Rashawn Grate
Four TDs

VINEGAR HILL – The South Columbus defense caused six turnovers Friday night and five led to touchdowns as the unbeaten Stallions opened Waccamaw Conference football action by blasting the visiting North Brunswick Scorpions 47-6.

South Columbus, which put its season record at 5-0, scored 26 second-quarter points for a 33-0 halftime lead. The Stallions scored 13 points in the final 40 seconds of the opening half.

South Columbus senior Derrick Clay returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to quickly set the tempo for the night. The Stallion defense, which yielded only its second touchdown of the season early in the final quarter, came up with four pass interceptions and recovered two NBHS fumbles.

Rashawn Grate, the Stallions’ junior running back, scored touchdowns on runs of 23, 32 and 11 yards, and he also caught a 43-yard touchdown pass. Grate finished the evening with 146 rushing yards on only nine carries. Justin Smith, who carried 13 times for 79 yards, scored on a three-yard run to open the second-quarter scoring fest, and Antron Bowman bucked over from the one-yard for the final Stallion TD of the night.

SCHS carried a 47-0 advantage into the final quarter en route to its third straight win over North Brunswick.

Coach Joey Price’s Stallions amassed 403 yards rushing for the night, and quarterback Justin Duncan completed three passes for 63 yards. Donovan Watts made good on five of six extra-point kick attempts.

North Brunswick was limited to 104 yards rushing with Greg Gaines carrying 18 times for 53 yards. The Scorpions got their only points on a six-yard run by quarterback Jesse Riley with just under 11 minutes left in the game. Scorpion fullback Josh Balloon carried nine times for 49 yards.

All four Stallion touchdowns in the second quarter came on the heels of Scorpion turnovers. Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Buffkin helped lead the way with two pass interceptions.

Through five games, South Columbus has scored a total of 209 points while yielding only 13.

The Stallions have lost only one conference game since the start of the 2004 season.

South Columbus will play host to Wallace-Rose Hill this Friday night at 7:30 in a non-conference game. Of the Stallions’ four regular-season losses the past two years, two have come against Wallace-Rose Hill. The Stallions will be out to give Price his 110th victory in his 11 seasons as head coach as SCHS will play its fourth straight home game. South Columbus will resume it road schedule on Oct. 5 when it travels to take on East Columbus.

North Brunswick, whose season record slipped to 3-2, will play host the East Columbus this Friday night. Last season, East Columbus surprised the Scorpions 30-14.

SC – Derrick Clay 85 kickoff return (Donovan Watts kick).
SC – Justin Smith 3 run (Watts kick).
SC – Rashawn Grate 23 run (kick failed).
SC – Grate 43 pass from Justin Duncan (pass failed).
SC – Grate 32 run (Watts kick).
SC – Grate 11 run (Watts kick).
SC – Antron Bowman 1 run (Watts kick).
NB – Jesse Riley 6 run (kick failed).