Scott's Branch demonizes Blue Devils in title game
ORANGEBURG -- Just five and a half minutes was all it took for a season of success to come crashing down for Williston-Elko as Scott's Branch came back to win the Class A Division II state football championship 14-6 Friday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on the campus of South Carolina State University.
Down 6-0 with 9:13 left in the game, Scott's Branch scored 14 straight points to pick up the win as the Blue Devils struggled to stop their opponent down the stretch.
"We stayed on the field way too much on defense," said Williston-Elko head coach Dwayne Garrick. "It's tough, because it's a long year and you don't just want to get here, you want to win."
Williston-Elko held on to the lead for nearly 37 minutes, before Scott's Branch tied the game in the fourth quarter with an eight-play drive that covered 49 yards and resulted in a four-yard touchdown run by junior Quinton Singleton. Singleton was a one-man show for Scott's Branch as he rushed for 115 yards and the Eagles' two touchdowns.
The Blue Devils took the ensuing kickoff and started on their 40-yard line. Williston-Elko looked to close the game out as it started marching down field. Sophomore Dexter Staley took the ball and rumbled for 21 yards on the first play from scrimmage to put the Blue Devils at the 39-yard line. Staley led Williston-Elko's rushing attack as he ran for 120 yards on 22 carries, but he made a costly mistake four plays later. Facing a fourth and one at the 34-yard line, Staley coughed up the ball, which was recovered by Scott's Branch Johnny Williams who returned the ball to the 45-yard line.
With 3:14 left in the game, Singleton took over for Scott's Branch. The back got the ball on five straight plays and punched a hole in the left side of the line and rocketed to a 34-yard touchdown with 1:11 left in the game. Junior Kadeem Baxter followed the score up with a two-point conversion.
"We couldn't stop him all night long," Garrick said, of Singleton.
Williston-Elko gave up 12 first downs and 219 yards of total offense, only 24 of which came through the air. Offensively, the Blue Devils struggled to make anything happen after scoring on their second series in the first quarter. Williston-Elko's scoring drive consisted of a six play 52-yard drive that was capped off by Staley's three-yard touchdown run.
During the drive, Staley rushed for 37-yards on a third-and-four to put Williston-Elko at the nine-yard line. Three plays later, Staley scored. Besides Staley's ground attack, the Blue Devils struggled on offense as they had just 16 more yards on the ground.
"Dexter is a special player," Garrick said. "He has already made a name for himself and his future looks bright."
Senior Josh Epps struggled to pick up any significant yards as he ran for just nine yards on six carries.
Hampered by an ankle injury, according to Garrick, senior quarterback Chris Johnson didn't play. Sophomore quarterback Tamyn Garrick struggled behind center, completing just one pass in the game on 10 attempts. He was also picked off on two attempts.
"I threw everything at them I knew," said the elder Garrick. "We had a tough time protecting him (the quarterback). Our kids didn't give up and played hard, we just didn't make any plays offensively."
Despite holding the lead until midway through the fourth quarter, Williston-Elko punted four times, turned the ball over on downs once and turned the ball over three times after its score in the first quarter. Scott's Branch took advantage of a tiring defense and rushed for 195 yards. Besides Singleton's 115 yards, Baxter rushed for 53 yards on 13 carries and Senior Curtis Davis rushed for 37 yards on seven carries.
Scott's Branch finished the season with a 11-3 record, while Williston-Elko finished with a 12-2 mark.
Scott's Branch 0 0 0 14 - 14
Williston-Elko 6 0 0 0 - 6
WE - Dexter Staley three-yard run (kick failed)
SB - Quinton Singleton four-yard run (two-point conversion failed)
SB - Singleton 34-yard run (Kadeem Baxter two-point conversion)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Scott's Branch - Quniton Singleton 25-115, Kadeem Baxter 13-53, Curtis Davis 7-37, Adrian Coard 6-14, Antoine Brown 1-4. Williston-Elko - Dexter Staley 22-120, Josh Epps 6-9, Ondrew Bellinger 1-5, Kendrick Eubanks 1-2, Tamyn Garrick 1-(-8).
PASSING
Scott's Branch - Adrian Coard 3-9-1 24. Williston-Elko - Tamyn Garrick 1-10-2 (-24).
RECEIVING
Scott's Branch - Kadeem Baxter 2-17, Jerrell Adams 1-7. Williston-Elko - Jackson Cooper 1-(-24).