Hampton was unable to hold off a rally on Friday night.
The Bulldogs saw South Greene rally from a 22-point deficit in a 36-30 overtime loss to the Rebels on Rebel Hill. With the win, the Rebels clinched at least a share of the Region 1-2A title. The Bulldogs dropped to 3-5 on the year.
Lane Potter put on a show for the Hampton faithful.
The running back scored the game’s first touchdown in the opening minute as he broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run to give HHS a 6-0 lead. After Isaiah Greenwell intercepted a South Greene pass, Conor Jones scored on a 40-yard touchdown run, and Haden Birchfield added the two-point conversion to hive HHS a 14-0 lead after a quarter of play.
Potter opened the second quarter with a 14-yard touchdown, and Caleb Oaks scored the two-point conversion to give Hampton a 22-0 advantage. The Rebels broke onto the board later in the quarter, but Hampton maintained a 22-6 lead at the half.
It was a different ball game in the third quarter.
South Greene saw Levi Myers hit Damien Starnes for a 36-yard touchdown pass with just under nine minutes left in the third to trim the lead to one score. After SG recovered the ensuing squib kick, Myers ran in a touchdown and the conversion tied the game at 22-22.
The Bulldog, however, answered as Greenwell ran the kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown to give Hampton a 30-22 advantage. South Greene tied the game with 7:42 left to play, and nearly secured the win in regulation but ran out of time despite being inside the Hampton 10.
The Bulldogs were unable to get anything going on their overtime series, and South Greene scored on their second play of scrimmage to secure the win.
Potter finished with 24 carries for 218 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs finished with 334 rushing yards.
The Bulldogs are set to return to action on Thursday as they will make the short trip to Unaka for a non conference tilt.
