Julie McCombs
Quez Nesbitt ran for 250 yards and scored three touchdowns in Greer's win over Eastside.
Julie McCombs
D'Anta Fleming heads for the goalline to score one of his three touchdowns Friday night in a 48-7 win over Eastside.
Julie McCombs
There's a lot of Greer tacklers wanting to take down this Eastside ballcarrier. Greer's defense held Eastside to minus 57 yards net rushing.
Julie McCombs
Josh Gentry scoots around this Eastside player for some rushing yardage against Eastside.
Fleming, a senior Greer High School wide receiver and defensive back, scored on two touchdown passes – 23 and 37 yards – added another TD on a 53-yard punt return and intercepted two passes, one in each half tonight in a 49-7 Peach Blossom Conference win at Eastside.
Nesbitt, in what is becoming routine, ran for 250 yards and three touchdowns, including his third 90-plus yard scoring run (tonight was 91 yards) this season. Nesbitt now has 1,225 yards rushing in six games – an average of 204 yards. He has scored 19 touchdowns.
Greer is 2-1 in the conference and 4-2 overall and Eastside dropped to 0-3 and 1-5.
The game was marred with the officials calling 24 fouls and marking off 262 yards in penalties. Greer head coach Will Young took the officials to task at the end of the game and voiced his displeasure. Greer was flagged for twice as many fouls (16-8) and more than double the yardage (187-75) was marked off than for Eastside.
Fleming’s timing for a near-perfect game was surreal. The two-sport star (basketball in the winter) is scheduled to make his first recruiting visit, with Brook Chapman, to South Carolina State University Saturday.
“I was thinking about my visit to S.C. State and doing good tonight,” Fleming said. “After school I got myself in a zone by listening to my music.” Fleming said quarterback Josh Gentry had been talking with him about getting more involved in the offense.
“(D’Anta) is a great kid. We need him to be successful for us to do well and tonight he did a great job,” Greer head coach Will Young said.
Fleming’s punt return was set up to score, he said. “The wall was perfect. I saw some green grass and just took off for the end zone. There was one player between me and scoring and Malek (Johnson) picked up that block and that got me into the end zone.”
John Hicks intercepted a pass and ran it back 25 yards to give Greer a 42-7 lead with 2:22 left in the third quarter. “I knew they were going to run a screen and if I could catch the ball I only had to beat two linemen to the end zone,” Hicks said. “I was thinking I didn’t have a pick six this year. When the ball was thrown, all I had to do was catch it.”
Hicks, the leading tackler on the team this season, led the defense in holding Eastside to minus 57 yards rushing. Eastside quarterback Drake Turnquist was chased throughout the game and had little time to get the pass off. Turnquist was most effective lofting lob-like throws to his receivers.
A sequence of downs, with Eastside at Greer’s 2-yard line with first and goal sums up Greer’s defense:
• 1st and goal at 2: Hicks sacks Turnquist for 12-yard loss.
• 2nd and goal at 14: Tim Ballenger sacks Turnquist for another 12-yard loss.
• 3rd and goal at 26: led by Ballenger and Ty Campbell, Eastside takes another 7-yard loss.
• 4th and goal at 33: Field goal attempt blocked.
“When it’s first and goal we’re thinking of buckling down and not letting them score,” Hicks said. “We knew what to expect. I had a back most of the night and when I didn’t I was blitzing. The linemen make me look good. If not for them I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. “
Eastside tried to surprise Greer with an onside kick to begin the game but it failed when it didn’t go the necessary 10 yards. Nesbitt had a 5-yard run on the first play, a 20-yard carry that got him up to the 1,000-yards rushing mark on the second and Fleming caught his first TD pass on the third play with only 70 seconds run off.
Greer plays Berea next Friday at Dooley Field on Senior Night.
|
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Total |
|
Greer |
7 |
21 |
14 |
6 |
49 |
|
Eastside |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
First Quarter
10:50 Greer: D’Anta Fleming 23 pass from Josh Gentry. (Nick Roberson kick) Greer 7-0.
Second Quarter
7:17. Quez Nesbitt 38 run (Roberson kick). Greer 14-0.
5:23. Fleming 53 punt return. (Roberson kick). Greer 21-0.
0:31. Fleming 37 pass from Gentry. (Roberson kick). Greer 28-0.
Third Quarter
6:47. Nesbitt 7 run (Roberson kick). Greer 35-0.
5:03. Isaiah Francis 64 pass from Drake Turnquist (BJ Hovey kick). Greer 35, Eastside 7.
2:22. John Hicks 25 interception return. (Roberson kick). Greer 42-7.
Fourth Quarter
10:58. Nesbitt 91 run (kick failed). (Thomas Center kick) Greer 49-7.