Perfect season

ORANGEBURG -- For the first 13 weeks of the 2009 football season, the Williston-Elko Blue Devils dominated opponents, outscoring them by an average of 41 points per game and outgaining them by an even wider margin.

The 14th game provided a much bigger challenge, but the Blue Devils outlasted Scott's Branch 34-26 in an thrilling slugfest Friday at S.C. State's Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in the Class A, Division II state final. The contest was a rematch of last year's state championship, with the Eagles claiming the title then.

The Eagles led 14-6 at intermission Friday - the first time Williston-Elko had trailed beyond the first quarter this season. The resilient Blue Devils bounced back in the second half behind running back Dexter Staley and the combination of quarterback Tamyn "Gator" Garrick and wide receiver Demetrius Facison, who hooked up for their second scoring reception of the game.

After a Scott's Branch desperation throw sailed long to end the game, the jubilant Blue Devil players and coaches leaped for joy. Coach Dwayne Garrick hugged his players and got a warm embrace from son Gator near midfield. The younger Garrick was delighted to capture a state championship with his dad on the sideline.

"That makes it even better," he said. "We're going to celebrate, and I'm definitely looking forward to it."

The final score really doesn't indicate just how close the game was. Staley's fourth-quarter, three-yard touchdown and Kendric Salley's critical two-point conversion had broken a tie for a 28-20 lead with just 4:03 left in the game. The Eagles came right back, however, with a great call on fourth down at their own 37 - a halfback pass from Quinton Singleton to quarterback Jerell Adams, who raced 63 yards for a touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Blue Devils led 28-26 with 1:53 left.

After Williston-Elko recovered an onside kick, Staley settled the outcome, breaking clear around the left side for a 49-yard touchdown with just 25 seconds left.

Staley bruised his shoulder in the Upper State title gamea week earlier, and it still hurt Friday. He said Coach Garrick told him that he's a big player and big players step up for in big games.

"He said that we can't lose to this team two times in a row," said Staley, who finished with 134 yards on 17 carries. "After losing last year, we've been thinking all season to get back to state. We got the team we wanted to play to get payback, and we did. But we really overlooked Scott's Branch (today). They're way better than their (8-5) record. We had to work really hard to come out on top."

The Blue Devils were rarely challenged this year, and Coach Garrick agreed the close win made the championship even more special.

"But I would rather win by 30 points," he said with a grin. "This was way too stressful. But the people who paid $8 today got to see some great football."

After 24 minutes, Williston-Elko's usually high-powered offense was sputtering. Salley, who rushed for more than 1,800 yards this year, was hindered by an ankle injury, also from last week's Upper State contest. He and Staley combined for just 15 yards on 10 carries in the first half. Scott's Branch was running the ball at will, led by Singleton, who finished with 201 yards and three touchdowns on 40 carries.

A 47-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion by Staley tied the game at 14-14 just 58 seconds into the third quarter. Facison hauled in his second touchdown pass from Garrick, and another Staley conversion gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the game at 22-14.

Garrick only completed 6-of-17 passes, but his first touchdown pass to Facison came on a fourth-and-long in Eagles' territory. Garrick also completed a 21-yard pass down the sideline to Rokeem Williams on a third-and-12 late in the game to set up another Blue Devils touchdown. Williams made a great over-the-shoulder grab and got a foot down in bounds to preserve possession for the Blue Devils.

Marcus Bates and Darryl Salley led the defense with 14 tackles each, while Shamel Harley added 13 and Andrea Williams made 10 stops.

"It means a lot to get this game," Salley said. "Everybody will be trying to real hard against us next year, and we'll look forward to it."

Senior writer Rob Novit contributed to this article.

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