Liberty County rallies past South Walton in 1-1A semifinal

November 25, 2009 10:57 PM

By BRAD MILNER | News Herald Writer

BRISTOL — Liberty County’s playoff life hung in the balance on Friday, and the Bulldogs’ fortunes turned on three plays.

The Bulldogs (10-1) scored 17 unanswered points to defeat visiting South Walton 24-17 in a Region 1-1A semifinal. The Seahawks (8-3) were seemingly in control until a string of events in the fourth quarter turned the momentum and sent them away with a loss. Liberty County will be at Freeport for next week’s regional championship.

“We were in control,” South Walton coach David Barron said. “And when we had a chance to get it done we couldn’t get it done.”

Barron was referring to the first drive of the second half, when leading 17-7 the Seahawks turned the ball over on downs inside the Liberty County 30. The Bulldogs averted a potential game-changing surge and made up for it soon afterward.

Play No. 1 of the momentum shift came on the first play of the fourth quarter, as Terrance Evans completed his only pass of the game, 50 yards to Kevin McCray for a touchdown. Evans also had 81 yards rushing.

Play No. 2 of the shift came on the ensuing kickoff, when the ball dribbled past two South Walton returners. The Seahawks recovered, but only could advance the ball just beyond the goal line to avoid a safety.

Liberty County coach Grant Grantham surmised that a safety would have been a benefit to South Walton at the time. He was correct, as play No. 3 came three carries later. Bryant Adams was stripped of the ball and Stedman Williams returned it 7 yards for a touchdown with 10 minutes, 26 seconds to play.

The 21-17 lead would be all that Liberty County needed.

Terry Jennings sealed the outcome with an interception of Dennis Smith on the next South Walton possession.

“A lot of people talk about our offense,” Grantham said. “But it was our defense that gave this one to us with a shutout in the second half.”

South Walton did what it wanted on offense in the first half, with three of four drives resulting in points. Ten of the Seahawks’ 17 first-half points came on drives following fumbles by Evans.

Joey Gatto, with a team-leading 46 yards on the ground, capped an 11-play march with a 3-yard score to give South Walton a 7-0 lead. The second score off a turnover came with less than two minutes to play in the half, as Evans scrambled right, reversed field and surrendered the ball after a 10-yard loss. South Walton settled for a 30-yard field goal by Jonathan O’Hara to lead by 10 at the break.

Liberty County appeared ready for a shootout, when it answered South Walton’s first score with one of its own. McCray, who had 142 total yards, broke four tackles en route to a 46-yard run to tie the game.

However, Liberty County turned the ball over on downs and finished its other two drives with lost fumbles. The Bulldogs had 63 yards on their scoring drive, but only 48 the rest of the first half. South Walton amassed 134 total yards in the first 24 minutes.

“We thought we had a good plan in place,” Grantham said. “It just didn’t happen for us in the first half.”