SPARTANBURG, S.C - South Carolina scored a couple of fourth-quarter touchdowns and won the NC-SC Shrine Bowl last weekend. Playing Saturday in front of a crowd estimated at 7,000 at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., the Sandlappers defeated North Carolina’s high school all-stars 23-19.

North Carolina took a 13-9 lead midway through the third quarter on a 45-yard run by Havelock’s Pharoh Cooper, a South Carolina commit.

The five-play, 80-yard drive featured a “Wildcat”-type look with T.J. Logan of Northern Guilford, a North Carolina commit, Durham Hillside’s Khris Francis (UNC) and Cooper all on the field. Francis had a 25-yard run to start the drive.

Francis finished with 33 yards rushing on four carries. Cooper ran for 104 yards and added 39 yards receiving. Logan was held to 38 yards on 13 carries.

Hillside’s Korrin Wiggins, another UNC recruit, played safety for North Carolina.

The game, in its 76th year, helps raise funds to support Shriners Hospitals for Children.

The game also represented a last hurrah for retiring Garner coach Nelson Smith, who coached the North Carolina team. He led Garner’s Trojans to a combined record of 29-2 the past two seasons.

Staff writer D. Clay Best