Blue Devils advance to Class A finals 11/21/2009 12:45 AM
By KYLE DAWSON Special to the Aiken Standard
With a Class A Division II championship berth on the line, and an undefeated season still in the works, Williston-Elko High School head coach Dwayne Garrick knew he could rely on his prime-time players to make big plays. Kendric Salley and Dexter Staley ignited the Blue Devils' offense, accounting for 281 of 313 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, and an opportunistic defense forced four turnovers as Williston-Elko (13-0) defeated Ware Shoals High School 44-20 in Friday night's Upper State final.
The Blue Devils' defense bent, allowing 401 rushing yards, but never broke. Defensive stalwart Marcus Bates led the charge with 22 tackles.
The opening kickoff foreshadowed the events to come, as Williston-Elko elected to make Ware Shoals re-kick after kicking out of bounds, and D'Varius Hosey received the ensuing attempt and scampered 52 yards to set up the offense at the Ware Shoals 18-yard line. Hosey forced a fumble on the Ware Shoals' 17-yard line on the following drive.
Williston-Elko used the good field position to its advantage, taking a 16-0 lead 3:27 into the game, and Garrick knew that the early scores would make it hard for Ware Shoals to get back into the game.
Salley was Williston-Elko's prime rushing threat, carrying the ball 18 times for 136 yards and three touchdowns, including a 72-yarder to quell Ware Shoals' momentum after a 71-yard touchdown run by Nick Davis got the Hornets on the board at 24-6.
Staley might not have matched Salley's rushing numbers on the ground, but he caught four passes for 126 yards, 65 of which came on a third-and-15 scoring strike from quarterback Tamyn "Gator" Garrick just over a minute after another long touchdown by Ware Shoals' Nick Davis made the score 30-12. But Staley's biggest
Please see BLUE DEVILS, page 3B
contriubtion may have come on special teams, where he dropped two punts inside the Ware Shoals 20-yard line and sent his kickoffs into the end zone, not allowing Ware Shoals a return.
Coach Garrick knew coming into the game that the Blue Devils would need to spread the ball out more on offense, citing Ware Shoals' size advantage, especially on the defensive front. Like last year's Upper State final, quarterback Gator Garrick stepped up, completing 6-of-12 passes for 129 yards and the touchdown to Staley, a beautifully thrown ball just beyond the fingertips of the defender.
"Dexter is always a threat on the deep ball," Garrick said. "Instead of going vertical, we tried a little wheel route and he got a yard or two behind the kid and Gator threw a good ball."
Williston-Elko will be seeking revenge in next week's Class A Division II State Final against Scott's Branch, who defeated the Blue Devils 14-6 in last year's title game.
"We've got more weapons offensively (than last year)," Garrick said. "We know what we'll see from Scott's Branch, having played them last year."
Ware Shoals 6 0 6 8 0 - 20
Williston-Elko 24 6 6 8 0 - 44
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter
WEHS - Kendric SALLEY Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 1 yds PAT Pass from Tamyn GARRICK to Rokeem WILLIAMS GOOD!
WEHS - Dexter STALEY Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 3 yds PAT Pass from Tamyn GARRICK to Dexter STALEY GOOD!
WEHS - Kendric SALLEY Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 1 yds PAT Pass from Tamyn GARRICK to Dexter STALEY GOOD!
WSH - Nick Davis Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 71 yds PAT Run by Chris Suber NO Good
Second Quarter
WEHS - Kendric SALLEY Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 72 yds PAT Pass from Tamyn GARRICK to Dexter STALEY NO Good!
Third Quarter
WSH - Nick Davis Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 57 yds PAT Run by Nick Davis NO Good
WEHS - Tamyn GARRICK Passes to Dexter STALEY COMPLETE TOUCHDOWN!!! 65 yds PAT Run by Kendric SALLEY NO Good
Fourth Quarter
WEHS - Ondrew BELLINGER Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 1 yds PAT Run by DVarius HOSEY GOOD!
WSH - Shamaryea Smith Carries(Hand Off) TOUCHDOWN!!! 2 yds PAT Run by Nick Davis GOOD!
WEHS WSH
FIRST DOWN 12 20
RUSHES / YARDS (NET) 35/184 54/401
PASSING YARDS (NET) 129 41
Passes Att/Comp/Int 12/6/0 6/3/2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS/YARDS 47 / 313 60 / 442
Fumble Returns / Yards 0 / 0 0 / 0
Punt Returns / Yards 0 / 0 0 / 0
Kickoff Returns / Yards 4 / 59 3 / 37
Interception Returns /Yards 2 / 25 0 / 0
Punts (Number/Avg) 2 / 36 1 / 18
Fumbles / Lost 1 / 1 3 / 2
Penalties / Yards 1 / 5 4 / 34
Possession Time 19:13 26:24
Sacks By: Number/Yards 1 / 4 0 / 0
RUSHING(Att / Yards):
Ware Shoals - Nick Davis 18 / 231, Anton Williams 11 / 88, Shamaryea Smith 11 / 40, Darikus Bussey 3 / 21, Jamora Williams 2 / 12, Chris Suber 6 / 8, Jake Amick 3 / 1
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Posted by: STARRASIA On: Sunday, November 22, 2009 8:10 PM
Comment Title: GO BIG BLUE
WOW WE DID WE MADE IT TO THE STATE I AM HAPPY FOR THESE BOYZ YALL DO YALL THANG
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Posted by: On: Saturday, November 21, 2009 8:13 AM
Comment Title:
Go Big Blue!! Good luck!!
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