Photo courtesy: Vic MacDonald/Clinton Chronicle
CLINTON, S.C. – Two interception returns for touchdowns—including a Deonte' Davis (Lithonia, Ga.) 32-yard pick-six with 1:46 to go—lifted the Presbyterian College football team to a dramatic victory over visiting Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium, 19-14.
PC's (3-2) defense picked off Western Carolina (3-2) quarterbacks four times on the afternoon, picked up a fumble and forced another goal-line turnover on downs. Shonquille Byers (Gaffney, S.C.) grabbed the last interception in the closing minutes to seal PC's third straight win at home and the first over the Catamounts since 1969, snapping an eight-game losing streak.
With Western Carolina leading 14-13, backup quarterback Garrett Brown faced an imminent sack while scrambling on third down and tried to throw the ball away as he headed to the ground. The true freshman lineman Davis grabbed the ball out of midair and rumbled 32 yards into the end zone to give PC a 19-14 lead before Byers' pick clinched the win.
Turnovers proved the story of the day for Western Carolina, who turned the ball over on its first two drives. Ed Britt (Greensboro, N.C.) intercepted Troy Mitchell's first pass of the game and took it 25 yards to the house for a Blue Hose touchdown. A missed extra point made it a PC 6-0 lead just 54 seconds into the contest.
The defense struck again on the next series as Cory White (Anderson, S.C.) forced a fumble and Byers recovered, stopping a promising Catamounts drive.
The pick-sixes bookended two Western Carolina Troy Mitchell passing touchdowns in the first and third quarters and a Kaleb Griffin (Florence, S.C.) QB sneak in the second. The visitors took advantage of PC mistakes as well, scoring all 14 points off of turnovers. Griffin went 15-for-26 for 133 yards and an interception while Demarcus Rouse (North Augusta, S.C.) racked up a game-high 87 rushing yards. Tobi Antigha (Tampa, Fla.) set a new career-high with eight receptions for a team-high 53 yards. The senior made a dazzling 17-yard grab in the first quarter, tipping the ball to himself while falling to the ground to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for his career.
The day belonged to the Blue Hose defense, however, as PC accumulated six tackles for a loss and held the visitors to 3-for-14 on third down and a season-low 14 points. White, Breyon Williams (Lancaster, S.C.) and DaRon Dickey (Greenville, S.C.) led PC with eight tackles apiece.
Western Carolina snuffed out a PC fake field goal in the first and drove the length of the field, but PC held strong at the goal line—thanks in part to an Ed Britt backfield blow-up—to force a turnover on downs just one yard away from the end zone.
Western picked off a Kaleb Griffin pass to start a drive in PC territory near the end of the first quarter. The Catamounts faced fourth and short and Troy Mitchell found Tyler Sexton for a 31-yard touchdown, giving Western Carolina a 7-6 lead. Mitchell went 10-for-24 for 141 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of picks. Terryon Robinson caught five passes for 60 yards while Darius Ramsey (72 yards on 15 carries) and Detrez Newsome (69 yards on 13 carries) headed up the rushing attack.
PC broke through on offense with a long scoring drive early in the second quarter. Rouse broke off runs of 16 and 10 yards while receiver Jordan Hallums (Mauldin, S.C.) picked up 18 yards on a sweep to help put the Blue Hose in a goal line situation. On third down, Griffin kept the ball himself and pushed over the line to give PC a 13-7 lead with 9:21 left in the first half, the eventual score at halftime.
Western Carolina took over at the 13:04 mark of the third quarter and eventually scored six and a half minutes after. The Catamounts used a fake punt run to convert a fourth down and capitalized on a break to pick up a touchdown. Cory White intercepted a Mitchell pass deep in the PC end, but fumbled on the runback to give the ball back to the Catamounts. The visitors scored four plays later as Mitchell hit a leaping Spearmon Robinson for a 21-yard score to take back the lead, 14-13.
PC then held the Catamounts scoreless to set the stage for Davis's fateful interception and the thrilling victory.
PC hosts No. 3 Coastal Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m. while Western Carolina next hosts Wofford on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
