ERCELL DANIEL BREAKS THROUGH TO THE END ZONE His touchdown gave Lincoln County the halftime lead. ABBEVILLE – Lincoln County’s no-quit Red Devils gave the homestanding Abbeville Panthers more than they wanted before coming up just short. Abbeville won 24-21 as the Devils field goal effort went just wide right as time expired.

Lincoln County countered Abbeville’s successful running attack (261 yards on 51 carries) with a varied offense. The Devils ran for 123 yards on 28 carries and completed 10 of 21 pass attempts for 112 yards. Both teams were hampered by three turnovers each.

The Red Devils took the opening kickoff and marched down the field before fumbling at the Panther 40. A 51-yard run by Ashton Heard (22 for 139 yards in the game) to the LC-4 setup his two-yard run to open the scoring. The kick put the Devils behind 7-0 midway the quarter.

ALLEN CRITE AND RUSTY SCOTT CRUNCH AN ABBEVILLE RUNNING BACK This Friday the Red Devils will travel to McCormick, S.C. Photos by MERCER HARRIS But Lincoln County didn’t stay behind very long. Mason Saggus took the ensuing kickoff at the 10 and shot down the left sideline to paydirt. Dylan Arthur’s PAT kick tied the game.

The Panthers were quickly back in LC territory before a fumble ended their drive. A 31-yard pass from Franklin Sherman to Saggus put the Devils at the Abbeville 15. Ercell Daniel broke three tackles before diving into the end zone to give the Devils the lead. Arthur’s boot gave the Devils a 14-7 halftime lead.

A good kickoff return and a 34- yard pass led to a two-yard scoring run on the first possession of the second half. The game was tied at 14 with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter.

FRANKLIN SHERMAN Finds a hole in the line. The Devils managed only a handful of offensive plays in the third quarter thanks to two turnovers. A partial block of a punt led to a seven-yard TD run on the first play of the  fourth quarter to give the Panthers the lead.

Craig Jones returned the kickoff about 50 yards to the Abbeville 41. Seven plays later Sherman found tight-end Rusty Scott at the goal line for the touchdown on a 12-yard toss. Arthur’s kick knotted up the game at 21 with 8:04 left.

Abbeville used up five minutes of the clock before kicking a 26-yard field goal for a 24-21 lead.

Garrett Mohr led the Devils down the field before a 37-yard field goal attempt went slightly right of the posts, leaving the Panthers with the win.