SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Despite ending up on the short-end of a 23-19 contest Saturday afternoon at this season’s Shrine Bowl, Richmond Senior’s Devant’e Covington and Tyrone Crowder enjoyed their experiences.
“It was pretty exciting getting to play for your state against others playing for their state,” Crowder said. “It was crazy playing in a bigger environment, in a bigger stadium. I had fun.”
Covington, who has committed to South Carolina, took the opportunity to meet with his future teammates during the week.
“It was a good experience,” Covington said. “I got to connect with some people like Lorenz (Bryant). He and I talked a lot.”
Bryant, a linebacker from Vance, will also be attending South Carolina in the fall.
Unlike Covington, Crowder is still uncommitted and became the focus of some recruiting by his fellow North Carolina Shrine Bowl teammates.
“I made some new friends and there was some joking around,” Crowder said. “Maybe it got a little serious.”
In the contest, South Carolina scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to turn back North Carolina in the 76th meeting between the two states.
Mykal Moody, from Conway, scored on a 5-yard run to give the Sandlappers the lead for good 16-13 in the opening moments of the final period. Lewis Keinan, of Belton-Honea Path snagged a pass from Julian Michael, from Hilton Head, for a 20-yard touchdown to extended South Carolina’s lead with just under four minutes to play.
“We came here to win,” said South Carolina coach Ray Stackley of Stratford. “We wanted to be classy and support the Shriners and their hospitals, but we wanted to win this ballgame.”
South Carolina now leads the series 42-30-4. The annual all-star game began play in 1937.
Noah Suber, from T.C. Roberson, scored two touchdowns to lead the North Carolina squad. His second score came on a 10-yard run with 36 seconds remaining.
Another standout for North Carolina was Havelock’s Pharoh Cooper, who had 243 all-purpose yards and was named the team’s Offensive MVP. Cooper finished with 104 rushing yards, 39 receiving yards and 110 yards in returns.
“I felt like as a team, we did a good job,” Cooper said. “We just came up a little short. It was good to come out and play well against these guys — against a lot of Division I players or players with Division I potential.”
— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com.
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