By Marcus Walsh
For LowcoSports.com
If a short-handed Beaufort High team was going to overcome a rash of injuries to key players and break through for its first win of the season Friday against Goose Creek, the Eagles needed to get out of the gate fast.
But it was the Gators who showed their speed from the jump, and Beaufort couldn’t keep up without their stars, falling to 0-4 with a 27-12 home loss.
The Eagles pulled within a score midway through the third period but couldn’t contain dual-threat quarterback Kymani Clary down the stretch and complete the comeback.
Clary opened the scoring with a rushing touchdown and added a pair of passing TDs, and the Gators’ defense pitched a second-half shutout against a short-handed Beaufort offense that was without star quarterback Samari Bonds and electric receiver Amare Patterson due to injury. Both are hopeful to return Friday against Battery Creek.
Beaufort couldn’t contain the Gators’ speed early, and it only took four plays for Goose Creek to get to paydirt, as Clary scrambled across the goal line for a 7-0 lead. An errant punt snap gave Goose Creek a short field and set up another score for a 13-0 advantage. Isaac Smalls forced a fumble that Aaron Daise recovered to give Beaufort life, and Caleb Stephan and Jai’vyon Fields connected for 25 yards before Elias Johnson’s touchdown run pulled Beaufort within 13-6.
It looked like the Eagles would get to halftime within one score, but Clary guided Goose Creek on another quick scoring drive ending with a touchdown pass to Alex Ravenel and the Gators took a 20-6 lead to the break.
Smalls found the end zone in the third quarter to make it an eight-point game, but Clary answered with another air strike to make it 27-12, and that ended up being the final.
Beaufort had success on the ground, with Johnson racking up 103 yards on 18 carries, but the Eagles could not make the big play and were playing catch up all night. Smalls collected a team-high 14 tackles and forced two fumbles to go along with a rushing touchdown.
Beaufort hopes to have Bonds and Patterson back when it takes on Battery Creek on the road at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Dubbed the “Ribaut Road Bowl,” the game will air on WHHI-TV from Sunday-
Saturday with airings at 4 p.m. on the weekend and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday as well as every night at midnight with Marcus Walsh and Chris Tremblay on the call.
