Herald Sun correspondent
DURHAM -- Southern coach Adrian Jones said a good team can blow teams out but also can win close games.
Friday night, his team showed Jones that they are a good team by stopping Raleigh Athens Drive on its final possession to help the Spartans edge the Jaguars 24-21 in the second round of the state 4-A playoffs.
"No matter the outcome, we fought hard," Jones said. "They went up on us, and we came right back and drove the ball down the field. But that's what good teams do, and that's the reason why we're the number one seed."
Southern will face New Hanover next Friday. Jones said they will try to move the game to N.C. Central's O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium because of poor field conditions at Southern.
Unlike last week, the field conditions affected the Spartans' performance.
Southern had five fumbles, including one that was recovered by Athens Drive on the second play from scrimmage. The Jaguars only needed three plays to allow KyRee Green to run it in 3 yards for the first score.
"I think it was more of our quarterback and our center exchange," Jones said. "They were having some confusion with the exchange, and that's the reason why we fumbled a couple of times."
But Southern didn't pout long. On the ensuing drive, quarterback Alan Lea went 3-of-4 for 72 yards, which ended with Alonzo Hedgepeth's 1-yard touchdown. Lea finished the game with 13-of-23 for 206 yards with a touchdown.
Even with poor field conditions, Jones relied on senior kicker Adelman Martinez to kick a key 25-yard field goal late in the first half to take a 10-7 halftime lead.
But the Jaguars, who had only 37 total yards in the first half, surpassed that on their opening drive of the third quarter by going 78 yards. Jaguars quarterback Ben Snotherly found Louis Wilder from 10 yards out to take a 14-10 lead.
Southern again answered the challenge with a touchdown pass from Lea to Quentin Lloyd from 9 yards, and Hedgepeth added his second rushing score.
"They got to move the ball," Athens Drive coach Jeff Smouse said. "They didn't have as many problems with the weather as we did, and they wore us down. They are a little bit bigger, and their offensive line is bigger than our defensive line."
The Jaguars made one last effort of a comeback.
After a touchdown pass from Snotherly to Wilder to trim the lead to 24-21, the Jaguars started to drive with 2:55 remaining. But on fourth and 10, Snotherly found Wilder -- 2 yards short.
"We put a little pressure on and got the quarterback a little rattled and got rid of it," Jones said. "The defense, even though they didn't have the greatest night, they came in for the big play and made it happen."
Southern 24, Athens Drive 21
Athens Drive 7 0 7 7--21
Southern 7 3 7 7--24
AD--Green 3 run (Curfman kick)
S--Hedgepeth 1 run (Martinez kick)
S--Martinez 25 field goal
AD--Wilder 10 pass from Snotherly (Curfman kick)
S--Lloyd 9 pass from Lea (Martinez kick)
S--Hedgepeth 5 run (Martinez kick)
AD--Wilder 14 pass from Snotherly (Curfman kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Southern: Jones 13-50, Lawrence 3-(minus 5), Thompson 8-35, Lea 5-5. Athens Drive: Snotherly 13-48, McMillian 1-(minus 3), Singer 1-4, Green 7-12.
PASSING--Southern: Lea 13-23-0-206. Athens Drive: Snotherly 10-25-1-160.
RECEIVING--Southern: Lloyd 4-35, Creecy 6-122, Everett 1-8, Fogg 1-15, Sapp 1-26. Athens Drive: Jones 4-14, Wilder 6-91.
Records--Southern 12-1, Athens Drive 9-4.
