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When South Carroll High running back Ben McCarty found a hole on the right side on fourth down late in the fourth quarter of Friday's game against Winters Mill High, the Cavaliers' sideline erupted in celebration.

Their 20-14 victory over Winters Mill didn't have many style points, but it didn't matter. The Cavaliers are headed back to the region playoffs.

Seniors David Mellstrom and Daniel Mullen scored a touchdown each for South Carroll (7-2 overall, 5-1 Monocacy Valley Athletic League Chesapeake Conference), and John Porter added a pair of field goals. Josh Wike hit paydirt from 46 yards out and Nate Ritter caught a 57-yard pass from David Blackwell for Winters Mill (6-3, 4-2).

The Cavaliers secured a spot in the Class 2A West Region playoffs, where they strengthen its second-place standing behind Rockville (7-1). South Carroll could land the region's top seed with a win over archrival Liberty next weekend and a Rockville loss to Montgomery-Blair.

Clinching its first postseason berth since 2007 didn't come easy, as defense and special teams came to the forefront.

"We knew they [Winters Mill] have some good athletes and this would be a key game for us to win," said South Carroll head coach Steve Luette, whose team lost three of the prior four meetings to Winters Mill. "Our seniors haven't had this kind of season."

"We wanted this game so bad," said Mullen. "We didn't win clean, but we got a win and we're in."

Mullen highlighted the Cavaliers' outstanding special teams' performance. In the third quarter, he fielded a Winters Mill punt at the Falcons' 44-yard line, weaved his way around several defenders and scored, giving South Carroll a 20-7 advantage with nine minutes, 37 seconds remaining.

With his team holding a terse 20-14 advantage in the final quarter, Mullen was twice able to down Mellstrom's punts inside the three. Winters Mill was able to work its way out the bad field position, but Anthony Cole intercepted Falcons' senior quarterback David Blackwell with 2:35 left in regulation.

South Carroll senior Ryan MacIvor snagged two interceptions, while Myron Dixon grabbed one. Dixon also knocked down a fourth down pass early in the fourth quarter to end a drive in Cavaliers' territory.

Senior Brandon White, whose interception sealed last week's victory over Westminster, added a quarterback sack.

Winters Mill got to South Carroll's defense with a four-play, 81-yard drive as Wike took a quick pitch from Blackwell and went 46 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter. Mellstrom tied it for South Carroll in the second quarter, showing plenty of concentration in the end zone to bring down a 30-yard pass from senior quarterback Alex Terpening that was tipped by Winters Mill's cornerback John Wysocki.

Porter added field goals of 24 and 37 yards to extend the Cavaliers' lead to 13-7 at halftime, but South Carroll sputtered offensively in the third quarter. McCarty, who rushed for 50 of his 68 yards in the final quarter, sealed the win with an eight-yard run on fourth-and-one with 66 seconds left.

"We knew [the situation], win and we're in and that was the key focus," said McCarty.

"We didn't want to leave it up to next week."