Late score lifts Broome past Seneca

SPARTANBURG – There’s not much secret to what Broome likes to do offensively.

The secret is in stopping it. And that’s nowhere near as easy.

The Centurions rolled up 308 yards on the ground, including 39 on a frantic, final scoring drive that ended with Kamajay Brackett-Brannon’s 23 yard touchdown dash, giving Broome a thrilling 42-35 victory over Seneca in the first round of the 3A playoffs.

“Teams know what we’re going to try to do,” Broome coach Lynn Fleming said. “We’re going to try to run the football.”

As usual, it was Jaylen McGill and Brackett-Brannon leading the way. McGill was spectacular as usual, rushing for 173 yards on 18 carries. He notched 109 yards on touchdown runs alone, scoring from 14, 50 and 45 yards.

Brackett-Brannon, though, took over in the fourth quarter. On the Centurions’ first snap of the frame, following a defensive stop, he raced 80 yards down the home sideline and gave Broome its first lead of the game at 34-28.

The Centurions missed the extra point, though, which seemed like it would loom large. Seneca scored with 53 seconds left on Camsley Campbell’s six-yard run, knocked home their extra point, and kicked back to Broome with 48 seconds remaining.

Plenty of time for Brackett-Brannon. He threw to Grayson Bradley for nine yards, and a penalty on Seneca pushed the ball across midfield. He rambled for 16 on a keeper, then fired to McGill at the Seneca 23. Two plays later, he took a QB sweep around the right side. There was a path, but there was also the option of going out of bounds and setting up a potential game-winning field goal. But Brackett-Brannon looked downfield.

That’s where he saw McGill, again leading the way.

“I saw green grass, and J-Mac locked up with their corner,” Brackett-Brannon said. “I figured I might as well keep running. He just pancaked the guy, and that’s all I saw.”

“Our guys at receiver and the other skill guys really do a great job blocking,” Fleming said. “They made a bunch of plays over the course of the game, it’s just quiet. You don’t notice it. But they’ve done it all year, and it’s so important for us. Whether it’s blocking or making a catch, those guys have been solid for us all year and they give us an opportunity to do what we do.”

The score finished off the Bobcats, and finished Brackett-Brannon’s night with 132 yards on the ground to go with the two scores.He also completed 14 of 19 passes and tossed a 58-yard score to Bradley.

Now, the Centurions will travel to take on Clinton, the Region IV-3A champion, in the second round.

“It only gets tougher,” Fleming said. “That’s kind of the expectation, and that’s what it’s supposed to be. 3A is a tough division right now with a lot of good football in it, and we’re looking forward to next week.”