NA tops South Aiken, ends four-game slide
NORTH AUGUSTA — In the midst of a four-game losing streak, North Augusta needed somebody to be the playmaker and shift things back in its favor.
On senior night Friday, it was senior quarterback Bradley Godwin who made the difference for the Yellow Jackets.
Godwin threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns to end the losing streak and get North Augusta its third win of the season, defeating rival South Aiken 35-24 at the Jackets Nest.
It was the first win for North Augusta since Sept. 6 — a 17-16 win over Grovetown.
It didn’t take Godwin long to get going for North Augusta. After South Aiken scored the first points of the game on 27-yard field goal, on the first offensive snap for North Augusta, Godwin threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Kortez Jones on a flea-flicker. He threw for 125 more yards before the end of the half, including a 53 yard touchdown pass to Grayson Bridgers late in the second quarter.
“I was glad to see him throw the ball well,” North Augusta coach Brian Thomas said. “... All of them played hard. I told them before the game, everybody has a role ... you just got to make sure your carry your part and do the best you can.”
Godwin played his role well and so did the defense. After allowing South Aiken’s Nequel Martin 111 yards in the first half, they held him to just 28 second-half yards. It wasn’t until the final drive of the game that South Aiken got most of its yards.
Along with slowing down Martin, the defense stopped South Aiken twice in the red zone to keep them from cutting the deficit. The first was forcing them to punt after an unsportsmanlike penalty knocked them outside the 20 and E.J. Hickson was sacked by Chase Tillman.
The second was forcing Hickson to fumble on the North Augusta 7-yard line and Eli Jarrard recovering and returning for 65 yards.
“We go out there no matter what the situation is, we get backed up, we’ve got to go out and do a job,” Thomas said. “They stood up, stood the test tonight. I was proud of them.”
The win was big for North Augusta (3-5, 1-2 SCHSL 5-AAAA), not just for ending the four-game skid, but for also getting the Yellow Jackets one win closer to a playoff appearance and a home game in the first round. With two very winable games left (Midland Valley and Aiken, respectively), North Augusta controls its fate the rest of the season.
“Any game is winable but we’re going to go out hard,” Thomas said. “Midland Valley’s got a win under their belt and they’re playing some good ball. So we’re going to go out and play hard.”
GAME NOTES: Jacarri Gamble (North Augusta) was cleared today after missing the last six games with a broken thumb. On his first play back on a kickoff return, Gamble suffered a gruesome leg injury. Thomas said it was most likely a dislocated knee.
NORTH AUGUSTA 35, SOUTH AIKEN 24
South Aiken;3;7;7;7;–;24
North Augusta;7;14;7;7;–;35
First Quarter
SA – Youmans 27 kick, 7:48
NA – Jones 72 pass from Godwin (Stevens kick),
Second Quarter
NA – Jones 11 run (Stevens kick), 11:17
SA – Butler 13 run (Youmans kick), 9:42
NA – Bridgers 53 pass from Godwin (Stevens kick), 4:06
Third Quarter
NA – Wilburn 10 pass from Godwin (Stevens kick), 10:32
SA – Martin 68 pass from Hickson (Youmans kick), 6:32
Fourth Quarter
NA – Godwin 6 run (Stevens kick), 2:19
SA – Mayes 14 pass from Hickson (Youmans kick), 1:05
SA;NA;
First Downs;10;14
Rushes-Yards;27-192;32-176
Passing Yards;207;211
Comp.-Att.-Int.;11-20-0;11-15-2
Fumbles-Lost;3-1;3-1
Punts-Avg.;5-35.4;3-44
Penalties-Yards;7-65;7-70
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–South Aiken: Nequel Martin 19-139, E.J. Hickson 2-5, Trevais Butler 5-46-1, Dallas McKeever 1-1 North Augusta: Cole Saggus 13-92, Bradley Godwin 11-55-1, Kortez Jones 8-40-1.
PASSING–South Aiken: E.J. Hickson 11-19-2 for 207, Jonathan Burns 0-1. North Augusta: Godwin 11-15-3 for 211.
RECEIVING–South Aiken: Burns 2-40, Martin 1-68-1, McKeever 3-27, Devionne Burnett 1-36, Jesse Sanders 3-26, Ryan Mayes 1-14-1. North Augusta: Jones 3-81-1, Grayson Bridgers 3-68-1, Jordan Wilburn 4-46-1.