Charleston QB shines brightly
CHARLESTON 49, OSCEOLA 22
CHARLESTON — Charleston’s offense played lights out after a 30-minute power failure just before the second-half kickoff.
The Tigers scored on four of their first five possessions in the second half and took advantage of two fourth-quarter interceptions to pull away for a 49-22 victory over Osceola in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A playoffs Friday night at Alumni Field.
“I’m very proud of the way our kids responded,” Charleston Coach Greg Kendrick said.
“We talk about overcoming adversity and kind of riding the ups and downs, the wave of emotions, and we think our kids did a good job of that.”
Quarterback Ty Storey threw for 401 yards and seven touchdowns to lead the Tigers (12-0) to their 27th consecutive victory. Charleston will host 4-3A rival Booneville in next week’s semifinals. Charleston defeated Booneville 47-20 during the regular season.
Charleston led 21-20 at halftime as was set to get the ball to start the second half. But just as the teams were coming back onto the field, the power went out in the stadium.
Power was restored after a 30-minute delay, and the Tigers took off after sputtering at times in the first half.
Storey hit Dylan Jones for a 66-yard touchdown three plays into the second half, then added a two-point run for a 29-20 Tiger lead.
“We ran a certain set and got exactly what we wanted and hit a deep ball over the top,” Kendrick said. “It really kind of set the tone.”
Charleston’s defense stiffened after that, stopping Osceola on a fourth and goal at the Tigers 1, but two plays later Seminoles defensive back Derrell Brown sacked Storey in the end zone for a safety that kept Osceola in the game at 29-22 with 4:12 left in the period.
The Seminoles got the free kick and drove to the Tigers 29, where the drive stalled on fourth down.
Storey cranked up the Tigers offense again, hitting Taylor King for a 57-yard scoring pass and a 36-22 lead.
Fourth-quarter interceptions by Jones and Colton Posky led to two more touchdown passes by Storey — an 18-yard toss to Tanner Lynch with 10 minutes left and an 8-yarder to Jones with 6:35 left to blow open the game.
“We put the ball in his hands,” Kendrick said. “He’s at his best when we need him most, and he continues to just make play after play after play.”
Jones finished with 9 catches for 162 and 3 touchdowns while King had 9 catches for 111 yards and 1 score.
Storey’s three touchdown passes sparked Charleston’s one-[point halftime lead.
Storey was 15 of 22 pass for 178 yards, while Jones and King each had 5 catches. Jones had 54 yards and 2 scores while King had 36 yards.
Osceola stayed in it late in the half when Charleston was threatening to pull away.
With the Tigers facing second and 10 at the Seminoles 38, Storey was sacked, fumbled and Osceola defensive end Marcos Flores scooped up the ball and ran 56 yards for the score. The kick failed, but the Seminoles were within 21-20 at halftime.