Sweet Water upends New Brockton in overtime

(Photo by Johnny Autery) SW RB Shamar Lewis (6) races for the end zone in action against New Brockton
(Photo by Johnny Autery)
SW RB Shamar Lewis (6) races for the end zone in action against New Brockton

Sweet Water capped off its regular season in thrilling fashion Friday night with a 48-42 overtime win against Class 2A New Brockton.

“It’s huge for us. Some of our younger guys grew up tonight. It just boosts our momentum as we go forward,” Sweet Water coach Pat Thompson said of his team’s win, which comes just a week before it opens the Class 1A playoffs.

(Photo by Johnny Autery) Sweet Water RB Jaylin Johnson (23) fights for yards.
(Photo by Johnny Autery)
Sweet Water RB Jaylin Johnson (23) fights for yards.

The Bulldogs opened the overtime with a 4-yard touchdown run by Shamar Lewis to take the 48-42 lead before missing the extra point attempt. New Brockton looked answer when it hurled a fourth down heave toward the end zone where Lewis picked it off to ice the victory.

“Those were big moments. It was big for our team. Shamar was very unselfish tonight. He blocked a lot. We were in the power all night. We probably ran the power 30 times tonight and he was leading on that most of the time,” Thompson said of the unselfish nature of Lewis.

Sweet Water forced overtime with 37 seconds left in the fourth when Jonah Smith sprinted for a 10-yard touchdown to tie the game. The run culminated a must-succeed drive for the Bulldogs, who allowed the Gamecocks to score on a 20-yard sprint with 2:53 left in regulation.

Bulldogs defenders Sharmar Lewis (6), Houston Norris (87), and Will Huckabee (11) bring down the Gamecock quarterback.
Bulldogs defenders Sharmar Lewis (6), Houston Norris (87), and Will Huckabee (11) bring down the Gamecock quarterback.

“Our guys were resilient tonight. They would score and then we would go back and score. It was just resiliency on our guys part. They knew our defense wasn’t playing very good and our offense had to score every chance we got,” Thompson said.

Smith helped tie the game earlier in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard plunge with 8:51 to play before handing it to R.J. Rodgers for the conversion to knot it at 36. Lewis scored on a 26-yard sprint in the third while Rodgers ran it in from three yards out. Smith hit Lewis for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Luke Davis for a 22-yard strike in the first to account for the remainder of the Sweet Water scoring.

“Jonah came up big for us. R.J. was huge for us tonight. He carried the ball 21 times tonight. That was the most he has carried the ball all year long. He made some big, tough runs that we really needed,” Thompson said.

Sweet Water amassed 482 yards of offense on 64 plays including 369 yards rushing on 55 attempts. Smith finished 5 of 9 through the air for 113 yards and two touchdowns in addition to 42 yards rushing and two scores on seven carries. Rodgers ran for 176 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Lewis had 112 yards and two scores on 18 carries to go along with 26 yards receiving and a touchdown. He also intercepted a pass on defense.

The Bulldogs open the Class 1A state playoffs next Friday night when they host McKenzie.

“It’s a whole new season on Monday. I told the guys when we got done tonight we’ve got to come back even more focused than we have been lately,” Thompson said. “It’s one and you’re done. Monday, we shouldn’t have any trouble getting them back focused and getting them ready to go.”