GAFFNEY S.C. – The Barton football team (3-7, 2-6) put up a valiant effort but fell to Limestone (7-3, 6-2), 34-28, Saturday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference Piedmont Division game at Saints Field.
Limestone, who still has a chance to share a piece of the division crown, was led by Tre Stewart (Winston-Salem, N.C.) with 218 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the Saints won their third straight game.
Clinging to a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter, Stewart capped a six-play, 69-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run – his second of the game – to give the home team a two-score advantage in the win. Limestone totaled 480 yards of total offense while quarterback Dustin Noller (Rock Hill, S.C.) passed for 214 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Barton, which overcame a 14-0 deficit to start the contest, was led by sophomore running back
Jordan Terrell (Ramseur, N.C.) and sophomore quarterback
Tyler Flippen (Summerfield, N.C.). Terrell rushed for 224 yards to go along with one touchdown while Flippen passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score in the setback. Terrell now has 1,406 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on the season.
Barton cut the margin to six points when Flippen scored on a 13-yard run with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter but Limestone was able to run out the clock. Freshman linebacker
Matt Smith (Raleigh, N.C.) and sophomore linebacker
Shane Perry (Holly Springs, N.C.) both finished with eight tackles each and sophomore wideouts
Anton Popov (Raleigh, N.C.) and
Gabe Hinceman (Salisbury, N.C.) caught touchdown passes in the losing effort for the Bulldogs.
In the final regular season games of the year next Saturday, November 12, Barton returns home to host Erskine at Truist Stadium beginning at 2:00 p.m., while Limestone hosts Emory & Henry at Noon.
