Red Devils rally on Middleton

The South Fulton Red Devils played a tale of two halves last Friday night.

The Homecoming game against Middleton saw the host Red Devils go from a turnover filled first half, to a strong defensive and offensive showing in the second half.

The result from the final two quarters of play resulted in a 40-22 win.

“This was a game we had to have,” said South Fulton coach Eric Knott, whose team is now 3-2. “We had to get this win for lots of reasons. We have moved players around due to injuries, and this put us back on the winning side. We are now in district games from here on out, and we need to get going on a positive note.”

The Red Devils took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter, when Greg Davis scored on an 18-yard run and two-point conversion.

Following this score, the Tigers capitalized on three South Fulton fumbles, and took a 22-8 advantage.

The Red Devils managed to cut the lead to 22-16, just seconds before halftime, when Broc Brown caught an 18-yard pass from Bryce McFarland.

This score was coupled with a two-point conversion by Davis.

In the third quarter, South Fulton regained the lead with McFarland connecting on an 8-yard pass to Mason Harper.

Davis added the two-point conversion and the Red Devils went on top 24-22.

In the fourth quarter, it was a McFarland one-yard run and another Davis two-point conversion to up the advantage to 32-22.

The final points of the game came from a three-yard run and two-point conversion from Harper at the 3:50 mark.

“In the first half, we basically gave them every point they had,” said coach Knott. “We had three fumbles, and they put points on the board from each one of the turnovers. One of their scores came on like a 96-yard return, when we were going in to score. So, we were really careless with the football in the first half. I will have to say some of that came with the guys putting in extra effort. They were trying to get an extra yard, get a touchdown. We just need to be more careful and lead each other.”

Coach Knott applauded the final two quarters of play from his team, following game planning at halftime.

“Defensively they were doing some things in the first half that we were not adjusting to. So at halftime, I went in and told the guys that we were giving them everything. So we made some adjustments and after that we shut them down. They are not a bad football team, but they have had a terrible rash of injuries. They had 17 seniors to start the year, and are now down to about seven.”

Greg Davis had a big night at home, rushing for 206 yards and catching a 29-yard pass.

Also for the Red Devils on the ground, it was Dylan Dansom with 49 yards, Mason Harper 26, Rider Whitehead 23, Bryce McFarland 9 and Mason Gaskins 4.

McFarland completed 7-of-8 passes for 126 yards, with Eli Carlisle leading the receivers with 43 yards.

South Fulton will move into district play on Friday night, when they travel to face 1-5 Dresden.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.