By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

Three local high school football teams came together Friday night to give fans their first taste of football and to give coaches one final look before the start of the regular season.

The Keith High School Bears, Selma High School Saints and the Francis Marion High School Rams played each other in a scrimmage game Friday night at Selma Memorial Stadium.

Each team played two 10-minute quarters against each other.

Keith High School coach Harry Crum said it was a good game for the community.

“It was good,” Crum said. “It was good for Selma for all of us to come together and do this.”

Keith opened the jamboree with two quarters against Francis Marion and got going early when running back DeMarquis Lumpkin broke a 42-yard run to put the Bears in the red zone.

A couple of plays later, Keith quarterback Maurice Crumpton connected with wide receiver Jabari Moore for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 3:43 left in the first.

Keith would threaten again, but Francis Marion held strong when Torriance Herring intercepted a Crumpton pass in the red zone with 8:42 left in the second.

Francis Marion coach Javaris Jackson said he was pleased with his squad’s showing against both teams.

“Under the circumstances, I think we did real good,” Jackson said. “I think we need a little work offensive wise, but defensively we looked pretty good, better than what I expected. We’re going to be all right this year.”

Selma High took the field in the second set of quarters against Francis Marion.

Four penalties in the first quarter helped keep the Saints off the scoreboard, but in the second, quarterback Darion Alexander put Selma on the board with a 10-yard touchdown run.

Alexander would strike again with 1:12 left in the second quarter, as he sprinted right for a 50-yard touchdown run.

Keith and Selma met in the final set of quarters as the Bears controlled the first quarter offensively.

Keith running back Rodney Ellis ran right, broke a couple tackles and reversed field for a 55-yard run to put the Bears in the red zone with 7:45 left in the first.

Keith would miss a field goal on the drive, but later, with 1:34 left in the first, Ellis would again shake off a few Selma defenders, but this time he took it in for a 25-yard touchdown, the only score for either team in their two quarters against each other.

Selma High School coach Leroy Miles said his team has a lot of corrections to make.

“We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of mental mistakes,” Miles said. “We didn’t play up to my expectations. In a game like this, it ain’t about winning or losing, but still, you want to look good. We’re going to go back to the drawing board and get it right.”

Crum said turnovers hurt his team against Francis Marion and he hopes to correct the mistakes in practice.

Crum said the Bears were excited about playing Selma High in football for the first time in ten years.

“Our guys were looking forward to playing Selma High and I had no idea we could play with them,” Crum said. “Our guys felt like they could, they know those guys, they grew up with them. They’re well coached. If it was a full game with kickoffs and the whole nine yards, I don’t know if we could have lasted a whole game with them.”