SENECA — It may have already run off his leg from the heat, but the “A” that was written on the leg of Pendleton High School placekicker Zach Sears wasn’t forgotten as he lined up for a 22-yard field goal with just 27 seconds left at Seneca on Friday night.

After an emotional week that saw the untimely death of Bulldogs freshman Avery Robinson, Sears lifted his team’s spirits as he drilled the winning kick to lift the Bulldogs to a 16-14 victory over Seneca at Bobcat Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

On top of the emotional aspect of winning in Robinson’s honor, the game-winning kick served as a bit of personal redemption for Sears, who had missed an extra point earlier in the night, and shanked a punt badly to set the Bobcats up for their go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter after it traveled just four yards to the Pendleton 9-yard line.

“I thought when I hit that punt, it was over right then and they were going to beat us,” Sears said. “I knew it was going to come down to it (the field goal), and I was just preparing myself.”

The senior kicker, whose brother Michael currently kicks for North Greenville College, has been described as a weapon throughout his career by Bulldogs head coach Paul Sutherland, who was moved to tears following the game after the team gathered around Avery’s older brother Harold, who started against the Bobcats.

“I hope every game we play comes down to Zach Sears making a kick,” he said. “I promise you I do.”

The drive leading up to the game-winning kick was almost as meaningful for Sutherland, as his team got the ball back trailing 14-13 with 3:39 remaining in the fourth quarter after Seneca (0-1) quarterback Jordan McNeely fired a 7-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver James Hunter.

Pendleton’s first three plays on the drive went for a combined 40 yards, highlighted by an 18-yard run by sophomore Morris Williams.

He finished the drive with 44 yards on four carries, driving the Bulldogs all the way to the Seneca 5-yard line as the clock wound down.

“On that last drive, we had one pass,” Sutherland said. “Other than that, it was just Pendleton football.”

Sears’ kick to overtake the Bobcats came after the Bulldogs (1-0) jumped out to an early 13-0 lead on a pair of touchdown passes from John Michael Gibson to Hack Sullivan.

But the Bobcats rallied back thanks to a pair of touchdowns from McNeely, first to Wynton Stephens before hooking up with Hunter to take the lead.

And by fighting back from that 13-0 deficit, Seneca head coach Ron Duncan said he feels good about his team in his first outing as the Bobcats’ head coach, and that they’ve matured a little faster than he may have anticipated.

“Our kids played hard, and they put everything they had into it,” he said. “If I had any doubts at all, I think this football team is going to be alright, and I’m extremely proud of them.”

Both Seneca and Pendleton will take to the road next week with the Bobcats traveling to Stephens County (Ga.), while the Bulldogs will travel to Westminster to take on West-Oak.

For a photo gallery of Friday night’s game, please visit http://www.upstatetoday.com/gotcha/

Pendleton 16, Seneca 14

PHS 7 0 6 3 — 16

SHS 0 0 8 6 — 14

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

PHS — Gibson 23 yard pass to Sullivan (Sears kick) 3:14

Third quarter

PHS — Gibson 34 yard pass to Sullivan (kick failed) 6:54

SHS — McNeely 13 yard pass to Stephens (Rothell run) 2:47

Fourth quarter

SHS —McNeely 7 yard pass to Hunter (conversion failed) 3:45

PHS — Sears 22 yard field goal 0:27

TEAM STATISTICS

PHS SHS

First Downs 12 12

Rushes-Yards 38-179 24-114

Passing Yards 80 130

Comp-Att-Int 4-6-0 16-30-1

Punts-Yards 4-122 3-124

Fumbles- Lost 2-2 3-0

Penalties-Yards 7-58 4-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Pendleton, Gibson 4-6-0 80. Seneca, Sims 14-83, Hunter 6-35, C. Blassingame 1-4, McNeely 1-0, Bibb 2-(-)8.

Passing — Pendleton, Williams 16-81, Burke 6-79, Earle 9-32, L. Brown 1-5, Gibson 4-(-) 18. Seneca, McNeely, 17-29-1 130. Hunter, 0-1-0.

Receiving — Pendleton, Sullivan 2-57, Earle 1-17, Gleaton 1-6. Seneca, Earle 9-69, Stephens 2-31, Hunter 5-30.