Fort Mill Football · Game 7, 2026
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Fort Mill (6-1), ranked 12th in South Carolina Division AAAAA, hosted fourth-ranked Rock Hill (5-2) at Bob Jones Stadium, with both teams sitting at 1-1 in region play. Fort Mill wore blue jerseys with gold pants and yellow helmets, Rock Hill wore white tops, red bottoms and black helmets, and it turned into a defensive fight from the opening kickoff. Fort Mill won the toss and deferred to the second half.
Rock Hill took the opening kickoff, a touchback, and went three and out. Fort Mill started at its own 38, and Broden Mitcheson (#11) opened with an 8-yard run up the middle and another first down, but an offensive pass interference call, a loss on a toss sweep and a delay of game left the Yellow Jackets facing third and about 35, and they punted.
Rock Hill's next drive got to midfield after a penalty and a couple of first downs, then stalled, and a punt pinned Fort Mill at its own 12. The Yellow Jackets answered with a third-down scramble that moved the chains near their own 24, and the quarter ended 0-0.
Fort Mill opened the second quarter on the move. A big completion down the sideline to Jameson Terrell (#4) got things going, a tipped pass that Rock Hill intercepted was called back on a defensive penalty, and a swing pass to Broden Mitcheson (#11) gave the Yellow Jackets first and goal from the 7.
Then came a wild sequence. A mishandled handoff was recovered by Rock Hill and returned for what looked like a touchdown. Flags flew, a holding penalty was declined, and after a lengthy discussion between the officials the ruling was that the fumble counted, but a penalty on Rock Hill during the return took the touchdown off the board. Fort Mill had lost a scoring chance at the 7, and Rock Hill kept the ball, starting at its own 10.
Rock Hill made the most of the second chance, driving nearly the length of the field for the only touchdown it would score all night. The Bearcats picked up a fourth and 1 from their own 38 after trying to draw Fort Mill offside and calling a timeout, won a jump ball on third down, and scored on a quarterback read run. PAT good, 7-0 Rock Hill with 4:12 left in the half.
Fort Mill's next drive ended in a three and out. On the punt, a Rock Hill player was blocked into his own returner, the ball came loose and Fort Mill recovered it, but a kick catch interference flag gave Rock Hill possession at its own 45 with 2:07 left. The defense answered, forcing a punt on fourth and long, and the Yellow Jackets took over at their own 15 with 45 seconds to go.
Harper Love (#5) went to work, scrambling and completing his way past midfield and spiking the ball with 11 seconds left. A pass was intercepted on the next snap, and after a penalty with one second on the clock, the half ended with Rock Hill ahead 7-0. Fort Mill had come up empty on first and goal at the 7 and again in the closing seconds.
Fort Mill took the second-half kickoff to its own 20 and moved the ball with quick outs. A sack set up third and 10, a late hit after the next play gave the Yellow Jackets an automatic first down, and the drive reached around the Rock Hill 36 before Fort Mill went for it on fourth and 1. Rock Hill blew up the play for a loss and took over on downs.
Rock Hill moved the ball with a pass interference call on a deep throw, a timeout with seven minutes left in the quarter, a jet sweep and a first down around the corner, driving to the Fort Mill 12. Then a dead ball personal foul pushed the Bearcats back to second and 17, and Jerrell Douglas (#2) jumped a slant route for the interception, ending the threat and giving Fort Mill the ball at its own 10.
Fort Mill drove out of the shadow of its own end zone. A tunnel screen converted third and 10, a defensive pass interference call on a big throw down the right sideline kept the drive alive, and a quick toss, a quarterback scramble and a screen to the right produced another first down at the Fort Mill 47. After a Rock Hill player shoved a lineman after the play, a deep shot into the end zone was bobbled and not caught cleanly, and the quarter ended with Fort Mill facing third and 6 at the Rock Hill 26, still trailing 7-0. It was the Yellow Jackets' fourth trip into Rock Hill territory, and they still had no points.
The fourth quarter opened with a dropped pass on third down, and Noah Hardy (#88) lined up for a field goal that missed left by a hair. Rock Hill took over at its own 20, couldn't move, and punted from its own 26, a short kick that went out of bounds at the Rock Hill 49.
Fort Mill was back in business. A quick out and a big pass play with Jameson Terrell (#4) carried the Yellow Jackets to the 2-yard line. Broden Mitcheson (#11) gained a yard, a fade to the corner of the end zone fell incomplete, and on third and goal from the 1, Mitcheson took the handoff to the right for the touchdown with 9:32 left. Then the extra point sailed wide left, Hardy's second miss of the quarter, and Fort Mill, after finally getting on the board, still trailed 7-6.
Rock Hill answered with a first down and then a huge deep ball down the left side to the Fort Mill 40. Another first down followed, but the drive fizzled, and a short field goal would have pushed the lead to 10-6. Pressure from the right side by Deveian Southward (#1) forced the miss to the left, and Fort Mill, still down one, had the ball with 5:58 to play.
Nothing about the final drive was easy. A deep shot across the middle drew offsetting penalties and the down was replayed, a low snap led to a sack for a loss of five, and a scramble found an open receiver for a first down with a flag on the play waved off. After play stopped for a Rock Hill player who went down, with 3:41 left, a rollout throw drew pass interference, a wide open receiver dropped a pass, and the Yellow Jackets kept going. On second and 10, a pass across the middle went for a big gain to first and goal at the 7.
Mitcheson (#11) ran to the 4, then to the 1, and was stopped for no gain on a run to the right. Rock Hill used its final timeout. On fourth and 1, down one, Fort Mill sent Noah Hardy (#88) back out, two misses already behind him in the quarter, and the kick went right down the middle. Fort Mill led for the first time, 9-7.
Rock Hill returned the kickoff to its own 30, scrambled for six on first down and spiked the ball with 42 seconds left. A snap infraction pushed the Bearcats back five yards, and on fourth and 10, a pass across the middle was intercepted at the 50 with one second left. Fort Mill took a knee to win it, and the crowd went wild. Final, 9-7.
Fort Mill trailed 7-0 from late in the second quarter until the final minutes, and the night kept handing it reasons to fold: a fumble that cost it a scoring chance at the 7, an interception to end the half, a stop on fourth and 1, a missed field goal, a missed extra point, and a Rock Hill drive that put the Bearcats one kick from a 10-6 lead. Each time, the Yellow Jackets had an answer. The defense forced a missed kick and came up with two interceptions, the offense found one more first down, and Noah Hardy (#88), who missed two kicks in the fourth quarter, made the one that mattered.
It was a battle from start to finish. Two of the top teams in Division AAAAA traded hits for 48 minutes, the lead changed hands only once, and the game ended on an interception with one second left. If these two teams played ten weeks in a row, 5-5 would be a fair guess at the final record.
The Yellow Jackets move to 7-1 overall, 2-1 in region play and 3-1 at home.
A homecoming king and queen were crowned at halftime, and the night ended with a homecoming dance proposal.
Every photo from the game, in order,
