By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter

brobinson@thepccourier.com

SIMPSONVILLE — After losing its chance to repeat again as Region I-AAAA champions with a loss against Hanna the week[cointent_lockedcontent]

Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Easley running back Will Drawdy, seen here during the Green Wave’s loss against Westside last month, found the going tough against Hillcrest on Friday night in Simpsonville.

prior, Hillcrest powered its way to way to a 41-7 win over the Easley Green Wave at home Friday night.

Hillcrest, which improved to 8-2 on the season, will return to the playoffs Nov. 13. Easley may still be able to earn a playoff spot with its 5-5 record, but a win in the regular-season finale Friday night against Greenville would go a long way toward determining that. The Red Raiders are 1-9 overall and 0-6 in region play, but lost 42-41 last week to a Laurens team that took down Easley by a 27-14 score in September.

Hillcrest started strong against the Green Wave on Friday night, scoring in just five plays on its opening drive. Quintavius Ballenger carried the ball the final four yards for a touchdown to give Hillcrest a 6-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion less than a minute and a half into the game.

The Rams struck quickly on their second possession, scoring in just two plays, as quarterback Collin Sneed connected with Quinton Martin for a 30-yard touchdown with 8:03 remaining in the opening quarter, giving Hillcrest a 12-0 lead after another failed two-point conversion.

After the Easley offense’s second consecutive three-and-out possession to start the game, the Rams made the Green Wave pay and stretched their lead to three scores when Brian Spurgeon returned Josh Holden’s punt 78 yards for a touchdown at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter. Gustavo Martinez-Salas added the extra point to put Hillcrest up 19-0.

Easley finally managed to get its first first down of the game late in the first quarter before the Rams buckled and forced a punt, adding to their lead once more in short order.

After a short punt by Holden, Hillcrest found the end zone in just four plays, capping a 46-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Ballenger 14 seconds into the second quarter.The score was set up by a 32-yard pass from Sneed to Spurgeon that moved the ball to the Easley 3. After Martinez-Salas’ extra point, the Rams led 26-0.

Hillcrest continued to pour it on on the very next play from scrimmage, as Easley’s Will Drawdy fumbled a handoff deep in Green Wave territory and the Rams’ Isaiah Sayegh picked up the ball and scored from three yards out to move the margin to 33-0 with 11:35 left in the first half.

As Easley’s offense continued to struggle, never gaining another first down in the first half, Hillcrest added to its lead one more time before the break on a nine-yard pass from Sneed to Spurgeon with 1:18 to play in the opening half, making the score 41-0.

Easley’s lone points of the game came on its opening drive of the third quarter, as quarterback Dalton Black hit receiver Carter Wiles with a 26-yard pass for a touchdown. Josh Hansen’s extra point cut the Hillcrest lead to 41-7.

The Rams drove the ball to the Easley 1-yard line on their opening possession of the second half, but the Green Wave defense stood tall and stuffed Hillcrest four a four-yard loss on a fourth-down play.

The Easley defense shut down the Hillcrest offense in the second half, but the Green Wave never impacted the score board again, leaving the final score at 41-7.

Easley was held to just 16 yards on the ground on 31 carries in the game, while Black finished with 128 yards on a 14-of-22 effort through the air.

[/cointent_lockedcontent]