JOHNSTON – Heading into the crucial first week of region play and in need of big wins to gather much needed momentum for the stretch run, the Strom Thurmond Rebels and Silver Bluff Bulldogs now appear to be teams headed in opposite directions.

The two squads passed each other somewhere late in the third quarter.

After falling behind 12-0 and shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and penalties, the Rebels gathered themselves after the first quarter and scored 28 unanswered points to pull away from a worn and weary Silver Bluff squad on homecoming in a 28-12 final.

The series between the two Class 2-A powers has been close historically (Thurmond now holds a 7-5 advantage overall), but Friday’s game would take a drastic turn toward dominance for the Rebels (3-2), who rolled up 317 rushing yards while holding Silver Bluff (3-2) to just 95 rushing yards and 130 total yards.

And when Strom Thurmond stepped on the gas in the second half the Bulldogs had no answer. But early on, it appeared as if mistakes would stymie the Rebels.

The first Bulldog score was set up by a muffed punt mishandled by senior Martinez Gallman and a fumble and interception by sophomore quarterback Raleigh Yeldell snuffed out good looking drives.

But head coach Lee Sawyer asked his team for patience, something he himself admits to possessing little of.

“We just felt like if we were patient, and that’s something that I’m not, and held our composure that we could come back in the second half and take the lead and put them away and that’s what we did,” said Sawyer. “The team responded and stayed focused. We knew that if we could keep leaning on them and keep their best players on the field we could start wearing them down.”

Sawyer also felt that fans may have witnessed a coming out party, of sorts, for Yeldell, who rushed for 183 yards in the ballgame and scored a pair of touchdowns on long runs.

“With Raleigh we knew we were going to have to show some patience with a sophomore back there,” he added. “He kind of came into his own tonight and that’s a good thing headed into region play.”

Yeldell said he felt his confidence soar during the ballgame.

“I was just so confident out there tonight because the offensive line was really blocking well and the receivers were catching the ball,” he said. “I hadn’t been real confident that I could come out and throw the ball like CoCo (Hillary) and Rick (Aramis Hillary), but I just decided tonight to just turn it loose and it was the perfect time in a big game like this.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, after averaging 42 points per game its first three times out, the Bulldogs have managed just 8 per outing in the last two games.

Silver Bluff head coach Al Lown said his team was just handled physically by the Rebels.

“They just wore us down physically tonight and there in the second half we were pretty much spent,” Lown said. “They leaned on us a lot tonight and Strom Thurmond is a good football team. They were big and strong and they were pretty physical with us tonight.”

The second straight loss for the Bulldogs marked the first time Silver Bluff has dropped back-to-back games since the 2005 season, when the Bulldogs two straight region losses to Barnwell and Wade Hampton.

STROM THURMOND 28, SILVER BLUFF 12

PLAY OF THE GAME: On fourth-and-inches late in the third quarter at the Strom Thurmond 46-yard line, the Rebel defense stuffed Silver Bluff senior RB Robert Green for no gain to halt what could have been a big swing in momentum for the Bulldogs. Instead, the Rebels took over and Strom Thurmond sophomore quarterback Raleigh Yeldell broke free for a 53-yard touchdown two plays later to seal the come-from-behind victory.

WHY STROM THURMOND WON: Patience and composure – and dominance at the point of attack. The Rebels fell behind early after shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and penalties, but rather than getting down on themselves the team remained focused and rolled past the Bulldogs in the second half of the ballgame.

WHY SILVER BLUFF LOST: After winning a huge 5-OT game with AAAA Aiken, the Bulldogs just haven’t been the same, barely squeaking by South Aiken and now dropping two straight games. The Bulldogs have looked great early in games and that held true Friday as they jumped out on Strom Thurmond 12-0, but the team will have to start finding some offensive answers before the start of the playoffs.

STAR OF THE GAME: Strom Thurmond head coach Lee Sawyer felt that his sophomore quarterback may have come into his own on Friday against the Bulldogs and it’s hard to argue with that assessment given that Raleigh Yeldell rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns – most of that in the second half – to overcome an interception and fumble that killed promising drives. Both sides of the Strom Thurmond line deserve praise as well, as after the first quarter they whipped their counterparts across the line of scrimmage.

WHAT’S NEXT: Strom Thurmond at Mid-Carolina, 7:30 p.m., Silver Bluff at Ridgeland, 7:30 p.m.

STROM THURMOND 28, SILVER BLUFF 12

Strom Thurmond 0 7 14 7 – 28
Silver Bluff 12 0 0 0 – 12

First Quarter
SB – Cordrea Tankersley 10 run (kick blocked), 9:15.
SB – Andre washington 2 run (kick blocked), 4:10.

Second Quarter
ST – Cody Johnson 1 run, (Sam Northrop kick) 11:14.

Third Quarter
ST – Nick Williamson 1 run (Northrop kick), 6:30.
ST – Raleigh Yeldell 53 run (Northrop kick), 3:20.

Fourth Quarter
ST – Yeldell 34 run (Northrop kick), 3:56.

ST SB
First Downs 16 8
Rushes-Yards 44-317 41-95
Passing Yards 62 35
Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-13-1 3-7-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-0
Punts-Yards 3-105 5-193
Penalties-Yards 2-20 5-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Strom Thurmond: Raleigh Yeldell 17-183, Tony Stepney 1-1, Chris Blocker 12-60, Nick Williamson 13-72, Cody Johnson 1-1. Silver Bluff: Robert Green 10-51; Andre Washington 9-27; Austin Pollock 3-(-5); Cordrea Tankersley 15-14, Rekem McCorkle 3-8.

PASSING – Strom Thurmond: Raleigh Yeldell 6-13 62; Silver Bluff: Austin Pollock 3-7 35; Cordrea Tankersley 0-3 0.

RECEIVING – Strom Thurmond: Demarkus Smith 2-10, Jamel Jackson 3-31, Dez Davis 2-21. Silver Bluff: Andre Washington 1-22, Cordrea Tankersley 2-13.