VINEGAR HILL—South Columbus used its Senior Night and mixed it with some Halloween magic and pulled off an upset of Whiteville 22-15 Friday night. The win gave the Stallions a piece of the Southeastern Conference Championship with Whiteville and South Brunswick, who defeated West Bladen Friday night 35-7. All three schools finished the regular season with a 4-1 conference record.
Whiteville missed a great opportunity on the opening kickoff when Sam McBride of Whiteville recovered a fumble at the 31-yard line, only to give the ball back a few plays later with an interception. The teams traded possessions until 3:31 left in the second quarter when Easton McPherson found the end zone from eight yards out to give the Stallions the lead. Oscar Valdez added the extra point to make it 7-0 South Columbus at the half.
The Stallions added to their lead as Jaxon Greene connected with McPherson for a 89-yard touchdown to give them a 13-0 advantage with 3:48 left in the third. The Wolfpack then shot themselves in the foot with an intentional grounding call in the end zone, giving the Stallions a 15-0 advantage and a free kick with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Whiteville showed life early in the fourth quarter as they blocked a punt at the Stallions’ 30- yard line. Layton McLean ran it across from seven yards away with 9:10 left in the ball game to make it 15-7 with the Price Wheatley extra point.
Wheatley recovered his own onside kick, leading to a five-yard Sabeyhon Shipman touchdown. McLean hit Tylae Rose for the two-point conversion to tie the score 15-15 with 6:13 left on the clock.
South Columbus took the next kickoff and showed why they were playing for the conference championship. The Stallions went eight plays that led to a two- yard touchdown run by Briar Johnson. Valdez added the PAT to give South Columbus a 22-15 lead with 58 seconds left. A Whiteville interception at the Stallions 15-yard line ended the Wolfpack’s hopes of a comeback to end the game.
With the win, South Columbus goes into the 3A playoffs with a 4-1 conference record and 6-4 overall. They are in great shape to host a playoff game next week when the pairings are announced. Whiteville (4-1, 7-3) with the loss puts their chance of a first round bye in jeopardy. They will host a first round 3A playoff game on Friday if they do not receive a first round bye.
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