WALLACE – Holding the vaunted Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs to 20 points is a noted accomplishment.

Unfortunately for the South Columbus Stallions, it wasn’t enough Friday night as they fell to the two-time defending Eastern N.C. 1-AA champion Bulldog squad by a 20-6 score in a non-conference football game.

While the score wasn’t nearly as lopsided as the Bulldogs’ 39-0 runaway win last year at South Columbus, Wallace-Rose Hill gained control by scoring all of its points in the first half. The third Bulldog touchdown came with 39 seconds left on the second-quarter clock.

“Our kids stayed with it,” said SCHS head coach Joey Price. “When they scored the touchdown right before the half, it kind of put a dagger in things, but our guys came out in the second half still ready to play.

“We had our chances – got the ball inside their 20 two or three times – but we kept bogging down,” Price said. “Wallace-Rose Hill’s defense makes it really tough for you in the red zone. We just couldn’t get the points when we had the opportunity.”

South Columbus, whose season record fell to 4-2, got the only points of the second half on a 44-yard pass from Justin Duncan to Derrick Clay in the third quarter.

The WR-H victory marked the first time that South Columbus has suffered more than one regular-season loss since the 2001 season.

Wallace-Rose Hill, now 6-0, has not lost a regular-season game since the 2003 season.

Wallace-Rose Hill, coached by former SCHS head coach Jack Holley, rode the quarterbacking wizardry of senior Andrew Bowden. Bowden’s experience and scrambling abilities paced the Bulldogs to their first half lead.

The Bulldogs, who have been averaging over 40 points per game this season, got their first touchdown on a 1-yard run by J. Hall midway through the first quarter. S. Irving scored from eight yards out in the second quarter, and Bowden passed 24 yards to A. Reid for a TD with 39 seconds left in the half.

Andrae Jacobs helped pace the SCHS offense with 100 yards on 18 carries.

While being disappointed with the loss, Price noted that it came in a non-conference game. After getting trounced by WR-H last year, the Stallions ripped off five straight wins to win another Waccamaw Conference championship and advanced to third round of the state 2A playoffs.

South Columbus, the two-time defending Waccamaw Conference champion, will play a conference home game against East Columbus this Friday.

WRH – J. Hall 1 run (kick failed).
WRH – S. Irving 8 run (Andrew Bowden run).
WRH – A. Reid 24 pass from Bowden (kick failed).
SC – Derrick Clay 44 pass from Justin Duncan (kick failed).