South Mecklenburg saves best for last (drive) in Friday’s NC 4A playoff win

South Mecklenburg managed only one impressive drive in its 27-21 playoff victory Friday night over West Forsyth, but it came when the Sabres needed it most.

Trailing 21-20 after the visiting Titans scored with 2:11 left in the game, South Mecklenburg marched 75 yards for the winning score.

It came with 31 seconds remaining on what was essentially a broken play.

Sabres quarterback Cam Reese was supposed to hand the ball to workhorse running back Jacob Newman on the first-and-goal play from the West Forsyth 3.

“But I had more or less decided that I’d run it myself, if the play was there,” Reese said afterward.

He was forced to do that after a low snap that wrecked any timing for a handoff. It didn’t matter, though, because Reese found himself looking at a clear path to the end zone.

“That,” he said, “was a really good feeling.”

The Titans got the ball one more time, but South Mecklenburg’s defense held on for the victory.

The Sabres (9-2) will travel to top-seeded Hough (11-0) in a second-round 4A game next Friday.

They almost didn’t get that opportunity.

West Forsyth’s defense held the Sabres in check for much of the night.

South Mecklenburg’s opening score of the game came on a 48-yard pass from Reese to Michael Nesbit near the midway point of the first quarter. Otherwise, the Sabres scored on a blocked punt and two Zane Davis field goals.

West Forsyth (5-5) focused its defense on Newman, with some success. Newman rushed for 204 yards, but it came on 33 carries.

South Mecklenburg’s standout senior running back finally got untracked on the closing drive.

The Sabres started from their 25, and Newman broke loose for successive runs of 13 and 11 yards. A 22-yard pass and a pass interference call on West Forsyth moved the ball to the Titans’ 17.

Sabres’ coach Joe Evans said he figured his team would try to win the game on a field goal.

“I wanted to keep the ball in the middle of the field, if we could,” he said.

Davis, the kicker, also expected to get the call.

“I thought that’s how it would end,” he said. “I just kept myself ready on the sidelines, kicking into the net.”

In the back of Evans’ mind, however, might have been a Sabre field-goal attempt in the second quarter. A 32-yard attempt by Davis was blocked by West Forsyth’s Don Robinson III, and he dashed 76 yards in the other direction for a touchdown.

Either way, the field goal wasn’t needed. Newman broke loose off left end for a 13-yard gain to the Titan 4. The next play was Reese’s touchdown.

“It certainly was an ugly game, but I’ll take an ugly victory over a pretty loss,” Evans said. “We made some big plays on offense and defense when we needed it.”

Three who mattered

Zane Davis, South Mecklenburg: Davis had winning field goals earlier this season against Olympic and Myers Park. On Friday night, his two field goals were the margin of victory. He also punted three times for a 44-yard average.

Mack David, West Forsyth: David doesn’t look like a speedster, at 6-0 and 240 pounds. But he broke loose for touchdown runs of 53 and 23 yards. And on defense, David seemed to be in the middle of every tackle. He had three tackles for losses.

Jalen Alexander, South Mecklenburg: Alexander blocked a West Forsyth punt and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Worth mentioning

▪ South Mecklenburg’s Jacob Newman rushed 33 times for 204 yards. West Forsyth’s Jevante Lang ran 19 times for 166 yards.

▪ Zane Davis’ punting had a big impact on the game. One kick, in the second quarter, was caught and then fumbled by a Titan player at the West Forsyth 7. But the Titan defense stiffened, and South Mecklenburg came away with only a Davis field goal.

▪ West Forsyth concentrated on blocking the Sabres’ standout linebacker, Matt Reddick, but they couldn’t stop him from making one of the game’s big plays. On fourth down at the Sabres’ 5, West Forsyth went for a touchdown. Lang was stopped at the 3 by Reddick.

What’s next?

South Mecklenburg plays next Friday at Hough.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

Scoring summary

West Forsyth 0 14 0 7 — 21

South Mecklenburg 7 10 3 7 — 27

SM: Michael Nesbit 48 pass from Cam Reese (Zane Davis kick)

WF: Don Robinson III 76 return of blocked field goal (Alejandro Morillon kick)

SM: Jaden Alexander 19 return of blocked punt (Davis kick)

WF: Mack David 53 run (Morillon kick)

SM: Davis FG 27

SM: Davis FG 39

WF: David 23 run (Morillon kick)

SM: Reese 4 run (Davis kick)

This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 11:48 PM.