ALLENDALE — Walt Wilson stood on the football field Friday night, sweat building up on his brow, rolling off and streaming down his cheeks.

Moments earlier, Wilson, the head coach of the Calhoun County Saints, was on the sidelines watching, and sweating just a tad bit more, as Allendale-Fairfax quarterback Bashaud Breeland dropped back in the pocket, on fourth down, from the Saints’ 27-yard line with just over a minute to play and the game on the line.

Breeland, who has committed to Clemson, found his target, star tailback Jerrell Priester, streaking wide open down the middle of the field. The star quarterback released his pass and Wilson held his breath ... and in an instant it was all over. Priester stood at the back of the end zone, arms on his side, head down. The Calhoun County sideline erupted with emotion.

Two kneeldowns by Saints quarterback Brandon Thomas, and Wilson’s team was able to escape the battle of two of the state’s top Class A teams with a 27-20 win.

"When you do what you are supposed to do good things happen," Wilson said about the play. "Right there, we got a break and in this game I’d rather be lucky than sometimes good."

Calhoun was better than good in the first half. On the Saints’ fourth offensive snap of the game, Thomas, who finished with 22 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns and also went 9 of 10 passing for 94 yards and a touchdown, fumbled a shotgun snap, scooped it up and raced around the left side of the Calhoun County line for a 64-yard touchdown. Brandon Golson added the extra point to put Calhoun County on top 7-0 with 10:22 to play in the first quarter.

It took Allendale-Fairfax just 18 seconds to respond when, on the Tigers’ very first play from scrimmage, Priester, who has committed to Vanderbilt, took off through the Saints’ defense on a 64-yard touchdown run. The Tigers went for the 2-point conversion on the play, but the Saints stopped Priester, who finished with nine carries for 101 yards, short of the goal line to hold onto a 7-6 lead at the 10:04 mark of the first. Priester had just three more carries in the first half and Allendale-Fairfax netted just 20 more offensive yards, heading to the half with 84 total yards of offense.

With the Tigers’ offense sputtering, Calhoun County continued to move the ball down the field and in the second quarter the Saints put together a 13-play drive that covered 75 yards and was capped by a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown by Thomas. Golson added the extra point to make it 14-6, and that is how it likely would have stayed heading into the half had it not been for a failed Allendale-Fairfax fourth-down conversion.

With 1:54 to play, the Tigers went for the first down on fourth-and-three from their own 37. Breeland, who rushed 15 times for 112 yards in the game, was stopped short of the first down, giving the Saints the ball. Five plays later, Thomas rolled to his left and connected with D.J. Watson on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Golson added the extra point to make it 21-6.

"We wasn’t supposed to go for it," Allendale-Fairfax head coach Wayne Farmer said. "We were supposed to go and try to draw them offsides and if they didn’t do it we were going to call a timeout. He snapped the ball and he wasn’t supposed to snap the ball. We were not going for it, but I will take the blame for that, putting a young guy in the situation. I should have just called timeout and punted the ball."

Calhoun County continued to add to its lead on its first possession of the second half. After forcing the Tigers to punt, the Saints needed just five plays to get a Dante Stewart 1-yard touchdown run. Stewart, who carried the ball four times for 51 yards on the drive, finished the game with 15 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown. Golson missed the extra point but Calhoun County held a 27-6 advantage with 7:20 to go in the third.

Just like that, the roles reversed. Facing a third-and-16 from their own 39, the Tigers, who had 201 yards of offense in the second half, handed the ball to JaQuavain Williams on a counter play and he took off for a 51-yard gain. Two Saints’ penalties later, and Emmanuel Ochotukpo pounded the ball in from a yard out. The Saints managed to stop Priester again on the 2-point conversion to keep their lead at 29-12.

Allendale-Fairfax added its final touchdown on a 39-yard run by Breeland with 10:36 to play. Priester scored the 2-point conversion to cut the Calhoun County lead to 27-20 and set up the exciting finish.

"It feels great," Calhoun County star Erick Mack said after the game. "This is one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time ... to come out and beat one of our rivals."

Calhoun County (5-0) will host Bamberg-Ehrhardt Friday. Allendale-Fairfax (4-1) hosts Denmark-Olar.

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553.

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