North Augusta grinds out physical road win over Strom Thurmond

Powell’s pick capped a streak of nine consecutive drives North Augusta (3-1) kept Strom Thurmond (2-1) out of the end zone – four by punt, two by interception, two by turnover on downs, one by the end of the first half.

“Defense played great. They played great. They made stop after stop after stop,” Bush said. “Alex Powell played unbelievable. That’s what we need, and that’s what you expect out of a senior. He played great. Super proud of him. Super proud of the defense. I just can’t say enough about those guys.”

The biggest binds the Jackets’ defense faced were early in the game. The Rebels got on the board first with Lee’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Jay Sewell on fourth down with 2:39 left in the first quarter, then sent North Augusta’s defense right back onto the field by recovering the ensuing – but not onside – kickoff.

“If it looked like it was planned, I appreciate it,” Rebels head coach Andrew Webb quipped. “That was just the good Lord shining down on us right there.”

The Jackets’ defense was up to the task, forcing the Rebels to punt – only to have to return to the field again on their own 9-yard line after that punt was muffed. 

Again, they had an answer. Ty Burke picked off Lee and raced downfield, putting the Jackets in plus territory.

Just the way their defense responded throughout the night, so did the Rebels’. They held the Jackets scoreless for all but 30 seconds of the first half, including a Kaleb Simpkins pass deflection when North Augusta had fourth-and-goal from the 6. And they continued to fight in the second half, against North Augusta and against their own self-inflicted wounds – the Rebels committed a dozen penalties, several negating first downs.

“I think, most importantly, I just told those guys in the locker room I know what kind of team we’ve got. We’ve got a team that’s going to fight, and we fought from start to finish,” Webb said. “Fighting for our standard is something that I’m proud of. We fought our absolute butts off. At the same time, North Augusta beat us. Hats off to them. They beat the Rebs tonight.”