Fighting Scots drop nailbiter at Jack Britt

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. —The Fighting Scots football team dropped a heartbreaker to the Jack Britt Buccaneers on the road Friday night 21-20. In a true game of inches, Jack Britt made literally one more play than Scotland did, improving to 2-1 on the season while the Scots drop to 1-3 with the loss. It was a tough night for Head Coach Richard Bailey and company as they had multiple opportunities to win the game but simply made too many mistakes to pull it out.

“It’s frustrating man we needed this win there’s no doubt about it,” Bailey said. “It’s disappointing, I don’t remember a time in my career we’ve been 1-3 to start a season, it’s a bitter pill to swallow and I got to do better.”

The first quarter was a rather uneventful one for both sides. Outside of the opening drive of the game where the Scots turned the ball over on downs after electing to go for it on 4th & 7 from the Jack Britt 10-yard line, it was nothing but punts and three and outs.

The first notable play of the game came on the first play of the second quarter, when quarterback Ji’San McPhatter threw an interception deep in Scotland territory to Jeremyah Mclaurin as he wrestled the ball away from Mykah Quick-Smith. The Buccaneers would capitalize on the takeaway with a one-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak by Gavin Stokes on 4th & goal. The touchdown was enormously controversial as many believed the Scotland defense had stopped Jack Britt well shy of the goal line. They would also convert the two-point conversion to go up 8-0.

The Scots did answer right back, driving down the field thanks to a big screen pass to Tyjurian White and multiple good runs by White. McPhatter would eventually cap off the touchdown drive with a run from a yard out to make it 8-6. Jack Britt had a chance to extend their lead before halftime but Dajuan Gibson picked off Stokes with 26 seconds left in the half to thwart any scoring opportunity for the Buccaneers.

Jack Britt did however immediately extend their lead to start the second half as Emmorian Towns broke off a 58-yard touchdown run less than two minutes out of the break. The Buccaneers did miss the extra point, which kept it a one possession game at 14-6. Scotland had a good first offensive possession of the second half, mixing in some quarterback scrambles by McPhatter and a big completion to Quatavius Everette down to Jack Britt’s 20-yard line. They eventually were faced with another tough fourth down decision, electing to go for it on 4th & goal from the four-yard line and getting stuffed just short, resulting in a brutal turnover on downs. Bailey gave credit to Jack Britt’s defensive staff for stopping the Scots offense in critical situations but also attributed the offensive struggles to problems with blocking.

“You got to give them credit, they threw some wrinkles at us and their front was very unusual, we didn’t handle it great,” Bailey said. “We tried to adjust but it was just a lot for them and it wasn’t good, it was one of the worst blocking performances we’ve had since I’ve been here.”

Still, the Scots did not go quietly, forcing the Buccaneers to punt on their next drive thanks to a big tackle for loss by Keyshaun Mcqueen. They then immediately tied the game on a 62-yard touchdown pass from McPhatter to Gibson and a successful two-point conversion with just under 10 minutes left on the clock. Scotland seemed to be turning the tide in their favor, forcing another Jack Britt punt, giving the offense the ball in a tie game with about six minutes remaining.

A 29-yard completion to Quick-Smith immediately put Scotland in good position. Unfortunately for the Scots, it was all for naught as a huge 4th & 2 with just under four minutes left resulted in McPhatter being stripped of the ball by Towns after he had already picked up the first down. The Buccaneers would then take the lead on a 12-yard touchdown run by Stokes with about 2.5 minutes left. While it was a bad time for a turnover and a tough break for the Scots, Bailey understood the competitive nature McPhatter had in the moment.

“He was fighting hard and the defender made a great play,” Bailey said. “It was one of those plays where I’m yelling for the ref to blow the whistle but in reality we were still moving and had he broke free and scored I would’ve been upset they blew the whistle.”

The Scots started their final drive in terrific shape thanks to a return out to their own 48-yard line by White. Corheim Hasty then took the ball to Jack Britt’s 31-yard line before an unsportsmanlike conduct on the Buccaneers moved the ball 15 yards closer to the endzone. From there, the Scots used McPhatter’s legs over and over until he got into the endzone with one second left on a quarterback sneak from one yard out. Rather than kick the extra point to tie the game, they went for two and the win but failed to get it. Bailey knows that the missed opportunities earlier in the game cost them dearly but did not second guess his decision to go for the win in that situation.

“We got stopped inside the one-foot line twice,” Bailey said. “That’s the first time in my career I went for two and the win and didn’t get it, I thought we had a good play call.”

Scotland will begin conference action next week with a home matchup against Hoke County on Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. The Bucks will also enter the game at 1-3 with their lone win coming against Douglas Byrd on Sept. 6.