Beaufort uses stable of runners to race past James Island

Eagles now 6-0 on the season

Last year, Beaufort High School rode one thoroughbred to a resounding win over James Island High School. They used the entire stable this year.

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Beaufort uses stable of runners to race past James Island

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Beaufort running backs combined for 377 yards and five touchdowns as the Eagles routed the Trojans 41-0 on Friday.

Adrene Byas bludgeoned James Island for 263 yards and four touchdowns in last year's meeting. Beaufort's three-person running back committee spread the wealth this year.

"We don't have an Adrene Byas this year," Clifford said. "They all love it and work hard for each other. Brad is kind of the leader, being a senior, and Andre is the most experienced. Josh is the young one and we're bringing him along little bit."

Brad Gonzales led the way with 144 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown. The senior also had touchdown reception. Andre Carpenter (74 yards on 13 carries) and Josh McPherson (72 yards on 7 carries) gouged the Trojan defense when Gonzales was resting.

It didn't matter who was in the backfield, thanks to a dominating performance from Beaufort's offensive line.

"We just read the hole and read their blocks," Gonzales said. "The boys blocked well tonight."

Beaufort's defense provided headaches for James Island's spread attack all night. The defensive line kept quarterback Chris Wilkins scrambling for most of the night. When Wilkins did have time to find an open receiver, his teammates didn't give him much help by dropping balls that killed potential scoring drives in the first half.

The Trojans never got any traction going offensively as the Eagles held them to 76 yards of offense to earn their first shutout of the year.

"They took a lot of pride in that," Clifford said. "We didn't make any big mistakes to hurt us tonight."

Despite its rushing success, Beaufort's first touchdown came through the air. Blake Gruel hit Gonzales in the flats on third-and-goal from the six for a touchdown.

Beaufort's running success allowed Gruel to use play-action pass.

"Coach Clifford likes those kind of passes to keep the defense on its heels," Gruel said. "They think it's going to be a run every time, and we just throw in a little play action."

Gonzales and Carpenter added 1-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter to make it a 21-0 lead at the half. There would be no second-half letdown like the Eagles had against West Ashley High School last week.

McPherson tacked on a touchdown, Gruel hit Michael Ginn for a 16-yard score and Alex Simmons put the cherry on the sundae with a 16-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

"We've had several games close games this year and haven't had a really good showing," Clifford said. "We wanted to have a game where both sides looked very well. We wanted to command the game as best we could."

Despite the big win, Beaufort may have suffered a big loss. Star defensive end Duane Chisolm went down with an apparent knee injury after being tripped from behind by a James Island lineman in the second quarter.

The severity of Chisolm's injury is unknown, but Clifford is hoping for the best.

"We're hoping (and) thinking positive," Clifford said.

First Quarter

BHS--Brad Gonzales 6 pass from Blake Gruel (Owen Plair kick), 4:31.

Second Quarter

BHS--Gonzales 1 run (Plair kick), 9:48.

BHS--Andre Carpenter run 1 (Plair kick), 7:41.

Third Quarter

BHS--Josh McPherson run 1 (Plair kick), 8:43.

BHS--Michael Ginn 16 pass from Gruel, 1:10 (pass failed).

Fourth Quarter

BHS--Alex Simmons 16 run (Plair kick), 7:35.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--James Island, Martel Johnson 10-32, Chris Wilkins 6-0, Bo Patterson 2-(-3). Beaufort, Brad Gonzales 14-144, Andre Carpenter 13-74, Josh McPherson 7-72, Demeo Holmes 5-26, Alex Simmons 4-45, Beau Brown 1-16.

PASSING--James Island, Wilkins 6-19-1-47. Beaufort, Blake Gruel 6-12-1-77.

RECEIVING--James Island, Matt Porter 2-17, James Prioleau 2-10, Sha'Ron Elliott 1-12, Matt Johnson 1-2. Beaufort, Michael Ginn 2-33, Gonzales 2-14, Carpenter 1-16, Antwan Smalls 1-14.

MISSED FIELD GOALS--none.