Chiefs football team wins first region game

By John Smithson

The NMB Chiefs football team finally put together enough offense and defense to win their first 6-5A region game last Friday night at Socastee by a 30-14 score.

The Chiefs kicked off to the Braves to start the game and Socastee went three and out. Their punt was returned to the Socastee 41 yard-line. An eight-yard run by Will McNeely and six more yards by Jaden Wilson gave the Chiefs a first down at the Braves 27. Three running plays set up a fourth down at the Socastee 20.

Mason Walker’s pass to Reo Stevenson was incomplete but a holding penalty on the Braves gave the Chiefs a first down at the 10yard-line. McNeely rushed for three yards and Dustin Clement, the H-Back, took it in for a touchdown and 6-0 Chiefs lead. A Socastee penalty gave the Chiefs and opportunity for a two-point conversion by McNeely and 8-0 score.

Socastee was three and out again. Their punt  resulted in a 15-yard return by Jahsan Grace to the Socastee 37 yard-line. A short run by McNeely and two Walker to McNeely passes gave the Chiefs a first down at the Braves 15. Wilson ran nine yards to the 6, then bounced left on a run for the second Chiefs touchdown. Nico Miller’s PAT was good, and the Chiefs led 15-0 with1:54 on the clock.

Socastee took the Chiefs kickoff to their 36 and a Chiefs penalty gave them a first down at their 47. Three plays later the Braves set up for a punt but  BJ Floyd faked the punt and ran 19 yards to the Chiefs 32 yard-line. Four plays later Christin Royals faked a pass and ran 8 yards for a Socastee touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and the Chiefs lead was 15-6.

The Chiefs began their next possession at their 36 and two runs gave the Chiefs a first down at midfield. Jaden Wilson rushed for five yards on first down, then burst through a hole in the line for 45 yards and a touchdown for a 21-6 lead. McNeely rushed for the two-point conversion to make the score 23-6.

A personal foul by Socastee on the conversion set up the Chiefs kickoff at the Braves 45 yard-line. The Chiefs were successful on an onside kick and the ball at the 29 of Socastee.  A Chiefs holding penalty and the Socastee defense forced a punt from the Chiefs 42 with the ball downed at the Socastee 8 yard-line.

Socastee moved the ball to their 44, but a penalty forced a punt back to the Chiefs. Walker had his third down pass intercepted but the Braves were unable to move the ball and punted back to the Chiefs with under a minute to play. The Chiefs ran out the clock and led 23-6 at halftime.

The Chiefs took the second half kickoff and made one first down before punting back to the Braves. On their first play Socastee fumbled, and the Chiefs had the ball back on the Socastee 37. The Chiefs McNeely scored from four yards out after a nine play drive, aided by two key Braves penalties, the second an unsportsmanlike penalty by Socastee that put the ball on their four-yard line. Miller’s kick gave the Chiefs a  30-6 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter.

The Chiefs kickoff was returned to the Socastee 46, and a Chiefs pass interference penalty gave the Braves a first down at the Chiefs 37. Two Chiefs penalties moved the ball to the Chiefs 12 yard-line and  two plays later Royals scored from one yard out. A Royals pass to the end zone cut the Chiefs lead to 30-14 with a two-point conversion.

Both teams went three and out in their first possessions of the fourth quarter. The Chiefs did move the ball to the Socastee 38 but turned the ball over on a fourth down incomplete pass. Socastee’s next three-down possession ended on an interception by Grace at the Chiefs 36 yard-line.

The Chiefs moved to the Socastee 33 on a seven-yard pass play to Wilson, but the game ended on that play.

The 30-14 win was the first in region play and necessary for any consideration for playoffs. The offense got off to a good start and needs to be mentioned. Jayden Wilson ran 18 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Will McNeely rushed 16 times for 61 yards with a touchdown and two two-point conversions.

Mason Walker was 5 for 12 passing for 48 yards and had one interception. The Chiefs had 244 yards of total offense and controlled the ball over two minutes longer than Socastee.

Defensive standouts included Mike Cavallini with three solo tackles and five assists. Bricey Gore had another solid game with four solo tackles and two assists. Nigel Vereen had one solo tackle and assisted on five others.

Dustin Clement was the H back and rushed four times for 22 yards and a touchdown.

The Chiefs will need all hands on deck this week at The Hank as a tough Carolina Forest team visits on Friday night.