Surging Iron Horses ride hot streak into title contention
The Philip Simmons High School football team is in control of its own destiny as the Iron Horses bid for their third straight Region 5-AA championship.
The Iron Horses enter the penultimate week of the regular season with a 5-3 record, including 3-0 in the league following a 56-13 shellacking of Academic Magnet on Oct. 16.
The Iron Horses travel to Timberland High School this weekend and close out the regular season with a road trip to Battery Creek on Oct. 30. The Iron Horses are all alone at the top of the region standings, but the Dolphins are 7-1 entering this week, including 2-1 in Region 5-AA and could deny the Iron Horses their third consecutive title in the final week.
The Iron Horses have been dominant, outscoring their three league opponents 132-42. If they keep it up, that means at least two possible home games once the playoffs commence.
“We talk about that aspect of controlling our own destiny all the time with our players and coaches,” coach Eric Bendig said. “We tell everyone that we just have to go out and win our game this week and things will work itself out. If you can do that each week, you set yourself up for being region champions. But right now, the focus is on being 1-0 after our game Friday. We will have to earn the right to be champions.”
The Iron Horses travel to St. Stephen, South Carolina, to play Timberland, a program with a proud past. But the Wolves have struggled this fall with a 3-5 record, including 1-2 in league play. Bendig said his team has to be mentally and physically ready for the clash of Berkeley County teams.
“If anyone is looking ahead past a game on the schedule, they are smart enough not to ever bring it up to me,” Bendig said. “I tell them every day we are focused on one goal, and that is to win every day, and we can’t look ahead to other teams. We have to focus on the huge game ahead of us and that is a big rival game with Timberland. Our guys have laser focus on the Timberland game, and hopefully they don't even know who the next opponent is on the schedule. It just matters about this week.”
The Iron Horses controlled all phases of the game against the Raptors, who fell to 4-4, 0-3.
Quarterback Hayes Goddard made the most of his 13 passing attempts with 263 yards and five touchdowns on seven completions. Six players caught passes. Fabulous freshmen Tyrus Alston and James Shultz led the way. Alston had two catches for 78 yards and a score while Shultz had a catch-and-run of 63 yards for a TD.
Shultz continued to be a steamroller on offense with 10 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Shultz has been impressive with three consecutive games of 100 yards or more since earning a starting job. He now has 396 yards on 57 carries, and that translates to 6.95 yards per rush.
Diavante Irving led the defense with nine tackles, including six solo stops and a tackle for a loss. Cameron Marcello logged eight tackles, including a tackle for a loss.