Abbeville smothers Headland

ABBEVILLE — After all the attention paid to the high-flying, spread-em-out offense displayed by the Yellow Jackets this season, the defense decided to take the spotlight Friday night and propel the team to a rivalry win and a playoff berth.

Abbeville’s defense stifled Henry County foe Headland for most of the evening, scoring a touchdown of its own and setting the Yellow Jackets up in good field position for an easy 30-6 win.

With the victory, Abbeville improves to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in Class 3A Region 2, good enough for a trip to the playoffs. Headland falls to 4-5 and 2-5.

“Making the playoffs is just a stepping stone for us,” Abbeville head coach Al Shipman said. “We’ve reached that first hurdle now.”

The second hurdle will be higher — earning a playoff win against T.R. Miller.

But Friday was time to celebrate for the Yellow Jackets against Headland. After turning the ball over on their first possession, the Yellow Jackets’ defense stiffened.

Two possessions later, Abbeville’s Andre Kincey broke on a quick Headland pass in the flats, stepped in front of the receiver and recorded the interception. After Abbeville turned the ball over on downs four plays later, the Rams attempted the same quick pass with the same result.

This time, Kincey kept his feet and raced 37 yards to give the Yellow Jackets a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Abbeville had five tackles for loss in the first quarter, three by Marcus Danzy.

The second quarter was dominated by Abbeville. The Jackets scored early in the period on a 57-yard drive fueled by a 26-yard Kincey run. Quarterback Corey Gochett carried in the final two yards to give Abbeville a 13-0 lead.

The quick-strike offense showed off on the Jackets’ next possession, driving 56 yards in 42 seconds. Terrell Nelson ripped off 11 yards, Kincey added 14 and then Gochett connected with Marcus Danzy for 31 yards and a 20-0 lead.

Headland enjoyed its only sustained drive of the game on its next possession, using the running of Adrian Galloway and Trenton Nowell. Galloway burst through the middle and carried tacklers the final five yards for a 15-yard score, cutting the lead to 20-6.

However, Abbeville answered quickly, scoring in 56 seconds. This time, Gochett found Quentin Newman for a 26-yard touchdown pass and a 27-6 halftime lead.

The second half was relatively uneventful. Abbeville was content to chew up the clock but did get a booming 43-yard field goal from Adam Rodriguez in the third quarter.

The Jackets held Headland to 82 total yards through three quarters, and 133 for the game.

“I think our defense did a good job of stopping their run game, and I told our team if we didn’t turn the ball over, we would win,” Shipman said.