Ashton Heard had two touchdown runs and Abbeville dominated the time of possession to score a 20-0 win over Hemingway to defend its 1A Division I state crown on Friday afternoon at Benedict College in Columbia. Abbeville had the ball for over 35 minutes in the victory.
Hemingway was plagued by penalties in the first half as LaMichael Pushia had two long runs nullified by yellow flags. After a scoreless first quarter, Ashton Heard had a 3 yard TD run that capped off a 94 yard drive to make it a 6-0 Abbeville lead at the half. The long drive took up most of the clock in the second quarter.
Abbeville got the ball to start the second half and chewed off another seven minutes of clock. The Hemingway defense was able to hold at the 33 yard line, but on the first play on offense in the second half, the Tigers fumbled it away setting the stage for O'Bryan Wilson's 2 yard TD run. Abbeville added a two point conversion and led 14-0 at the end of three quarters.
In the 4th quarter, Abbeville continued to dominate the time of possession. A 36 yard field goal by the Panthers appeared to make it 17-0, but a roughing the kicker penalty kept the drive alive leading to Heard's second TD run of the game to make it 20-0.
Hemingway finishes the 2011 season with a 13-1 record in its first ever trip to a state championship game on the gridiron.
