J’Zavien Currence scores 5 TDs, South Pointe overcomes 15 penalties to beat Rock Hill
Quarterback J’Zavien Currence scored five touchdowns to lead South Pointe to a 49-3 victory against Rock Hill on Saturday morning.
It was the fifth consecutive win in the series for the Stallions against their crosstown rivals.
Both teams played a sloppy game. The contest featured 26 total penalties for 232 penalty yards and two called-back South Pointe touchdowns.
Nevertheless, South Pointe coach Bobby Collins said he was happy with the win, and that he and his team will “fix the flags.”
“I thought our defense played well,” Collins said. “They’ve allowed just one touchdown in two games. That’s a staple for us. We want to be able to score more points. We want to be able to get in a rhythm going to be able to score points.”
South Pointe jumped out to a 21-0 first-half lead before Rock Hill got on the board with a 28-yard field goal from Jackson Grant.
After forcing a South Pointe punt that was shanked to the 50-yard line, Rock Hill took possession with 15 seconds left in the first half holding two timeouts.
However, on the first play, as South Pointe’s defense was still hustling onto the field, quarterback Kason Canupp threw an interception to South Pointe sophomore linebacker KJ Burg as the Stallions preserved the lead into halftime.
It was a much rougher outing for Canupp in his second varsity game as Rock Hill went with the junior quarterback the entire game after rotating him and senior Ian Grissom the previous week against River Bluff.
Canupp finished the game with 114 yards passing and a lost fumble to go along with the interception, getting sacked four times.
“(He) went out there and battled all (game) long, and we just could never get something going,” Rock Hill coach Randy Birch said. “He made some good decisions, made some bad decisions, and we’re going to make some corrections over the next couple of days and hopefully come out with a better result Friday.”
Currence, on the other hand, put up another impressive performance in his second career start.
The junior threw for 179 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 74 yards and another score, giving him nine total touchdowns for the year.
The game was postponed to Saturday after storms Friday night forced all games in York and Lancaster counties to be postponed, canceled or called early. However, the four-star defensive back recruit said that playing on a Saturday morning brought him back to his memories of playing recreational youth football.
“We (kicked off) at 11 in the morning, and we’re up at about 6 (a.m.),” Currence said.
“I’m more comfortable with the playcalls and things like that,” he added. “Last week (against Spartanburg), we didn’t execute how we wanted to, still had a good showing. But this week, we just teed off on all cylinders.”
South Pointe senior running back Mason Pickett-Hicks had 148 scrimmage yards with two receiving touchdowns, while senior tight end and Navy commit Jordan Collins recorded his second game in a row with two touchdown catches.
South Pointe evens its record at 1-1 and will go on the road next week to face first-year program Ballantyne Ridge. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.
Meanwhile, Rock Hill falls to 0-2 and will look to get in the win column when it heads to Lancaster. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
This story was originally published August 31, 2024 at 3:50 PM with the headline "J’Zavien Currence scores 5 TDs, South Pointe overcomes 15 penalties to beat Rock Hill."