South Fulton closes on good note by beating Gleason
South Fulton was able to end the 2020 season on a high note.
The Red Devils closed a disappointing football campaign with a 24-20 win over Gleason to finish with a 3-6 overall record and 2-4 mark in Region 7-1A.
Beau Britt ran for 104 yards on just eight carries, scoring a touchdown, and the Red Devils also got touchdowns from Will Clapper and Brock Brown. The difference was in the two-point conversions — SF was 3-for-3 as Dalton Morris, Mason Harper and Drew Barclay all had conversion runs; Gleason converted just one of their three tries.
Having struggled to move the ball all season, South Fulton went almost exclusively on the ground with 251 of its 265 total yards coming on running plays. SF had 48 total offensive plays, 44 of those on the ground.
Gleason, meanwhile, had 220 yards of offense, gaining 153 on 39 rushes and completing 6-of-10 passes for 67 yards.
The game was practically even in a lot of areas.
Both teams scored a touchdown and two-point conversion in the second quarter for the only points of the first half, and then each added two TDs in the fourth quarter, where SF’s ability to convert two-pointers paid off.
The Bulldogs scored in the final seconds of the game but then failed for the second time to trail by four points.
In a relatively clean game, the squads combined for seven penalties totaling 44 yards — Gleason had four for 23; SF had three for 21.
There were no turnovers on fumbles, while SF had two interceptions to one for Gleason.
South Fulton had 15 first downs; Gleason 13.
Both teams put together solid drives only to come up empty to begin the game.
SF moved from its own 29 to the Bulldog 33 on seven plays. Drew Barclay went 12 yards on the Devils’ first offensive play, and Britt had a 13-yard run after SF had been backed up to 2nd-and-14 on a penalty.
Mason Harper converted on 4th-and-1, but then Bryce McFarland was picked off by his Gleason counterpart as Elijah Young came away with the interception. A linebacker on defense, Young moved to quarterback for Gleason when Kolton Crochet suffered a season-ending injury.
Gleason then engineered an impressive drive only to come up empty by turning the ball over on downs.
Young connected with Garrett Pinkston for 32 yards and Brady Witherspoon for 14 as the Bulldogs moved from their own 31 to the Devil three.
It stalled there, however, as Austin Clark was stopped for no gain and Young was corralled for a three-yard loss between a pair of incompletions.
Taking over from its own six, South Fulton then methodically marched 94 yards on 16 running plays. There were no fumbles, no penalties and no plays for negative yards as the Devils picked up seven first downs along the way.
Barclay had one run for nine yards and three that went for seven, while Brown had an eight-yard carry and moved the ball 19 yards to the one-yard-line on the 15th play of the drive.
Will Clapper, a freshman who led the team in rushing in the Devils’ season-opening game against Stewart County, finished the drive as he squeezed through the right side for the final yard.
Morris added the conversion for an 8-0 SF lead.
South Fulton looked to be in good shape when Rider Whitehead ended Gleason’s ensuing drive with an interception, but Pinkston did that one better on the following play when he snatched a McFarland pass and went 40 yards for the score.
Clark added the conversion to tie the game at 8-all.
After a scoreless third period, SF began a four-touchdown scoring spree with a TD on the second play of the fourth period.
Britt ran 19 yards, and Harper added the conversion for a 16-8 SF lead.
The Bulldogs answered with a 12-play, 54-yard drive, scoring on Clark’s three-yard run to pull within 16-14.
It was SF’s turn, going 55 yards in six plays, getting a 42-yard run from Britt on a jet sweep and scoring on a five-yard run by Brown. Barclay’s two-point run put the Devils ahead 24-14.
Gleason then answered with a 58-yard scoring drive that took 10 plays and too much time.
Witherspoon had a 21-yard run, the ’Dogs overcame a 4th-and-14 when SF was flagged for a facemask and Young scrambled 14 yards to put Gleason at the Devil four.
Pinkston caught a one-yard TD pass from Young, but the conversion failed again. SF then handled the kick and took a knee twice to end the season on a good note.
This report and game stats will appear in Monday’s online edition.