Ty a bow on it: Abbeville punches ticket to Upper State championship

Cade got things started for Abbeville on the defensive side, intercepting a pass from Griffins quarterback Cameron McMillon and taking it back to the Fairfield Central 1-yard line. Jamal Marshall punched it in from there to make it 7-0 almost immediately.

“I thought we set the tone early,” Abbeville coach Jamie Nickles said. “With Ty Cade with the pick and running it down to the 1, I thought that set the tone. I was just really pleased with the effort all night long.”

Cade then scored on offense on the Panthers’ next possession, barreling over the top of a pile of defenders and just getting the nose of the ball over the goal line to put Abbeville up 14.

“It’s just that time of year,” Nickles said. “You saw it out of all our kids. When he (Cade) kicks it up a notch, you can tell.”

Then it was Addison Nickles’ turn. On Abbeville’s third possession, Nickles booted a 43-yard field goal to put the Panthers up 17.

Wingback Jha’Louis Hadden scored the first of his two touchdowns in the second quarter on a 3-yard run. Fairfield Central got on the board right before halftime when McMillon connected with Jai Boyd on a 21-yard pass.

McMillon was 23 for 42 passing for 249 yards. Boyd was his top target. He caught nine passes for 120 yards.

Abbeville’s A-Bone offensive formation went to work in the second half, and wingback Antonio Harrison scored on a nifty 39-yard scamper in the third quarter.

Quarterback Zay Rayford followed that with a 54-yard scoring pass to Karson Norman.

“That ol’ A-Bone has been through a lot,” Nickles said. “We kept hammering and kept hammering, and you kind of saw that A-Bone kick in during the second half.”

Rayford was 5 of 6 passing for 156 yards.

Hadden added his second rushing touchdown from 6 yards out in the fourth quarter.

C.J. Sampson plunged in from the 1-yard line late in the fourth for the Griffins (9-4), who were successful on the two-point conversion.

The Panthers rolled up 484 yards of total offense, with 328 coming from their ground game. Hadden had 62 yards on nine carries to pace a balanced Abbeville rushing attack.

“They (the Griffins) are really good,” Nickles said. “We saw on film just how good they are. Bend but don’t break was part of our arsenal, and you saw it on display tonight.”

GAME SUMMARY

Fairfield Central 0 6 0 8 — 14

Abbeville 14 10 14 7 — 45

FIRST QUARTER

A — Jamal Marshall 1 run (Addison Nickles kick)

A — Ty Cade 4 run (Nickles kick)

SECOND QUARTER

A — Nickles 43 FG

A — Jha’Louis Hadden 3 run (Nickles kick)

FC — Jai Boyd 21 pass from Cameron McMillon (conversion failed)

THIRD QUARTER

A — Antonio Harrison 39 run (Nickles kick)

A — Karson Norman 54 pass from Zay Rayford (Asher Johnston kick)

FOURTH QUARTER

A — Hadden 6 run (Johnston kick)

FC — C.J. Sampson 1 run (Steven Gadsen pass from McMillon)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — FC: Kensley Copeland 9-47, Steven Gadsen 5-17, Donovan Watkins 1-5, C.J. Sampson 2-4, Cameron McMillon 1-2, TyDarion Grier 1-2. A: Jha’Louis Hadden 9-62, Antonio Harrison 4-57, Altavious Patterson 5-46, Zay Rayford 11-35, Jamal Marshall 8-32, Karson Norman 6-31, Ty Cade 4-26, Mikelyn Bowie 2-23, Cam Lee 1-12, Jay Hill 1-5, Jakwon Elmore 1-(-1).

Passing — FC: Cameron McMillon 23-42-249-1. A: Zay Rayford 5-6-156-0.

Receiving — FC: Jai Boyd 9-120, TyDarion Grier 7-83, Donovan Watkins 2-24, Jalian Yarborough 1-16, Jalen Mozie 1-6, Steven Gadsen 1-5, Roger Burns 1-5, Kensley Copeland 1-(-10). A: Karson Norman 1-54, Javario Tinch 2-40, Antonio Harrison 1-39, Jay Hill 1-23.

Records: Abbeville 11-2, Fairfield Central 9-4

Next game: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saluda at Abbeville in the Upper State championship