The South County Stallions staged a second half comeback for the ages against the Lake Braddock Bruins to force an overtime session then needed just one play on offense to get the game-winning points on the board in a 33-30 classic that propels the Stallions into the postseason as the top-ranked team in the Class 6A North bracket.
With both teams entering with identical 9-0 marks, each program was locked into the playoffs long ago but there was plenty of pride on the line and a better seed in the postseason as the winner secured the top spot and the loser would grab the #2 seed.
**Photo gallery of the game from Rod Johnson**
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM TIME SCORING PLAY GAME SCORE
LB 8:05 (1) Atkins 1 yard, PAT failed 6-0
LB 3:46 (1) Edwards to Fofi 44 yards, PAT Bruhn 13-0
SC 1:35 (1) Ramsey 2 yards, PAT Gebremariam 13-7
LB 1:20 (1) Scott 92-yard kickoff return, PAT Bruhn 20-7
LB 6:26 (2) Mansaray 72 yards, PAT Bruhn 27-7
SC 2:17 (2) Clayton 2 yards, PAT Gebremariam 27-14
SC 6:17 (3) Clayton to Spaulding 30 yards, PAT blocked 27-20
SC 10:43 (3) Clayton 6 yards, PAT Gebremariam 27-27
LB OT Bruhn 23-yard field goal 30-27
SC OT Ramsey 10 yards 33-30
KEYS TO VICTORY
LATE DEFENSIVE STOPS
South County tied the contest with 10:43 left in the game setting up a scenario that would allow for some late-game heroics by someone on either roster. As it turned out, it was the Stallions defense who rose to the occasion on this night.
Following the South County touchdown to tie, Lake Braddock drove quickly into Stallions' territory and looked primed to score and to grab the late momentum in the contest. However, the Stallions defense forced and recovered a fumble on their own 22-yard line to thwart the Bruins' drive.
The stage was set.
Following a fourth-and-one conversion from their own 41-yard line, Lake Braddock was working their way into the South County red zone. Pressed for time, quarterback Kyle Edwards was forced to take a shot downfield throwing a fade route to 6-foot-5 junior tight end Andrew Park who had been his favorite target on the night. However, South County junior cornerback Christian Massie stepped underneath Park and got off the ground quicker to win the jump-ball situation with 24 seconds left in the contest helping to send it into overtime.
Lake Braddock got the ball first and was forced to settle for a field goal from kicker Nick Bruhn after a pair of incomplete passes and an Edwards' scramble on fourth down giving them a 30-27 advantage with South County getting the ball.
On the first play from scrimmage in the extra session, running back Demarcus Ramsey found a seam on an inside run and blasted his way into the end zone emphatically stomping out the last few steps as teammates rushed the field to celebrate.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HALFTIME BREAK
Trailing 27-14 at halftime, South County needed to make some adjustments as they had been burned by big plays in the first two quarters and the offense wasn't exactly humming alone either.
With Lake Braddock opening the half with the ball, the Stallions were in danger of being put to bed early.
Taking over from their own 30, the Stallions pushed the ball into Bruins' territory but faced a fourth-and-seven from the Lake Braddock 30-yard line when coach Gerry Pannonio and company went for broke. Throwing down the seam, quarterback DeAndre Clayton found sophomore wide receiver Dillon Spaulding in the end zone for a touchdown highlighted by a spectacular catch as the Stallions go-to guy made a one-handed catch with his left with a Lake Braddock defender draped all over his right side. Though the extra point was blocked, South County had cut the lead to one-touchdown, grabbed the momentum in the contest and kickstarted a "It's Not Over" chant from their substantial student section.
A second defensive stop in the third gave the ball back to the Stallions' offense with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Starting from their own 20, the unit quickly moved the ball down the field using runs from Ramsey and Clayton mixed with short passes. The drive was capped by a Clayton run from six yards out as the Stallions tied the game just over a minute into the final stanza.
STAY CLOSE EVEN WHEN BAD
The most hyped game of the season in the north looked liked it was going to be a snoozer early as Lake Braddock came out strong early in the contest getting a defensive stop then scoring an early touchdown on a Lamont Atkins run to take a 6-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest.
To their credit, South County pulled themselves together and answered back with a score of their own driving 84 yards to cut the Bruins' lead to 13-7. The key play of the series came when Clayton found wideout Chuchu Enechionyia on a 53-yard pass down to the lake Braddoc four-yard line setting up a short touchdown run from Ramsey with a minute-and-a-half left in the quarter.
Disaster seemingly struck for the Stallions on the ensuing kickoff however as Peyton Scott grabbed a bounced kickoff at the eight-yard line and found a seam up the middle of the field after one cut dashing 92 yards for a touchdown and a 20-7 Lake Braddock lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Things got worse before they got better for the Stallions as Ibrahim Mansaray took over the game for a spell in the second quarter ending a South County drive with an interception on his own 12-yard line then, moments later, racing 72 yards for a touchdown off an inside handoff as the Bruins took a 27-7 lead midway through the second.
South County fliped the momentum of the contest and set up their second half comeback just four minutes later when Clayton crashed into the end zone from two yards out on fourth-and-goal with just two minutes left in the half to help send his team into halftime only trailing by two scores.
Riding that momentum and playing near-perfect football from that point on, the Stallions put a big win into the memory banks of their fans and sent themselves into the postseason as the favorites in north.
**Post-game with South County head coach Gerry Pannoni**
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
DeAndre Clayton South County (left)
Demarcus Ramsey South County (center)
Ibrahim Mansaray Lake Braddock (right)
DEANDRE CLAYTON
The South County quarterback was a bit shaky early in the contest, but once he settled in, his teammates came along for a great ride. On the night, the senior rushed for a 105 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and connected on 17 of 24 passes for 234 yards and one score. In total, Clayton accounted for 339 yards of offense and three scores for the Stallions.
DEMARCUS RAMSEY
South County head coach Gerry Pannoni talked about how important and how talented senior DeMarcus Ramsey is to his team's success and the big man played his role well tonight carrying the ball 31 times for a game-high 182 yards scoring twice on the ground including the game-winner in overtime seemingly getting stronger and stronger as the game wore on.
IBRAHIM MANSARAY
With plenty of options to choose from on the Lake Braddock sideline including quarterback Kyle Edwards, two-way standouts Peyton Scott and Lamont Atkins as well as tight end Andrew Park. But, the pick for the third spot belongs to the Lake Braddock junior who snuffed out one South County scoring drive with a pick in his own red zone then added some points to the board himself with a 72-yard run. On the night, he led the Bruins on the ground with 101 yards on eight carries.
Football Editor Rod Johnson is entering his second decade with www.VirginiaPreps.com having started with the site in 2003. To keep up with all the high school football news in Virginia, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook. He can also be contacted via e-mail at vaprepsrod@cox.net.
