Dolphins double up rival Warriors on Friday night
By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
Mother Nature had her say for the second straight year, but this time we were able to crown a champion in the Battle for the Border.
Battery Creek’s La’Jaivion Samuel and Tyjuan Simmons broke long touchdown runs, and Eddie Heyward scored a pair of touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversion runs to lift the Dolphins to a 28-14 home win over rival Whale Branch in a game that was delayed multiple times by thunderstorms before being called with 1:58 remaining in the third quarter.
Samuel opened the scoring with a flash, taking a jet sweep around the right side and bolting 54 yards for a score, but Whale Branch answered with a sustained drive ending with Takim Person hauling in a 9-yard lob from Jermon Bowers to tie it at 6.
Simmons put Battery Creek back on top when he ran into — and then out of — a pile near midfield and broke through for a 47-yard scamper to the end zone. Heyward added the conversion run for a 14-6 lead after the first quarter. Then it was Heyward who split the defense, finding a seam up the middle for a 31-yard touchdown and a 20-6 advantage.
The Warriors turned to freshman Makhi Zackary at quarterback and used Bowers on a jet sweep that he broke for 41 yards and a score, and Zackary added a two-point run to pull Whale Branch within 20-14 at halftime.
Battery Creek’s ground game took control after the break, and Heyward finished off a sustained drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and another conversion run to establish a 28-14 lead. The Dolphins were driving again after Nate Freeman’s 46-yard pass to Samuel when the game was halted for the third time and called official.
The Warriors still hold a 9-5 edge in the all-time series, but the win was the Dolphins’ second in the last three meetings. Last year’s game was wiped out by Hurricane Helene.
Battery Creek (2-4) faces a critical Region 6-3A matchup Friday at North Charleston, while Whale Branch (2-4) has a week off before traveling to Edisto to open Region 5-2A play Oct. 10.
Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and the founder of LowcoSports.com. He was the sports editor of the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette for 6½ years. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.
