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Wade Hampton nips Battery Creek, 14-12
bparker@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5536
VARNVILLE -- Already having endured a three-year journey of futility, the victory so coveted by Battery Creek High School's football team stood less than a mile away late in Friday's season opener at Wade Hampton High School.
Oh so close
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Trailing by two points with two minutes remaining, the Dolphins needed just 81 yards to change their fortune. But after four pass attempts fell to the ground, Battery Creek again found itself on the wrong end of the final margin, falling 14-12 to the Red Devils.
The loss stretched the Dolphins' losing streak to 26 games, leaving many players in tears after a game that wasn't supposed to sting this much.
"I'm hurting right now," Battery Creek senior John Brown said. "We came and played a little bit in the first half, but we let the little things hurt us in the third and fourth quarter."
Things started shaky for the Dolphins, who couldn't find an answer for Wade Hampton tailback Dondre Brown, who finished with 209 yards on 26 carries.
Battery Creek Coach John Brown:
Battery Creek's Carlos Cave:
Behind a sizable offensive line, Brown and tailback Jeremy Ford amassed 164 first-half yards, including a Ford touchdown that put the Red Devils up 6-0 after one series.
"Physically, they just lined up and ran right through us," Battery Creek coach Carlos Cave said.
Battery Creek's offense wasn't any better, fumbling the ball on its first two plays from scrimmage
But as soon as the second quarter began, so did the Dolphins' success.
After stuffing Wade Hampton on fourth down, quarterback Antonio Wiggs showed off his arm on a 55-yard bomb to Leander Mobley that set up a Tavaras Pinckney two-yard score and tied the game at 6.
The Dolphins' defense followed suit with their offense, forcing Wade Hampton into a fumble and interception on its final two drives of the first half.
These extra opportunities on offense again opened the field for Wiggs. The junior followed two first-down runs by Pinckney with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Norman Jenkins, giving the Battery Creek a 12-6 lead and mounds of momentum before halftime.
This carried over into the third quarter, as the Dolphins drove all the way to the Red Devil six-yard line. But then, history reared its ugly head.
The ill-timed turnovers of years past returned, this time with the ball squirting loose on a Pinckney carry and into the hands of Wade Hampton linebacker Carl Stevens.
"I told the guys we needed to score to put this away, and we get down here and fumble the ball," Cave said. "Both of their drives for scores came off of our fumbles and we didn't do a good job protecting the ball."
Brown took over from there, leading a 98-yard Red Devil scoring drive that ended with the senior scoring from 11 yards out for a 14-12 lead.
A Battery Creek punt and interception as well as a six-minute Wade Hampton possession left the Dolphins with one last hope in the final three minutes.
On third down, Wiggs found Spencer Shine on the left side for a 21-yard completion and a new set of downs. But that's as far as the Dolphins would get, with two dropped passes and two tipped balls leaving Battery Creek empty-handed but hungry for next week's road game against West Ashley High School.
"I hate it for the kids because they worked so hard for this to be their first win, but we just have to regroup and get ready for West Ashley," Cave said.
Wade Hampton 6 0 8 0 -- 14
Battery Creek 0 12 0 0 -- 12
First Quarter
WH--Jeremy Ford 5 run (kick failed), 6:45.
Second Quarter
BC--Tavaras Pinckney 2 run (Wiggs pass failed), 9:01.
BC--Antonio Wiggs 26 pass to Norman Jenkins, 4:01.
Third Quarter
WH--Dondre Brown 11 run (Moore run), 2:48.
| BC | WH | ||
| First downs | 12 | 18 | |
| Rush | 9 | 17 | |
| Pass | 3 | 0 | |
| Pen. | 0 | 1 | |
| Rushes-yards | 26-146 | 55-325 | |
| Comp-Att-Int | 6-14-1 | 0-2-1 | |
| Passing yards | 144 | 0 | |
| Return yards | 52 | 43 | |
| Punts | 2-40.5 | 1-38.0 | |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-2 | 2-1 | |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-55 | 5-40 | |
| Third-down conv. | 5-8 | 4-10 | |
| Fourth-down conv. | 0-1 | 2-5 | |
| Time of Possession | 17:17 | 30:43 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Battery Creek, Tavaras Pinckney 11-73, Antonio Hills 11-55, Antonio Wiggs 4-18. Wade Hampton, Dondre Brown 26-209, Jeremy Ford 18-99, Randall Long 10-13, Lorenzo Myers 1-4.
PASSING--Battery Creek, Antonio Wiggs 6-14-1-144. Wade Hampton, Randall Long 0-2-1-0.
RECEIVING--Battery Creek, Leander Mobley 2-63, Norman Jenkins 1-26, Spencer Shine 1-21, Robert Mack 1-17, Devon Anthony 1-15.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--None.
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