There was no hangover from a disappointing regular-season finale for May River on Friday. The Sharks were full speed ahead.
Ahmad Green threw three touchdown passes and rushed for two scores, and Donovan Ling rolled up 160 yards and two TDs on the ground as May River broke the school record for points in a 59-20 rout of Swansea in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Green was sharp and completing eight straight passes after misfiring on his first attempt of the night. He finished 8-of-9 for 209 yards and three TDs and added 75 yards and two TDs on the ground.
The Sharks struck quickly all night, beginning with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Green to Terry Fields on the third play from scrimmage and Ling’s 20-yard touchdown run just three minutes later. The Tigers stopped the bleeding with a sustained drive to cut it to 14-8, but May River continued to drive at will. Ling had one touchdown run called back only to go 24 yards for a score on the next play, and Elijah Peter snagged a quick slant from Green and went 47 yards for a TD to make it 28-8.
May River’s defense provided a short field on Johnathan Gaston’s acrobatic interception, setting up Green’s 20-yard TD run, but the Tigers answered with a 63-yard touchdown pass to cut it to 35-14 at halftime.
The Sharks delivered the knockout blow in the third quarter with three touchdowns in less than five minutes to put it out of reach. A defensive stop set up Green’s second touchdown run, then Gaston picked off his second pass of the night, only to have the ball pop out as he was hit. It fell into the arms of TJ Polite-Grant, who plowed into the end zone. After another fourth-down stop, Green went over the top for a 45-yard touchdown pass to Fields to make it 56-14.
Bryce Summers added a field goal early in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers tacked on a late score.
The road gets tougher for the Sharks (8-2) next week, as they travel to No. 2 Aynor, which beat Georgetown 43-13 on Friday.
