CLINTON, S.C. – It was a high stakes affair in the third round of the 3A football playoffs as the Chapman Panthers made the 50-minute trek down Interstate 26 to face off against the Clinton Red Devils in a rematch from earlier this season.
When the final horn sounded, the Panthers dropped a tough one to the Red Devils (13-0) by a 49-27 tally at Wilder Stadium. The Panther's defense hit the field first and forced a Red Devil turnover on downs at the Chapman 38-yard line before the offense took advantage of the opportunity with a fourth down pass from Coleman Gray to Shawn Cunningham for a 25-yard touchdown, staking the Panthers to an early 7-0 lead. Clinton tied the game at seven just a few seconds into the second quarter on a seven yard run by Mr. Football nominee Bryson James. Just over a minute later, Gray fired a 60 yard touchdown pass to Devin Roe for a 14-7 Panther lead with 10:18 remaining until halftime. But then, the Clinton offense began to find a groove. After a long pass completion deep into Panther territory, James found the end zone from 10 yards out, making it a 14-13 score midway through the frame. Clinton forced consecutive punts by Chapman and scored twice more on a 25-yard James run and a 76-yard Jayden Robinson run for a 26-14 lead at the break. The Clinton defense forced a Chapman turnover near midfield to open the second half & converted it into a 13-yard Jishun Copeland touchdown run, which made it a 32-14 advantage for the Red Devils at that juncture of the contest. Despite the deficit in the final stanza, the Panthers continued to battle. Chapman wide receiver Shawn Cunningham took a reverse 62 yards down the sideline for a score & later reeled in a 24-yard pass in the back of the end zone, which provided the final margin. Cunningham finished the contest with a team-high 70 yards rushing, along with seven receptions for 80 yards and two touchdown catches, while Roe had four catches for a team-high 119 yards and a touchdown. Gray completed 12 of 17 pass attempts for 218 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. As a team, Chapman compiled 330 yards of total offense. Chapman concludes the 2022 season with an 8-5 overall record, having won their sixth straight region championship on the gridiron & notching a season-high seven game win streak in the process. With the season’s end, the Panthers will see 13 seniors graduate from the program. Comments are closed.
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