Fans in attendance at District Stadium for Blythewood’s homecoming game against the Richland Northeast Cavaliers on Friday witnessed a game that wasn’t decided until the final minute. The Bengals (7-1, 2-0) earned a 21-20 win over Richland Northeast (5-3, 1-1) and held on to their top spot in region IV-4A. After the game, Blythewood head coach Reggie Kennedy was not surprised by Richland Northeast’s effort.
“We expected that,” Kennedy said. “We knew that with them (RNE) being an in-district rivalry, they weren’t going to waffle or give up.”
With 53 seconds to play in regulation, Richland Northeast set up for what would appear to be a game-tying extra point. Instead, the Cavaliers called a fake to try and win it with a 2-point conversion. It was a direct snap to the kicker, Sam Lourie, who was stuffed on the 1-yard line.
“He gambled (Richland Northeast head coach Jay Frye),” Kennedy said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and we’re glad it didn’t work tonight.”
It was not a smooth start for Blythewood on offense. Quarterback Kylen Binn fumbled the football on their first offensive possession and it was recovered by Richland Northeast linebacker Matthew Baxter, who ran in 36 yards for the score. After the extra point the Cavaliers had an early 7-0 lead over the Bengals.
In the second quarter, Blythewood safety Joe Kelly came up with his first of two interceptions to give his offense the ball at midfield. The Bengals drove 55 yards in 10 plays for the touchdown. Binn plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out to tie the game at 7-7.
Later in the second quarter, the Bengals defense forced the second of three punts by Richland Northeast in the first half, to take over at their own 25-yard line. Blythewood would use five plays to go 75 yards for the touchdown. This time it was tight end Hank Estep with a catch and run of 34 yards to hit pay dirt. After the extra point Blythewood took a 14-7 lead in at the half.
Before the game, Richland Northeast head coach Jay Frye said Blythewood would be the Cavaliers toughest test yet.
“They’re an outstanding team,” Frye said. “They’ve got great speed and are extremely physical.”
To start the second half the teams traded field position with punts on their first possessions. But with 7:39 to play in the third quarter, Binn threw a strike to Shyeim Brown from 33 yards out. The touchdown capped a three-play 45-yard drive and put the Bengals up 21-7.
With the start of the fourth quarter the Cavaliers would begin their assault. On fourth-and-goal from the 20-yard line, Richland Northeast quarterback A.C. Whaley hit his wide receiver Shamar Foulks just inside the goal line to cap a 13-play drive. The touchdown pulled the Cavaliers within a score at 21-14.
On Blythewood’s ensuing possession they were forced to punt after a three-and-out. Richland Northeast would drive 70 yards on 12 plays for the score. Whaley put his team in position for the tie with a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line. However, with the score 21-20 the Cavaliers would forgo the extra point and attempt a 2-point conversion. Richland Northeast kicker Sam Lourie was able to reach the edge on a direct snap, but was stopped cold at the 1-yard line.
Despite controlling the football for more than 8 minutes in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers were turned away and the Bengals celebrated an elated homecoming win.
“We’ve got to be more consistent and put together four quarters,” Frye said.
Richland Northeast wide receiver Craishoud Foulks came into the game averaging six catches for 115 yards and 1.2 touchdowns per game. Foulks was the focal point of Blythewood’s defense and Kennedy was proud of his team’s performance.
“We weren’t going to let him (Foulks) beat us,” Kennedy said. “Our defensive coaches did a good job of disguising our coverage.”
Foulks was held to just five receptions for 42 yards and no touchdowns.
Next up for Blythewood, they go on the road to face the Demons of Lugoff-Elgin (1-7, 1-1). The Demons are coming off a 28-20 win over Ridgeview, which broke a 13-game losing streak. You can listen to the game at www.facebook.com/bhathletics with pregame coverage starting at 7:15 p.m.
BHS- 0-14-7-0 21
RNE- 7-0-0-13 20
First Quarter
RNE- M. Baxter 36 fumble rec. S. Lourie kick. (7:22)
Second Quarter
BHS- K. Binn 1 run. G. Huegel kick. (10:56)
BHS- H. Estep 34 pass from Binn. Huegel kick. (4:30)
Third Quarter
BHS- S. Brown 33 pass from Binn. Huegel kick. (7:39)
Fourth Quarter
RNE- S. Foulks 20 pass from A. Whaley. Lourie kick. (7:03)
RNE- A. Whaley 1 run. S. Lourie rush failed. (:53)
Team Stats
BHS RNE
First Downs 14 17
Rushes/Yards 31-84 26-91
Comp/Att/Int 12-15-0 18-33-2
Pass Yards 153 170
Fumbles/Lost 1-1 0-2
Penalties/Yards 6-56 10-69
Individual Stats
RUSHING—BHS: D. Beckford 6-40. K. Binn 10-32. B. Ruiz 5-16. D. Albert 5-6. RNE: J. Blunt 3-45. A. Holmes 6-28. A. Whaley 16-21.
PASSING—BHS: K. Binn 12-15. 153 yards. 0 INT. 2 TD. RNE: A. Whaley 18-33. 170 yards. 2 INT. 1 TD.
RECEIVING—BHS: S. Brown 5-77. J. Smith 3-21. H. Estep 1-34. B. Ruiz 1-10. RNE: S. Foulks 5-62. C. Foulks 5-42. R. Howell 3-23. B. Dickerson 2-26.