Wolverine History: Twelve Seconds of Glory, the 99-Yard Strip-Six That Saved 2011

The Woodruff Times revisited one of the best-remembered plays in Woodruff football history in "Twelve Seconds of Glory," a feature by staff writer Garrett Mitchell published October 23, 2021. Here is our summary.

On Friday, October 14, 2011, an unbeaten Woodruff team, ranked among the top three in Class 2A and averaging about 45 points a game, hosted Saluda at W.L. Varner Stadium before a crowd the paper puts at about 6,000. The game was also carried regionally on cable as a game of the week. Saluda's defense held Woodruff's offense in check for three quarters, and early in the fourth quarter the Tigers led 7-6 with fourth-and-goal at the Woodruff 1-yard line.

Saluda handed the ball to its fullback. Woodruff's defensive line stopped him at the line and drove him back, and sophomore defensive back Ken Drummond, who had been lined up wide, came inside and pulled the ball loose. He ran 99 yards the other way for a touchdown, stumbling once near midfield but staying up. The paper says about 12 seconds passed from the strip to the goal line. Teammates piled on him in the end zone, and then-athletic director Scott Lawson recalls hurrying players off before officials could flag the celebration.

The two-point try failed, but Saluda managed only one more first down. A late field goal made the final Woodruff 15, Saluda 7.

The article explains why the play mattered. Woodruff, Saluda and Mid-Carolina were in a three-way race for the region title, and a loss could have pushed Woodruff to second or third and cost it a home playoff game. Instead Woodruff won 41-21 at Mid-Carolina the next week to take the region outright, finished the regular season unbeaten against Broome, had a first-round bye, and beat Newberry and Cheraw. The day after Thanksgiving it beat unbeaten Strom Thurmond at home, scoring with about a minute left, to reach the state championship game for the first time in 18 years.

Then-head coach Brian Lane, who the paper says was coaching at Clover High School in 2021, called it a game- and season-changing play. Drummond told the paper that people re-post video of the play every October.

Read the full article at The Woodruff Times (link below).