The story has a plot fit for the silver screen, and so far, Jake Bentley is at the top of the credits scroll.

Bentley grew up on the sidelines of the perennial high school power Byrnes Rebels when his father, Bobby, was the coach who led the Spartanburg-area program to four consecutive state titles from 2002-05. Bobby Bentley went 57-2 at Byrnes and after several college coaching stops including Presbyterian and Auburn, he landed as the running backs coach at South Carolina.

The football family includes brothers Chas Dodd and Shuler Bentley, who starred at Byrnes before they went on to play at Rutgers and Old Dominion.

Jake Bentley played at Byrnes as a ninth-grader, then at Opelika High School as a sophomore and junior when his dad was at Auburn. He then enrolled early at South Carolina before what would have been his high school senior year. It was reportedly his decision when the family moved to Columbia to enroll at South Carolina instead of staying at Opelika or transferring to a Columbia area high school.

But the family scrapbook added an important chapter Saturday afternoon when the youngest Bentley piloted South Carolina to a 34-28 victory over UMass at Williams-Brice Stadium. While he shared snaps with Brandon McIlwain, the mobile threat of the three Gamecock QBs, Bentley engineered the Gamecocks’ offense to its best outing of the season.

It was a marked improvement considering the Gamecocks entered the game ranked last nationally in scoring (14 points per game) and 124th in third-down conversions (27 percent).

That changed with Bentley at the controls.

He finished 17-for-26 for 201 and two touchdowns and no interceptions. The numbers could have been better, but receivers dropped several passes. It was the first time this season South Carolina scored more than 20 points.

“We just really opened the playbook when Jake was back there,” receiver Deebo Samuel told reporters after the game. “Because we know he can throw it very well.”

His childhood role model and former South Carolina star Marcus Lattimore took notice, along with former Gamecocks QB Dylan P. Thompson, who also hails from the Upstate of South Carolina.

Coach Will Muschamp said the quarterback competition with McIlwain will continue.

“I felt like Jake did some nice things today and obviously some things he can improve on and will,” Muschamp said. “Brandon will continue to improve. I’m very proud of Brandon and the job that he has done. What they’re doing is very difficult; they are playing as true freshmen in the Southeastern Conference, much less at the quarterback position, which makes it triple important.”

Muschamp explained after the game that he and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper made the decision, and they asked Bobby Bentley for his thoughts, though he otherwise has no quarterback input. Father and son also were both in favor of pulling the redshirt from the quarterback, which was the plan in the summer. Bentley’s path to starting began during the bye week when he, McIlwain and Perry Orth had an open competition.

Saturday’s performance didn’t surprise teammates.

“We saw that in practice every day,” tight end Hayden Hurst told reporters. “He’s not afraid to stretch the field, which is impressive for an 18-year-old. I’m very impressed with what he’s able to do on a daily basis.”

Late in the game, Bentley, a sturdy, 6-3, 223 pounds, directed traffic while scrambling and slid to stay in bounds and keep the clock running.

“I’ve been impressed with him since I met him, with his IQ on the field and how comfortable he is, just how he came into the system and took over,” running back David Williams told reporters.

Bigger challenges await. The Gamecocks (3-4) face three ranked teams in the next five weeks, starting Saturday against Tennessee. Road trips to Florida and Clemson remain.

Hurst, a 23-year-old former professional baseball player, said Bentley is a “natural born leader.”

Earlier than anybody predicted, Muschamp is giving him the opportunity to do just that.