With a 32-7 loss to former rivals Indian Land, the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets football team set a new school record with their 18th consecutive loss dating back to 2021.
Coming into the game, Fort Mill had lost 17 straight, which had tied a school record under former head coach Greg Taylor from parts of 2001 to 2003. The last win for Fort Mill was against Lugoff-Elgin on Sept. 17, 2021. The Jackets lost the remaining five games of 2021 after the Lugoff-Elgin win, all 10 games in 2022 and the first three games of the 2023 season adding up to 18 straight. Ironically, the Jackets will host Lugoff-Elgin next Friday, Sept. 15 and try to stop the skid.
The Warriors entered the game 2-1 with both wins coming by one point. While Fort Mill had been playing well, averaging about 20 points a game, while giving up 38 in each of their first two losses of the season. Fort Mill had been competitive in their first two games of the season until their home opener Friday.
“We tried to do too much defensively,” said Fort Mill head coach Rob McNeely. “It was a game of field position in the first half. We have to deserve to win Monday through Thursday. In this game, it happens in practice before it ever happens on the field.”
Indian Land was led by quarterback Jaxon Scheidt and receiver Hayden Morris. Scheidt was 15-for-16 for 216 yards in the game and two touchdowns. Morris caught nine passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns.
Indian Land got the kickoff to open the game. Both teams traded punts without really getting things happen. The Warriors did have a touchdown called back on their second drive. However, they kept things moving as Scheidt hit Morris with a big 38-yard pass to allow them to cross midfield and get to the Jackets’ two-yard line. Patterson ran it in a play later with about 4:14 left in the quarter.
Fort Mill struggled to move the ball in the opening quarter with only six yards of offense.
The second quarter started with Indian Land driving as Scheidt was able to move the ball well through the air completing his first seven passes of the game, which totaled 123 yards.
With about 9:20 left in the first half, Patterson operating from the Wildcat, hit Morris for an 18-yard touchdown pass to put the Warriors up 13-0 as they continued to have their way with Fort Mill. Morris was the biggest recipient of those passes between Patterson and Scheidt as he had five catches for 109 yards in the first half.
Indian Land didn’t take their foot off the gas as the scored on their third consecutive drive with Omarion Davis rushing in from 24-yards away to push the Warriors up by three scores with about five minutes left in the half.
With about three minutes left in the first half, Scheidt again moved the chains for Indian Land as they recovered a Fort Mill fumble at the Jackets 43-yard line and scored seven plays later as Morris caught his second touchdown pass of the first half.
Fort Mill got into their best field position on the ensuing kickoff getting to the 22-yard line but lost 18 yards on the next three plays pushing them back to the 40-yard line to end the half.
The Warriors held Fort Mill to just 21 total yards in the first half. For Indian Land, the Warriors went into the locker room with 201 total yards, 190 coming through the air.
Morris and Indian Land started their second half with another scoring drive catching his third touchdown of the game on a 20-yard catch from Scheidt with about eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Fort Mill changed quarterbacks in the second half and went with Quinn Kelly. Kelly was able to help to put the best drive of the game together for the Jackets as he was able to find receivers in the open field.
Kelly got Fort Mill to the Warriors 8-yard line but a holding call negated a Jackets touchdown. Kelly was sacked on the next play and coughed up the ball for the Jackets second fumble of the game.
The Jackets were able to put tougher a scoring drive finally in the fourth quarter on a clock eating drive of 15 plays going 70 yards resulting in a 1-yard run by Grayson Diehl with about 5:15 left in the game.
Fort Mill was led by Kelly, who rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries, and Josef Anderson, who rushed for 34 yards on eight carries. Kelly also threw for 76 yards on 7-of-12 passing.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
