30 pm at Mike Ware Field. The Griffins had a chance to clinch the region title and the Bulldogs had a chance to play spoilers heading into the contest.
The Bulldogs’ defense forced a punt on the Griffins’ opening offensive drive of the game. Their offense matched the energy of the defense and scored on their opening drive. Sophomore sensation Jamel Howse Jr. took a short pass the distance and scored on a 80-yard touchdown reception.
The Griffins answered on their second offense drive after Roger Burns found the end zone from 24-yards on a pass from quarterback Cameron Mcmillon.
Mcmillon hot start continued after he found Brown again on 10-yard touchdown to give them a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Then, the Bulldogs were able to get some momentum back but quickly lost it after Isaiah Glymph fumbled the ball on a wide receiver sweep play. The Griffins recovered the fumble and returned it for a touchdown to extend their lead, 21-7.
The Bulldogs’ offense had no quit in them and were able to make a trip back to the red zone. Howse lined up in a wildcat formation and attempted a pass to the tight end Noah Mills that was intercepted.
When asked about the call after the game, head coach Cedrick Jeter simply said, “that’s on me!”
The Griffins converted the turnover to points yet again. They drove right down the field and were able to punch it on the ground from one-yard away. The road team put the home team to bed after a 60-yard touchdown pass from Mcmillon, who finished the game with over 250 yards passing and three passing touchdowns. His team held a 35-7 lead at halftime and it was enough.
The Bulldogs didn’t have much going in the second half. They made a late game trip to the red zone, but came up short after they failed to convert on fourth down.
Howse finished the game with three receptions, over 100 receiving yards and one touchdown. The Griffins scored 28 unanswered points in the second quarter that ultimately decided the game.
“We just made some mistakes. We are not ready for the big game yet. We are going to take a week here to try to get ready for the big game but its absolutely on us. We have to find a way to get our guys to not make those mistakes,” said Jeter.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs will host a home playoff game at Mike Ware Field on next Friday. The Griffins will also host a home playoff game as well.
The full game recap will be available in this week’s newspaper on Wednesday, Nov. 1st.
Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews