By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
For a short period Friday night, breaths shortened and chests tightened among the Battery Creek faithful.
Faithful since forever, finally equipped with a fresh shot of hope, Dolphins devotees could easily envision a slide back into the world they had occupied for decades.
Beaufort had scored before halftime, taken the ball coming out of the locker room, and moved down the field. The Eagles were on the verge of taking the lead, and then it could all come crashing down like a house of cards.
Not this time, though. These Dolphins are different. It only took two plays to rewrite an age-old narrative.
Battery Creek’s Jeremiah Washington made an acrobatic interception on the 6-yard line, and one play later, Eddie Heyward bolted 94 yards to the end zone, sending the Dolphins on their way to a 42-18 win over Beaufort and a 5-0 start that matches the best in program history.
Heyward was the hero, racking up 277 rushing yards on 20 carries with three touchdowns behind a powerful offensive line that dominated the trenches all night, and he did most of the damage after halftime.
The Eagles limited him to just 38 yards in the first half, and sophomore Keaton Layman led two scoring drives, tossing touchdown passes to Qualeek Isnar and Hall Schoen. The latter came with 14 seconds left before halftime and pulled Beaufort within two at 14-12.
Beaufort was driving again when Washington’s pick and Heyward’s long run changed everything. The panic attacks were over, and the party was just getting started.
Heyward added an 8-yard touchdown run to cap off a workmanlike drive, and Creek’s defense pounced on a Beaufort mistake for a defensive score to break it open with a 20-point third quarter.
Beaufort had one last gasp, as Braydon Moyd-Smalls and La’Jaivion Samuel hooked up for a 36-yard touchdown pass to pull back within two scores, but another sustained drive ending with a 6-yard Heyward touchdown run put any thoughts of a comeback to bed and gave Creek Nation city-wide bragging rights for the first time in ages.
Battery Creek’s 5-0 start matches the program’s best in 1980, and the five-game winning streak matches the longest in program history, but the next five count for much more than the first five. The Dolphins open Region 5-2A play with a trip to Academic Magnet on Oct. 2, a game Battery Creek should win if it expects to contend for a region title with the likes of Woodland and Philip Simmons.
Beaufort (1-4) has a week off before opening Region 6-4A play at home against Bluffton on Oct. 2.
Whale Branch 26, Barnwell 0
Dee Delaney’s first win as a head coach was an impressive one coming out of a bye week and reframes the rest of the season in a new light. Makai Zachery had rushing and passing touchdowns, Jamar Bronner added a score on the ground, and Jermaine Black capped off a shutout with a pick-six, as Whale Branch blanked a Barnwell team that put up 42 points a week earlier. The Warriors (1-3) host Woodland on Friday before opening Region 5-1A play at home against Hampton County on Oct. 2.
Colleton Prep 59, Beaufort Academy 14
Cale Owens was 11-for-11 for 281 yards and five touchdowns to lead the undefeated War Hawks to another lopsided win. BA (1-4) hosts Cross Schools on Friday.
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.
