The second verse was the same as the first for May River’s football team, which rode a powerful ground game and a defensive surge in the second half to a second straight win Saturday night, outlasting visiting Hartsville 43-28 in a slugfest at The Tank.
May River quarterback Garvin Douglas rushed for four touchdowns — including a 67-yard burst on the first play from scrimmage — and Jaeon Allen scored twice to lead a parade of running backs who gashed the Red Foxes for big gains all night. The Sharks’ young defense came up huge down the stretch for the second straight game, making a fourth-down stop deep in their own territory to seal the win.
“This is a high-caliber team year in and year out,” May River coach Rodney Summers said. “Any time you can go toe to toe with Hartsville, that’s saying something.”
And the Sharks beat the Red Foxes at their own game.
Rotating a bevy of backs to keep fresh legs on the field, May River used Allen, Cam Scott, Jaiden Jones, and Darrion Perry in the backfield with Douglas, and all of them had success. The Sharks’ revamped offensive line got the job done again, opening plenty of running room for the parade of running backs.
But Douglas again was the star, and the stole the show from the opening play. Hartsville bit on a fake, and the senior quarterback went around the right side and sprinted past everyone for a score. The Red Foxes answered immediately, as Damarion Coe took the ensuing kickoff to the house, making it 7-7 just 32 seconds into the game.
The Sharks put together two more sustained drives in the first quarter, as Allen carried the load and finished the job with a 12-yard run to make it 14-7, then Douglas scored on an 8-yard run to cap a drive led by Jones.
Hartsville got the offense rolling in the second quarter, and J’Shawn Anderson finished off an impressive drive with the first of his two touchdown runs. The Red Foxes had the Sharks backed up to their own 8 on the ensuing drive, but Scott broke a long run to get May River out to midfield, and Douglas hit paydirt for the third time with a 16-yard run to make it 28-14.
Hartsville quarterback McKendrie Douglas led a terrific drive to end the half, converting on fourth-and-7 from just past midfield before hitting Jonathan Flemister for a 12-yard score with 30 seconds left in the half to give the Red Foxes hope. They got the ball to start the second half and picked up where the left off, marching down the field before Anderson’s second TD run tied it at 28.
But Hartsville’s defense couldn’t make a stop all night.
The Sharks kept grinding on the ground, and Douglas tacked on an 11-yard TD for his fourth of the night to put May River ahead for good. After the Red Foxes were called offside on the PAT attempt, Douglas ran in a two-point conversion to make it 36-28. May River’s defense locked in to force a punt, and the Sharks tacked on another TD on Allen’s 18-yard run to put it out of reach.
Hartsville made one last stand, driving to the May River 7 with just over five minutes left, but the Sharks stuffed the Red Foxes on fourth-and-1 to seal it.
May River (2-0) has a week off before hosting Wade Hampton on Sept. 10.
“We’ve got a lot of things to clean up and fix here and there and try to get better,” Summers said. “We’re gonna take that W and celebrate. We’re off next week, so we’re gonna get our legs under us a little bit and then get ready for the next game.”
By Justin Jarrett
