Explosive running game lifts Iron Horses over Aynor, 55-30
See KJ. See KJ run. See Sharod. See Sharod run.
The Philip Simmons High School football team’s game plan in 2023 has been elementary and effective. That was most evident Sept. 15 when the Iron Horses traveled to Aynor in an attempt to complete the current four-game road swing with four victories after opening the season at home with a win.
Thanks to an explosive running game led by KJ Asbury and Sharod Williams and some second-half mettle by the team, coach Eric Bendig’s players accomplished the mission with a 55-30 victory over the Blue Jackets.
The Iron Horses continue to score with big plays and that’s why they are 5-0 for the first time in the program’s brief but successful history.
They had 24 plays from scrimmage on offense, and 23 were runs. It didn’t hurt that the Iron Horses averaged 15.96 yards per play.
Asbury carried only 12 times, but produced 216 yards and four TDs. His biggest run of the night went for 68 yards and a TD. He needs only 146 yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Williams rushed nine times for 110 yards and three TDs. Troy Stevenson, a high school all-America candidate and a Georgia Tech commit as a cornerback, got into the run game with three carries for 57 yards and a score. He tallied six tackles on defense
“We will run until somebody stops us,” Bendig said. “I know that day will come one day, sooner or later. But we can pass the football.”
Philip Simmons runners have combined for 1,741 yards on 132 carries. That’s 13.2 yards and a first down every time the Iron Horses run the ball.
Tavien Orellana was more than capable last year with nearly 1,500 yards passing in his first year as a starter. He completed his only pass attempt against Aynor, a 22-yard throw to Bryce Ellington.
The Iron Horses also passed the character test against Aynor, a tough team with two wins and a single loss by only 1 point entering the Sept. 15 game.
Aynor led 8-0 at the end of one stop and 24-23 at halftime. But the Iron Horses reeled off 32 unanswered points to put the game away. The Blue Jackets scored a TD late in the game with Iron Horse backups in.
“That was a tale of two halves,” said Bendig, whose team won for the 23rd time in its last 29 games. “We made some adjustments at halftime, nothing too crazy.”
Bryce Smalls led the defense with 21 tackles, including six solo stops. Josh Gant, who complements Smalls from his linebacker position, logged 18 tackles.
The Iron Horses, who host Bishop England Sept. 22, enter the rivalry game with a scoring average of 46.6 points per game. The defense surrenders 23.0 points a contest.