It’s no secret that as Quez Nesbitt goes, so goes Greer’s offense. And Greer also found out tonight at Sirrine Stadium so goes its fortunes.

Greenville’s Corbin Singleton reached high to snag a pass from quarterback Clark Scolamiero in the end zone with 1:04 remaining in the game to give the Greenville Red Raiders a 24-21 Peach Blossom Conference 3A win over the Greer Yellow Jackets. Greer’s Jackson Tipton had Singleton covered well on the play but it was by mere inches that Singleton secured the ball.

Greer’s final hopes fizzled on the next series when quarterback Josh Gentry’s pass to Emmanuel Kelly was thrown out of bounds on fourth down. Kelly, in desperation, pushed off the Greenville defender and would have been called for pass interference if the Jackets were successful on the play.

Greer is 2-2 overall and Greenville evened its record to 2-2.

Nesbitt had the most carries, 31, than any game he has played to date, but his 107 yards gained and no touchdowns were also his most unproductive.

Greer Head Coach Will Young put his finger on the problem after the game. “If you don’t block well, you can’t move the ball,” Young said. “They physically whipped us up front.”

That was Greenville’s idea coming into the game, said assistant coach Richard Singleton. “We knew if we stopped 20 (Nesbitt) we would stop their offense.”

Greenville players also figured it best to tackle Nesbitt high at the line of scrimmage. Nesbitt was often grabbed by the shoulders to get him off balance or turn him from running forward. There were few times when Greenville made solo tackles on Nesbitt. His longest run was 14 yards and it’s the first time this season he did not score a touchdown.

Brook Chapman, fighting a cold, gave Greer its first lead when he scored on a 19-yard run with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter.  “The blocking was excellent and I just put my hand on a lineman’s shoulder and followed him into the end zone,” Chapman said.

Chapman recorded a sack on Greenville’s next offensive series that led to the Red Raiders punting the ball to Greer. “I love playing both ways. This was the first game I got to play more on offense. It was a good feeling with my family here watching,” Chapman said.

Scolamiero’s scrambling in the fourth quarter was what created problems for Greer’s defense as he was bottled up the first three quarters. He got out of trouble on one play after being hemmed in, broke loose and darted into the end zone for a 27-yard run for a 17-14 Greenville lead with 8:18 left in the game.

John Hicks, Greer linebacker who had a career game last week, said Greenville had a tendency to run away from him. “They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect them to do. We had the quarterback boxed in, we just need to tackle him,” Hicks said.

Greer, noted for its quick scores, needed only 1:41 to retake the lead on Kelly’s one-yard run with Ty Campbell and Tim Ballenger, big defensive linemen, put in the backfield to lead the way. Kelly also showed some of his athletic abilities by hauling in a lofted pass from Gentry, wrestling it away from a defender, and sprinting for a 60-yard gain to Greer’s 15-yard line.  “I didn’t know it was coming until I saw the defender turn his head,” Kelly said.

Gentry, several times, lofted passes deep with no Greer receiver targeted. D’Anta Fleming circled under one pass for a reception and gained 50 yards to set up Center’s 20-yard field goal try that went awry before halftime.

Jamond Thomason’s first carry, for 55 yards on the second play of the game, gave Greenville its first touchdown when he ran up the middle, veered slightly left and outran Greer’s defenders to the end zone. Keith Karmilovich kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Greenville 23 seconds into the game.

Thomas carried the ball 15 times for 97 yards.

Karmilovich kicked a 31-yard field goal with 5:25 left in the half for Greenville’s 10 points.

Gentry completed 9 of 20 pass attempts for 168 yards. However he threw two interceptions and was helped out by his receivers making gymnastic-like catches. Greenville recovered a fumble by Gentry and turned it into a third quarter touchdown, several plays later.

Emmanuel Kelly’s determination to take the ball away from a defender and stay on his feet running into the end zone for a 43-yard pass and catch play got the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard with 5:25 remaining in the first half. Thomas Center’s extra point brought Greer to within three points, 10-7.

It looked like another quick strike for the Jackets when D’Anta Fleming circled under a lofted pass by Gentry. Fleming caught the ball and was pulled down at the Greenville 4-yard line after a 45-yard gain.

Brook Chapman, who was called on to muscle for some yardage, bulled his way into the end zone but officials ruled he got an extra push from his teammates and Greer was moved back 5 yards to the 9 yard line for a first and goal.  Gentry got five back on a run, Nesbitt couldn’t scratch a yard and Chapman was stopped at the three.

Young called timeout with 16 seconds remaining to set up Center for a 20-yard field goal effort but it was wide left.

Greer returns home for the first time in three weeks next Friday when it hosts Travelers Rest.  Pickens beat Travelers Rest 42-6 tonight.

TEAM CAPTAINS: John Hicks (linebacker), Josh Gentry (quarterback), Ty Campbell defensive line) and Alex Waters (offensive tackle) were tonight’s captains.

MR. VERSATILITY: Emmanuel Kelly was quarterback on two plays – He took over for one play when Gentry had to report to the sideline for an injury observation. He scored on the other. Kelly’s 5 catches for 88 yards was a team-high. He also returned a kickoff 70-yards.

WARNING: Greenville was assessed an unsportsmanlike penalty when Nesbitt was hit late. The referee called both teams together to warn against further unsportsmanlike play.

PUNTING WOES: Josh Cooke averaged 31.8 yards on 5 punts.  “I honestly can’t tell you why my punts were so bad tonight,” Cooke said.  His longest punt was 43 yards. What made tonight’s punting problems so noticeable is because Cooke has produced some excellent kicks to get Greer out from near its goal line or has boomed high kicks that sail over the lights as the ball turns over.

GREENVILLE HS WALL OF FAME: The 2012-2013 inductees are John D. Hollingsworth, Jr. (business), C. Dan Joyner (business), James George “Jim” Mattos (government and education), Minor Mickel Shaw (business and humanities) and Knox H. White (government).

125^TH ANNIVERSARY: Greenville High School celebrated its 125^th anniversary tonight and Saturday. The school was founded in 1888.

SCORING SUMMARY

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Greer	0	7	7	7	21
Greenville	7	3	0	14	24

First Quarter

11:37. Greenville. Jamond Thomason 55 run (Keith Karmilovich kick). 7-0.

Second Quarter

6:24. Greenville.  Karmmilovich 32 FG. 10-0.

5:25. Greer. Emmanuel Kelly 43 pass from Gentry (Thomas Center kick). 10-7.

Third Quarter

7:24. Greer.  Brook Chapman 19 run (Center kick). 10-14.

Fourth Quarter

8:18. Greenville. Clark Scolamiero 27  run (Karmilovich kick). 17-14.

6:27. Greer. Kelly 1 run (Center kick). 17-21.

1:04. Greenville Corbin Singleton 17 pass from Scolamier. (Karmilovich kick). 24-17.

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