The Blythewood Bengals traveled up I-77 to Bob Jones Stadium to battle the black clad Fort Mil Yellow Jackets in the first Region 3-5A matchup of the season for both squads.
Blythewood won 27-7 to pick up that all important first region win. With the loss, Fort Mill falls to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in region play.
The secret to Blythewood’s success so far in 2023 has been the pressure imposed by it’s front seven defenders. If Fort Mill could protect quarterback Quinn Kelly, then the Jackets could move the ball on the Bengals opening the running game. However, Kelly was sacked on the very first play of the game by Ed Robinson which was a precursor of things to come. That put Fort Mill behind the chains forcing a punt.
The Bengals began their first drive of the game at its own 46-yard line. They decided to go up tempo so it didn’t take long for Blythewood to draw first blood on a 2-yard touchdown run by Christopher Thomas. The extra point was good making it 7-0 Bengals with 7:26 left.
Fort Mill went three and out again, but this time the Bengals return man muffed the punt giving the Jackets the ball back at their own 48. Again, the Jackets offense couldn’t get anything going forcing another punt. Yet again, the Bengals return man muffed the punt giving Fort Mill the ball back at the Blythewood 5-yard line. Fort Mill picked up nothing on the first three downs and decided to go for it on fourth down which Fort Mill couldn’t convert. That, also, became a theme of the night.
The Yellow Jacket defense continued to scratch and claw forcing Blythewood to punt again. Kelly hit Tyson Helms for a big gain, but as Helms was being tackled at the two, he fumbled the ball into the end zone where the Bengals fell on it for a touchback. At this point, both teams traded punts, but then the Bengals turned defense into offense as Draydon Young picked off a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. That made it 14-0 Bengals with only 1:35 left first half.
Fort Mill decided to throw caution to the wind as Kelly connected with Braylon Thomas for a 59-yard touchdown. That made the score 14-7 as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime.
Blythewood took the second half kickoff and methodically diced up the Fort Mill defense for 75 yards on only seven plays capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Quinton Soloman. The extra point was blocked making it 20-7.
Fort Mill’s offense just couldn’t get anything going in the third quarter, but the Yellow Jacket defense continued to force Blythewood to punt. On fourth and very short from their own 26-yard line, Fort Mill head coach Rob McNeely decided to risk it with a direct snap to up man Gavin Brandwood who picked up the first down. However, that drive would stall giving Blythewood the ball back.
As the third quarter ended, Fort Mill had the ball inside the red zone once again, but couldn’t convert on third down. McNeely decided to go for it but the pass was knocked down causing a turnover on downs. Bengals were still up 20-7, but you could see the Fort Mill offense beginning to click a bit. Fort Mill ended up back in the red zone once again but came away with nothing as Blythewood stopped them on fourth down.
That’s when Blythewood put the game away.
With 8:15 left in the game, the Bengals hit two big pass plays setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Kaleb Kelly. That made the score 27-7 with only 4:55 left in the game. Kaleb Kelly also had an interception in the fourth quarter that squashed another Fort Mill drive at the 5-yard line.
Up by 20 with only 2:12 to go in the game, Blythewood decided to go up tempo while completing pass after pass which drew some ire from the Fort Mill faithful, among others. The Fort Mill defense sacked Collins and that put a stop to the drive essentially ending the game.
Blythewood picked up double digit sacks in the game as Robinson had five by himself. Fort Mill had five drives inside the Blythewood 25-yard line, yet didn’t score which ended up being the difference in the game.
Yellow Jackets welcome the Rock Hill Bearcats to Bob Jones Stadium next Friday night for Homecoming.
