There are no style points in the playoffs.
At this stage of the season, it doesn’t matter if it’s pretty. It matters if you win.
Byrnes did just that on Friday night, downing Rock Hill 37-21 in an admitedly sloppy game, one that saw Byrnes turn the ball over twice in the first quarter.
“I love our effort tonight,” said Byrnes head coach Reggie Shaw. “It wasn’t pretty, but when the offense was down, defense stepped up big for us when we needed it.”
The Rebel defense had one of its best games of the season in the 5-A D1 round two win over the Bearcats — the Byrnes defensive line in particular.
The Byrnes DL racked up five sacks as a unit, nine tackles for loss, and allowed negative 10 rushing yards to Rock Hill. The Bearcats scored early in the first quarter on a pick-six, and late in the fourth with two deep touchdown passes after Byrnes had pulled its starters on defense.
“They just keep getting better and better,” said head coach Reggie Shaw. “Our starting defensive unit has only given up one touchdown in the last four games. You’re always going to have a chance when they’re playing like that.”
The defense bailed out some lackluster play from the Rebel offense in the first half. Tre’ Segarra had an uncharacteristic red-zone fumble in the first quarter, and a pick-six off Caine Rogers gave Rock Hill a 7-0 early lead.
Byrnes gained the momentum right back on the following drive, however, with possibly its wildest touchdown of the season.
Segarra took a direct snap on fourth-and-one, but fumbled just before gaining the first down. Byrnes DL Kelshard Harris, who was in as part of Byrnes’ heavy package, saw the ball sitting on the ground, and instead of falling on it, made a high-IQ play.
Harris scooped up the ball and showed off some impressive speed for his 6-foot-3, 245-lb size, high-tailing it 60 yards to the end zone.
“I saw the ball on the ground, so I picked it up and just ran,” said Harris. “That’s the only thing I could do. I didn’t hear a whistle, so for me it’s ‘see ball, grab ball, run.’ So that’s what I did.”
“It’s funny. Kelshard’s been asking us if he can run the ball for us on offense,” said Shaw, laughing. “He proved himself right tonight. He’s pretty fast, isn’t he?”
After Harris’ touchdown brought some life back to the Rebels, the offense picked up its slack a bit. Tre’ Segarra and Jacobi Fuller scored two touchdowns a piece, and the Rebel defense forced three turnovers to keep Rock Hill off the board until the contest was decided.
Sophomore DB Nas Angram was a major factor in the defense’s success, coming up with two sacks and a goal-line fumble recovery.
“We’ve been working hard as a defense,” said Angram. “We’ve got to keep that mindset and work the rest of the way.”
Next up for Byrnes is a trip to face arguably the best team in the state — Dutch Fork.
The Rebels will face off with HC Tom Knotts and his three-time defending state champion Silver Foxes on Friday, November 21. Dutch Fork — a state champion eight of the last nine years — is 10-1 on the season.
“We’ve got a great challenge and opportunity in front of us next week,” said Shaw. “We’ve got to get focused and clean some things up, because that’s what you have to do when you face a team like [Dutch Fork].
“We’ll get those things fixed, though. I think our guys will be dialed in and ready to go for Dutch Fork.”
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