Bowers scores 4 TDs; Harris rushes for 181; White earns 1st win as Whale Branch coach
By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
Jermon Bowers pinballed into the end zone for the second of his four touchdowns Friday night and pounded his chest. His team was still looking for its first lead in six quarters of football this season, but Bowers knew the Warriors were just getting started.
Bowers rushed for 144 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries, and Jayvion Harris rushed 24 times for 181 yards and a score behind a strong showing from Whale Branch’s offensive line, as the Warriors rallied after halftime for a 40-20 win on Community Night at Earl Campbell Stadium.
After a scoreless first quarter, both offenses found their footing, and Hardeeville’s Camari Brown landed the first few blows. Brown lined up as the holder and raced around the right end to the goal line on a fake field goal to open the scoring, and after Joseph Ferguson pounced on Efrain Tinoco’s well-placed onside kick, Emiliano Santiago hit a streaking Brown up the right hash to make it 14-0.
Whale Branch’s ground game got going on the next two series, as Bowers broke free for a 54-yard touchdown to put the Warriors on the board and finished off a second scoring drive with his chest-pounding effort.
Brown answered, taking the ensuing kickoff to the house to give the Hurricanes a 20-12 lead at the break, but it was all Warriors after halftime.
Bowers found the end zone again to start the half, then connected for a two-point conversion to tie it at 20, and he plowed into the end zone again on the next series to give Whale Branch its first lead. The Warriors’ defensive front began to feast as injuries mounted for a Hardeeville squad that lacks quality depth, and Harris took over down the stretch to milk the clock and give Willie White his first win as Whale Branch’s head coach.
The Warriors (1-1) travel to Ridgeland on Friday with renewed confidence after a lopsided loss to Bluffton to open the season. The Jaguars have yet to score in two games this season, so Whale Branch is set up well to compete on the road.
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.
