By Mike McCombs
Seventy-seven years is a long time.
That’s how long it had been since Beaufort High School had won a state championship in football before Bruce Lybrand’s Eagles knocked off the Powdersville Patriots, 41–31, on Thursday night in Columbia.
When Beaufort last won a title, the school’s athletic teams were called the Tidal Wave and it would be a quarter century before integration. It’s likely most grandparents of the players on this year’s edition of the Eagles weren’t even born.
But after state championship game losses in 2007 and then again last year, Kacy Fields and company got the job done this time — without throwing a pass — to give the Eagles their first 3A crown and their third title overall (1935, 1945, 2022).
Congratulations to the Beaufort Eagles, their fans and their families, past and present.
BEAUFORT 41, POWDERSVILLE 31
Dec 1, 2022, Charlie W. Johnson Stadium, Benedict College, Columbia, S.C.
Powdersville 14 10 7 0 – 31
Beaufort 0 21 13 7 – 41
SUMMARY
1st Quarter
PWD – Eli Hudgins 6 run (Nate Spearman kick), 9:17. Drive: 7 plays, 65 yds, 2:43. Powdersville 7, Beaufort 0
PWD – Thomas Williams 25 run (Spearman kick), 5:06. Drive: 7-55, 2:42. Powdersville 14, Beaufort 0
2nd Quarter
BFT – Phares 5 run (Jack Troutman kick), 9:35. Drive: 18-82, 7:31. Powdersville 14, Beaufort 7
BFT – Colton Phares 31 run (Troutman kick), 4:28. Drive: 9-74, 3:16. Powdersville 14, Beaufort 14
PWD – Williams 69 run (Spearman kick), 3:34. Drive: 2-69, 0:54. Powdersville 21, Beaufort 14
BFT – Kacy Fields 93 kickoff return (Troutman kick), 03:12. Beaufort 21, Powdersville 21
PWD – Spearman 36 field goal, 00:22. Drive: 8-47, 2:50. Powdersville 24, Beaufort 21
3rd Quarter
BFT – Fields 12 run (Troutman kick blocked), 07:34. Drive: 11-66, 4:26. Beaufort 27, Powdersville 24
PWD – Williams 1 run (Spearman kick), 05:00. Drive: 5-56, 2:34. Beaufort 27, Powdersville 31
BFT – Fields 75 run (Troutman kick), 03:35. Drive: 3-81, 1:25. Beaufort 34, Powdersville 31
4th Quarter
BFT – Fields 1 run (Troutman kick), 05:36. Drive: 12-57, 5:11. Beaufort 41, Powdersville 31
TEAM STATS
PWD BFT
FIRST DOWNS 15 23
RUSHES-YDS (NET) 38-282 67-424
PASSING YDS (NET) 99 0
Passes Att-Comp-Int 8-4-0 0-0-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YDS 46-381 67-424
Fumble Returns-Yds 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yds 0-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yds 7-83 6-169
Interception Returns-Yds 0-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 1-30.0 0-0.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yds 6-54 5-25
Possession Time 18:54 29:06
Third-Down Conversions 4-8 11-15
Fourth-Down Conversions 0-1 2-2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 3-3 3-4
Sacks By: No.-Yds 0-0 2-22
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Powdersville – Thomas Williams 20-236; Eli Hudgins 17-46; Xavier Fowler 1-0. Beaufort – Kacy Fields 37-219; Colton Phares 28-198; Samari Bonds 2-7.
PASSING: Powdersville – Eli Hudgins 4-8-0-99.
RECEIVING: Powdersville – Elijah Huggins 1-47; Thomas Williams 1-37; Jack Hunsinger 1-9; Kyle Rice 1-6.
FUMBLES: Powdersville – Thomas Williams 1-1; Eli Hudgins 1-0. Beaufort – Kacy Fields 1-1.
SACKS (UA-A): Powdersville – None. Beaufort – Aaron Lamb 0-1; Quion Rivers 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Powdersville – Peyton Little 4-9; Harrison Jeffries 6-3; Jacob Matocha 5-4; Thomas Williams 4-5; Brendan Wertz 3-4; Antony Murphy 2-5; Jack Quarles 4-2; Javier Mills 2-3; Xavier Fowler 2-3; Jaxon Key 3-0; Joshaun Knuckles 2-1; Eli Morgan 1-2; Trez Fowler 1-2; Xavier Mayes 2-0; Drake Sloan 1-0; Cooper Butler 0-1; Christopher Cruell 0-1; Kole Coleman 0-1. Beaufort – Will Codding 5-4; Colton Phares 4-3; Robert Johnson 2-4; Quion Rivers 0-6; Jamar Knight 1-4; Isaac Smalls 3-1; Hart Cushman 2-2; Jeyden Simmons 1-3; Dom Camacho 1-2; Jack Sumner 1-2; Zach Talbert 1-2; Aaron Lamb 0-2; Owen Davis 0-2; Carter Bowersox 1-0; Adrian Lamb 1-0; Team 1-0; James Taylor 0-1.
PLAYER PARTICIPATION
Powdersville: 3-ChrstpherCruell, 4-Drake Sloan, 5-Antony Murphy, 6-Trez Fowler, 7-JoshaunKnuckles, 8-Jaxon Key, 9-Nate Spearman, 10-Cooper Butler, 11-HarisonJeffries, 13-Elijah Huggins, 14-Kyle Rice, 15-Eli Morgan, 16-Eli Hudgins, 17-Xavier Mayes, 19-Jacob Matocha, 21-Thomas Williams, 23-Jack Hunsinger, 25-Kole Coleman, 26-Brendan Wertz, 33-Ethan Miller, 34-Xavier Fowler, 41-Javier Mills, 43-Jack Quarles, 44-Peyton Little, 55-PaytonPalomarez.
Beaufort: 1-Samari Bonds, 2-Kacy Fields, 5-Will Codding, 8-Carter Bowersox, 9-Dom Camacho, 10-Colton Phares, 14-Owen Davis, 15-Jamar Knight, 21-Isaac Smalls, 23-McLeod Reichel, 25-Jack Sumner, 27-Quion Rivers, 33-Zach Talbert, 38-James Taylor, 40-Robert Johnson, 55-Hart Cushman, 56-Jeyden Simmons, 74-Aaron Lamb, 76-Adrian Lamb, 80-Jack Troutman.
FINAL RECORDS
Beaufort 13-1; Powdersville 13-2.
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