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The one time Singleton got to uncork his speed turned out to be Friday night's defining play.
Singleton's 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter gave Northwood a 17-14 lead that would hold up the rest of the game to give the Chargers the win and the SCISAA Region 2-AA crown.
"That was a huge play when we needed it the most," Northwood Academy coach Jerry Stoots said.
Hilton Head Christian had a chance to tie it with 25 seconds left in the game, but Mark McDevitt's 35-yard field goal hooked to the right.
Singleton's touchdown came right after the Eagles had taken their first, and what would be their only, lead of the game with a 34-yard touchdown run by Eric Farr. Momentum shifted to the Eagles, but only for 15 seconds.
Singleton caught the ball at the 4-yard line, made a quick cut to the outside to avoid a tackler and burned down the Northwood sideline until he reached the end zone.
"That's what happens when two good teams play," Hilton Head Christian coach Tommy Lewis said. "It was a tremendous effort all over the field. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes or makes the biggest plays or a combination of the two is going to come out on top, and that's what Northwood did."
Northwood (9-2, 5-0 region) had the lead for most of the first half after quarterback Brandon Stoots hit Nick Burn on a 40-yard flea flicker for a touchdown. The Chargers added a short field goal after Calan Davis intercepted a Luke Sirgo pass deep in Eagle territory.
Hilton Head Christian climbed out of its 10-0 halftime hole with some good defense and an adjusted offense. The Eagles struggled to get their passing game going in the first half because of Northwood's press coverage, something Lewis hadn't expected.
"Northwood did something that we haven't seen all year, which is play some tight bump-and-run coverage," Lewis said. "It took us a little while to adjust."
Sirgo and his receivers found some holes in the coverage in the third quarter. Sirgo hit McDevitt on a wheel route for a 21-yard touchdown to get the Eagles on the board.
The Eagles had their first two fourth-quarter drives end via turnover. Northwood's Chad Singer forced Sirgo to fumble to end one drive and Sirgo was picked off by Nick Burn to end another.
"It was a huge effort for us to get as many turnovers as we did," the elder Stoots said.
Hilton Head Christian's defense rose to the occasion both times, stopping Singleton on fourth-and-short plays to give the offense the ball back.
Two pass interference penalties and two Sirgo completions got the Eagles deep into Charger territory, but Hilton Head Christian couldn't get any closer than the 17-yard line.
With 25 seconds left, Lewis elected to send McDevitt out to tie the game on fourth-and-3.
His kick drifted just a little too far to the right.
"I thought it might have a chance, but I had a feeling it might hook right," McDevitt said.
The loss drops Hilton Head Christian (7-3, 4-1) to the No. 2 seed out of Region 2-AA. The Eagles will host Pee Dee Academy, the No. 3 seed out of Region 1-AA, next Friday.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| Northwood Academy | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Hilton Head Christian | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
Second Quarter
NA--Nick Burn 40 pass from Brandon Stoots (Seth Graham kick), 11:03.
NA--FG Graham 24, 8:51.
Third Quarter
HHCA--Mark McDevitt 21 pass from Luke Sirgo (McDevitt kick), 5:04.
HHCA--Eric Farr 34 run (McDevitt kick), 1:20.
NA--Uriah Singleton 94 kickoff return (Graham kick), 1:05.
| NA | HHCA | |
| First downs | 11 | 18 |
| Rush | 9 | 4 |
| Pass | 2 | 11 |
| Pen. | 0 | 3 |
| Rushes-yards | 36-180 | 10-75 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 5-16-1 | 21-43-2 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 249 |
| Return yards | 134 | 56 |
| Punts | 5-30.2 | 3-35.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 9-95 | 6-40 |
| Third-down conv. | 3-9 | 2-8 |
| Fourth-down conv. | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| Time of Possession | 28:12 | 19:48 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Northwood Academy, Uriah Singleton 20-72, Justin Tretera 9-77, Brandon Stoots 3-9, Calan Davis 2-11, Nick Burn 2-11. Hilton Head Christian, Eric Farr 5-83, Luke Sirgo 4-0, Zac Lenns 1-(-8).
PASSING--Northwood Academy, Stoots 5-16-1-77. Hilton Head Christian, Sirgo 21-42-2-249, Lenns 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Northwood Academy, Nick Eberhart 2-14, Burn 1-40, Tretera 1-15, Singleton 1-8. Hilton Head Christian, Mark McDevitt 6-83, Lenns 5-28, Joey Davis 4-67, Ethan Gort 3-44, Farr 3-27.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--Hilton Head Christian, McDevitt 35 (wide right).
