How South Carolina commit Mazeo Bennett set up Greenville's winning kick in playoff game at Greer
GREER – Greenville had a chance to win with a long field goal.
Mazeo Bennett made sure it was a short one.
Bennett had a 16-yard run in the final minute Friday night to set up a more comfortable try by Lang Steck, who nailed a 27-yard kick with four second left as Greenville beat Greer, 24-21, at Dooley Field in the second round of the Class AAAA high school football playoffs.
Greenville (9-3) advances to the Upper State semifinals next week at Northwestern, which beat Greenwood, 55-7. Greer (6-6) was a No. 1 seed after sweeping through its region unbeaten.
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Greenville alternated between two quarterbacks, just like the last few weeks, with junior Bryson Drummond and Banks Bouton, who was called up from junior varsity team.
But when the Red Raiders needed their biggest play of the season, they were both on the sideline. The quarterback was Bennett, a star wide receiver who has committed to play next season at South Carolina. He took a direct snap and dodged defenders all the way to the 10-yard line.
“He’s a five-star player,” Greenville coach Greg Porter said. “That’s what they do.”
Instead of a 43-yard field goal try, it was practically a chip shot.
“You get that close, you can’t miss that one,” Bennett said. “I had to get the ball to our kicker in a better spot. I trusted him from back there. But if I got him a little closer, we were going to win the game.”
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Porter said the Red Raiders were going to let Steck try even if the previous play went nowhere. But by putting in straight into Bennett’s hands, cutting out the middlemen, the play was sure to go somewhere.
“We wanted ball security and to make it an easier kick,” Porter said. “We thought (Steck) would be good from 44 yards. But if we got a closer shot, we had a good chance to win.”
Steck said didn’t see the play by Bennett and didn’t even know exactly where the Red Raiders were on the field. He knew they were past the 50. That’s about it.
“I didn’t realize we were in range,” said Steck, a junior who switched from soccer to football two years ago. “I was just over by the net, warming up and trying to zone in. People were coming up to me and I told them to just leave me alone.”
When called upon, Steck was happy to see it would be a 27-yard try.
“Lang did it,” Porter said. “So proud of him.”
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: SC high school football: Greenville beats Greer in final seconds
