MGSC Knights Win South Atlantic Conference Championship, Move to 11-0

COCHRAN, Georgia (MGSC RELEASE) – In a rematch of the first game of the season for both teams, OC Tech came prepared to give the Knights a game they were not expecting.

The game opened up great for the Knights who forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, which was recovered by Reno Lyons (Mary Persons HS) to set the Knights up at their own 23-yard line. Kion Button (McIntosh County Academy) would connect with Quez Mahoganey (Wilcox County HS) for a 7-yard touchdown just four plays later and Brayton Smith (Dublin HS) would add the extra point to make it 7-0.

The Knights would get another gift from the Gladiators on the next drive with a bad snap and then forced fumble by Dominique Jordan (Camden County HS) that was recovered by Baylon Stone and set up the Knights inside the OC Tech 15. Rico Lyons (Mary Persons HS) scored a 3-yard run but the extra point was missed and the score was 13-0.

The Gladiators got their first score on a run by Joe Cunningham, but they’d miss the extra point and it was 13-6. The Gladiators got a score on the ensuing drive on a fumble return from 23 yards but the two point conversion attempt was stopped by the Knights and the score was 13-12.

The Knights lost Button early in the second quarter on a run that hurt his throwing shoulder and Ken Hughes (Bleckley County HS) came in to take over at quarterback for the Knights. Hughes led the Knights on a long drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Kwamaine Outlaw (Wilcox County HS) and gave the Knights a 19-12 lead to go into halftime.

The third quarter saw both teams move the ball some, but neither team scored. The Gladiators scored in the fourth quarter but failed on the two point conversion and the Knights held the lead 19-18. The Knights were about to go 3 and out on the ensuing drive before Jamarious Wright (West Laurens HS) ran the ball on a fake punt on 4th and 1 to pick up the first down and keep the drive alive. The Knights then drove down running the clock to just under three minutes remaining before getting stopped on 4th down on the Gladiators 5-yard-line.

After the turnover on downs, the Knights’ John Cody Riley (McIntosh County Academy) intercepted the ball at the 30-yard-line and took it back for a touchdown and the extra point by Smith made it 26-18. The Gladiators then started on their own 32-yard-line and a pass was thrown by Cunningham that traveled 50 yards in the air before it was tipped by Rico Ogletree (Mary Persons HS) away from the receiver and fell into the hands of another receive for the 68-yard OC Tech touchdown. An unsportsmanlike penalty on the celebration made the Gladiators go for two from the 18-yard-line and the ball was thrown out of the back of the end zone.

The Knights then recovered the onside kick with 1:43 left and took a knee three times to run out the clock and end the game. The final score was 26-24 Knights, making them the South Atlantic Conference Champions of the National Club Football Association. The win also moves the Knights to 11-0 on the season and gives them a berth as the No. 1 seed in the NCFA National Championship game on December 7. The opponent for that game will be announced on Monday, November 25ncfa at noon on the NCFA web site.