Saluda turns Saturday showdown into a statement win over Ninety Six

NINETY SIX — Some rivalries wait all week for Friday night. This one had to wait a little longer.

Weather delays pushed the Saluda and Ninety Six football game from Friday night to Saturday afternoon, creating an unusual backdrop for one of the area's longtime rivalries.

Once the Tigers finally took the field at Wilson-Campbell Stadium, they wasted little time taking control.

Saluda jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and kept pulling away, defeating Ninety Six 56-7 on Saturday afternoon.

Saluda coach Greg Woerner said the unusual schedule did not change his team's approach.

“We set high expectations for our guys and try to hold them to them,” Woerner said. “The expectation every game is to be able to perform at a high level. And so today they did it.”

The Tigers finished with 511 total yards, including 310 on the ground, while holding Ninety Six to 275 total yards and 111 rushing yards.

Senior running back Tristan Daniels led the way with 168 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns. His longest run went for 70 yards.

Daniels opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run with 7:18 left in the first quarter. Levi Berry added the extra point to give Saluda a 7-0 advantage.

Saluda doubled its lead with no time remaining in the opening quarter when Jaylen Bledsoe scored on a 13-yard touchdown run. Berry's extra point made it 14-0.

Ninety Six answered early in the second quarter.

Ninety Six quarterback Jacob Evans connected with Camrhyn Mathis for a 69-yard touchdown pass with 11:14 remaining in the half.

But Saluda quickly regained control.

Daniels broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown run just under three minutes later, stretching Saluda's lead to 21-7.

Avery Coyle found Ceddion Springs for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 7:28 left in the half before connecting with Mekhi Linton for a 15-yard touchdown.

Coyle completed 6 of 9 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. The Tigers finished with 201 passing yards and averaged 25.1 yards per completion.

Daniels capped the first-half scoring with his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon, a 6-yard run with 24 seconds remaining.

By halftime, Saluda had turned a 14-7 game into a 42-7 lead.

Ninety Six coach Austin Sargent said the Wildcats struggled to respond once Saluda gained momentum.

“We didn't play well,” Sargent said. “Right now we don't do a great job of handling adversity right now, and that's something that I got to handle.”

Sargent challenged his players at halftime after what he saw in the second quarter.

“What we put on tape in the second quarter — it's not Ninety Six football, and it's not going to be tolerated,” Sargent said.

The Tigers continued to add to their lead in the second half.

Darryl Hill scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to open the third quarter, giving Saluda a 49-7 lead.

Saluda added its final touchdown in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jayden Linton connected with Jahlil Spencer on an 8-yard score.

While the Saluda offense produced plenty of fireworks, its defense also took advantage of Ninety Six mistakes. The Wildcats fumbled three times and lost all three, while Saluda fumbled twice and lost one.

Ninety Six finished with 164 passing yards, with Evans completing 8 of 16 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. Parker Sutley led the Wildcats with 58 rushing yards on 14 carries, while Kee Brunson added 51 yards on eight carries.

Even in the loss, Mathis gave Ninety Six a bright spot.

The freshman finished with five receptions for 127 yards and a 69-yard touchdown, and Sargent said the Wildcats will continue finding ways to get the ball into his hands.

“Cam's a great football player. He's just a freshman,” Sargent said. “We lined him up at quarterback today, up at wing, out at receiver, and slot. I mean, we did all sorts of stuff with him, and we'll continue to because he's a firecracker because when he touches it, you don't know what's going to happen."

Sargent said Mathis's performance shouldn't be overlooked because of the final score.

“I told him at the end, the score is what it is. Obviously, we don't like it, but don't let this dampen what you've done,” Sargent said. “You've had a great game.”

For Woerner, one of the biggest positives from the victory was seeing his players embrace a team-first mentality.

“Today I felt like it was one of the first times we had an, 'if he scores, we all score' type of mentality,” Woerner said. “They were really cheering, pulling for each other today. They weren't mad about who got in there as long as we got in there as a team.”

Sargent said the Wildcats can use the loss as a learning experience as they continue to develop.

“We tell them every day we got to stack day after day after day, and just get better at something each day,” Sargent said. “And we learned some lessons today, and they weren't fun. But we'll keep fighting.”

The rivalry may have arrived a day later than expected, but Saluda made the most of its Saturday afternoon opportunity.