Redmen use air attack to take down Falcons in opener

PEDRO — The Minford Falcons defense was geared to take away the run and test the Rock Hill young sophomore quarterback Jarrod Bridges.

When looking at the test results, give Bridges an “A.”

Bridges was 10 of 14 passing for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns and an interception to lead the Redmen to a 49-20 rout of the Falcons in the season opener on Friday.

Wide receiver Braylon McClellan caught 5 receptions for 149 yards and 2 scores while Kelan Davidson had 79 yards on 3 catches and a touchdown.

The Redmen still ran for 120 yards with Bridges getting 46 yards on 5 carries. Kelan Davidson had 31 yards on 5 attempts and fullback Yaden Bailey ran for a pair of scores.

Rock Hill’s defense held Minford to 215 total yards including only 10 yards passing.

The Falcons had 205 yards rushing as Izaiah White ran 11 times for 71 yards and Bryce McLaughlin got 61 yards on14 tries.

McClellan gave the season an electrifying start as he returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and Cam Howard’s conversion kick to make it 7-0 with just 13 seconds into the game.

"We started off hot which is great. You couldn't have asked for a better start," said Rock Hill coach Trey Wilds after picking up his first career win.

Rock Hill got the ball back and Davidson scored on a 7-yard run and it was 14-0 with 9:57 left in the quarter.

Minford scored on a 5-yard run by McLaughlin and it was 14-7 after the conversion kick by Beau Scarfpin with only 55 seconds in the quarter.

An interception by Minford on the ensuing play set up a 2-yard run by Colt Donahoe just 20 seconds later and it was 14-13.

Rock Hill blew the game open in the second quarter by outscoring the Falcons 21-0.

Bridges and McClellan hooked up on a 79-yard scoring pass with 11:43 on the clock and it was 21-13.

"(Minford) made some plays and their kids play hard. Give them credit, they're coached well and those kids didn't give up," said Wilds. "Our seniors stepped up and held themselves accountable and right the ship to do what we had to do here."

The Redmen made it 28-13 on a one-yard run by Bailey at the 8:36 mark.

The lead went to 35-13 on another quick strike as Bridges connected with Davidson on a 64-yard touchdown pass with 3:46 left in the half.

Bailey had another one-yard run in the third quarter to make it 42-13.

Minford got a score late in the third quarter as Wyatt Swick ran 2 yards and it was 42-20.

The final touchdown came on a 33-yard pass from Bridges to McClellan with 1:52 to play.

Minford 13   0  7  0 = 20

Rock Hill 14  21  7   7 = 49

First Quarter

RH — Braylon McClellan 90 kickoff return (Cam Howard kick), 11:47

RH — Kelan Davidson 7 run (Cam Howard kick), 9:57

M — Bryce McLaughlin 5 run (Beau Scarfpin kick), 0:55

M — Colt Donahoe 2 run (kick failed), 0:35

Second Quarter

RH — Braylon McClellan 79 pass from Jarrod Bridges (Cam Howard kick), 11:43

RH — Yaden Bailey 1 run (Cam Howard kick), 8:36

RH — Kelan Davidson 64 pass from Jarrod Bridges (Cam Howard kick), 3:46

Third Quarter

RH — Yaden Bailey 1 run (Cam Howard kick), 5:24

M — Wyatt Swick 2 run (Beau Scarfpin kick), 3:17

Fourth Quarter

RH — Braylon McClellan 33 pass from Jarrod Bridges (Cam Howard kick), 1:52

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        M RH

First Downs    14  13

Rushes-yards 49-205 27-120

Passing-yards 10 264

Total yards      215 384

Cmp-Att-Int.   1-4-0 10-14-1

Fumbles-lost   1-1  1-1

Penalties-yards 4-27  13-135

Punts-average 5-34.4 2-32

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING — Minford: Bryce McLaughlin 14-61 TD, Izaiah White 11-71, Colt Donahoe 7-14 TD, Mason Bailey 4-16, Wyatt Swick 6-37 TD, Adrian Henderson 2-1, Jaheim Henderson 1-2, Noah Estep 1-2, Jase Lower 1-1; Rock Hill: Jarrod Bridges 5-46, Kelan Davidson 5-31 TD, Yaden Bailey 5-12 2TD, Bridger Kerns 5-11, Braylon McClellan 1-22, Zander Addis 3-7, Colton Lewis 1-1, Team 2-minus 10.

PASSING — Minford: Mason Bailey 1-4-0-10; Rock Hill: Jarrod Bridges 10-14-1-264 3TD.

RECEIVING — Minford: Wyatt Swick 1-10; Rock Hill: Braylon McClellan 5-149 2TD, Kelan Davidson 3-79 TD, Bridger Kerns 1-21, Cash Lyons 1-15.