By Tim Alonso
LowcoSports.com
The Whale Branch Warriors’ hopes of a deep playoff run came to an end Friday with a 34-18 loss to Kingstree, capping off a tough season for the program.
Despite the defeat, head coach Jerry Hatcher praised the effort of his players, particularly in the second half.
Whale Branch Warriors Jermon Bowers (10) and Davin Evans (8) stop Kingstree Blazer Tyleek Dukes (4) on Friday, Nov. 15, in the SCHSL 2A playoffs. Whale Branch lost at home, 34-18. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
“We played a really good second half, we were just too far down,” Hatcher said, noting that the line play, which had been the team’s biggest strength all year, continued to stand out even in the loss.
One of the game’s other bright spots was Dayaun Brown, who capped off a great senior season with one of his best performances.
“Dayaun Brown had the game of his life,” Hatcher said. “He scored all three touchdowns and had well over 100 yards receiving.”
One of the touchdowns came on a 45-yard catch, but his biggest play of the night was a 53- yard reception to put the Warriors in scoring position.
The loss concluded the first losing season for Whale Branch (4-6) since 2013, a fact that Hatcher attributed to a grueling schedule and key positional challenges.
“We had a really tough schedule and played some really close games,” he explained.
Hatcher also pointed to the need for improvement at linebacker, an area the team had struggled to solidify, but he remains optimistic about the program’s future.
“We’ve got to be better at the linebacker spot,” he said. “We were moving guys around all year, but going into next year, we’re going to really develop those spots.”
