Beaufort High, Battery Creek preparing for the worst

Tropical Storm Hanna has yet to touch down on the East Coast, but it's already swept the Battery Creek-Beaufort football rivalry into uncharted territory.

With the Beaufort County School District closing its schools and activities today, this year's installment of the schools' crosstown competition will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dolphin Field. Should conditions remain severe on Saturday, the game will be moved to 7 p.m. Monday.

Either way, both teams are preparing for the worst.

"It's going to be a mud bowl out there if it rains like it's supposed to," Battery Creek coach Carlos Cave said. "Our field doesn't hold water well, so there's going to be a lot of sliding."

Beaufort coach Mark Clifford didn't mince words with his players either, making them well aware that this won't be the average gridiron battle.

"I told them to be ready for a wet game," said Clifford, who reminded his team of the soggy conditions during the Eagles' 35-3 victory against Battery Creek in 2006. "It's not going to change what we do, but we've got to be ready for any kind of conditions out there."

Problem is, with the sun beaming amid clear skies during the last few days, truly preparing for the potential task at hand has been next to impossible.

That's why no matter how well Brad Gonzales executes the trap run or how tight Blake Gruel's spiral looks in practice, Clifford will have a plan B tucked in his back pocket come Saturday.

"We intend to throw some, but if we're 0-for-7 throwing the football in the first half, then yeah, we're gonna have to depend on the run more," Clifford said. "But if we're able to throw in the rain, great. We'll keep doing whatever works."

Meanwhile, the Dolphins know what won't work, thanks to their season-opening loss to Wade Hampton. On that night, steady sheets of rain covered the field, likely contributing to Battery Creek's two fumbles and five dropped passes and leading Cave to place an increased emphasis on mental preparation.

"Throwing is a big part of what we do, wet or dry," Cave said. "We've gotta be balanced as an offense, and with the way Beaufort runs, they might have the advantage in these conditions like Wade Hampton ended up having. Our focus will be key, but we have a decent idea of what we have to do to succeed."

Of course, success has been hard to come by of late for the Dolphins against any team, let alone Beaufort. It's been 27 games since Battery Creek last won a game and four years since it triumphed over its crosstown rival. But then again, quite a few things have changed since they last met.

With Battery Creek's move down to Class 3-A, region standing won't be on the line for the first time in at least 25 years, turning the two teams' typical end-of-the-year clash into an early, out-of-conference scrap. And oh yeah, it pits them smack dab in the middle of hurricane season.

Still, Battery Creek athletics director John Drafts said he expects the same turnout, high stakes and buzz that have characterized these games since the first installment in 1973, which Battery Creek won 13-0.

And while Beaufort athletics director Jerry Linn admits his preference for holding such a game at the end of the season, he knows that not even Hanna can deter the hoopla of the Beaufort-Battery Creek rivalry.

"The biggest advantage is that we still get to play each other," Linn said. "It is nice to have that game at the end of the year to look forward to, no matter how either team's seasons are going ... but the magnitude is still the same.

"That's why I want to continue playing the Battery Creeks and Hilton Heads, because of the big crowds and excitement surrounding it all."

Berkeley 14 21 7 6 — 48 Bluffton 0 0 0 6 — 6

First Quarter Berkeley—Dontae Richardson 1 run (Jackson kick), 9:40. Berkeley—White 9 run (Jackson kick), 1:35.

Second Quarter Berkeley—Irving 6 run (Jackson kick), 7:00. Berkeley—Majors 31 run (Jackson kick), 1:49. Berkeley—Robinson 64 interception return (Jackson kick), 0:11.

Third Quarter Berkeley—Irving 17 run (kick good), 7:05.

Fourth Quarter Berkeley—Weathers 36 run (kick failed), 7:35. Bluffton—Frazier 2 run (run failed), 0:27.

BHS BLF First downs 17 13 Rush 15 9 Pass 2 2 Pen. 0 2 Rushes-yards 38-388 x-xxx Comp-Att-Int 2-3-0 6-10-2 Passing yards 60 56 Return yards 13 88 Punts 0-0 2-28 Fumbles-Lost 3-2 4-1 Penalties-Yards 7-70 4-17 Third-down conv. 3-4 6-13 Fourth-down conv. 0-1 1-4 Time of Possession 20:32 27:28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Berkeley, Pernel Irving 7-102, Dontae Richardson 16-82, Trent Majors 4-69, Anthony Simmons 6-58, D.J. Weathers 1-36, Rakeem White 2-31, Tevin Bradshaw 2-10. Bluffton, Timmy Smith 15-88, Zach Frazier 21-74, Dimitrious Howell 4-8, B.J. Kitty 5-1. PASSING—Berkeley, Irving 2-3-0-60. Bluffton, Kitty 6-10-2-56. RECEIVING—Berkeley, Bruce Ellington 2-60. Bluffton, Alfonza Powell 3-25, Travis Ramsey 2-35, Frazier 1-(minus 4). MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.