Wet 'n Wild

Weather doesn't dampen Wolves RB Black's breakout performance

With steady sheets of rain falling Thursday night, Timberland did the predictable in its 7-0 victory over Berkeley on the opening night of the 38th annual Muhler Sertoma Classic.

The Wolves ran the ball 12 times on their only drive of the quarter and marched 70 yards for the game's only score.

But it wasn't the usual suspect who inflicted the heavy damage. Two-time all-state selection Rockarius King was held to 10 yards on four carries, so coach Art Craig went to plan B, as in Rennis Black.

The unheralded running back shredded Berkeley for 56 yards on seven carries to key the drive. Junior quarterback Cody Craig capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown scramble as the Wolves held off their county rivals.

"Everybody knows about Rockarius, and that's what we want," said coach Craig, who led the Wolves to the state title game two seasons ago and to a 9-3 record last fall. "We have more people than just Rockarius. I told Rock he was going to get keyed on, and that he'd have to get some tough yards. We ran the ball well, and I thought Cody did a good job of running the offense."

The crowd at Johnson Hagood Stadium on The Citadel campus was estimated at 5,000 for the first night, so the weather was a factor as far as attendance goes.

The younger Craig attempted one pass, a play that was ruled pass interference. Craig was the understudy to Blake Wrenn last year, paying his dues even if it meant carrying a clipboard. This year, the junior is ready for a break-out year.

"I was a little nervous tonight. But I get nervous before every game," the quarterback said. "That's not a bad thing. After a couple of plays, I felt relaxed. I've been waiting two years for this and I want to lead the team. I don't want to let them down."

Many people expect the Wolves to challenge for the state title, now that they have dropped down to Class AA.

The test against Berkeley was stiff. The Stags almost scored, getting a key pass interference call on their only drive of the matchup to put the ball in the red zone. The Wolves' Paul Jefferson broke up a pass in the end zone to seal the victory.

Timberland opens the regular season against Carolina Forest at home Saturday.

The Wolves' focus during the week was Saturday's foe.

"But, still, this was great," coach Craig said. "This was a great night. Anytime you play Berkeley, you play in the Sertoma, it's a great night."

Northwood Academy 7, North Charleston 6

Brandon Stoots hit Uriah Singleton for a 20-yard touchdown pass and Seth Graham kicked the all-important extra point and the Chargers marched 70 yards on their first drive to take a 7-0 lead.

But the Cougars came right back as Denzel Myers threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Denzel White to cap a 70-yard drive. The point-after attempt was blocked.

"Tonight was a step up," said Chargers coach Jerry Stoots, who was inducted into the state coaches association hall of fame over the summer. "We were a little more polished than we were the last time we scrimmaged. We played well, and I was obviously pleased. But we didn't slow down their offense one bit.

Northwood Academy opens the regular season with a home game against Cathedral Academy on Saturday.

Goose Creek 6, Stratford 0

Goose Creek punter Daniel Smith put the Knights in a deep hole with a 42-yard punt that finally came to rest on the Knights' 2-yard line.

The Knights couldn't pick up a first down and punted to the Gators' 49.

The Gators marched 51 yards for the score as William Alston scored from nine yards out with 3:34 left in the quarter. Ranoy Hines broke off a 36-yard run to highlight the drive.

"I was very pleased," Goose Creek coach Chuck Reedy said. "Offensively, we ran the ball well and that's something we have to do to be effective. Defensively, I was really pleased. This is the fastest defense we've had at Goose Creek and it showed tonight."

Baptist Hill 6, First Baptist 0

Baptist Hill coach Marion Brown didn't get much of a chance to see his offense in action, but what Brown did see, he liked.

Baptist Hill running back Shaunn Middleton scored the only touchdown of the quarter on a 3-yard run as Baptist Hill beat First Baptist.

First Baptist controlled the ball for most of the quarter, running off 19 plays, but could only get to the Bobcats' 21-yard line as time ran out in the quarter.

Baptist Hill got the ball just once, after a First Baptist fumble, and drove 43-yards in six plays for the lone score. Dartrell Anderson had a 23-yard run that took the ball down to the Hurricanes' 3 that helped set up Middleton's score.

"We've only been together for a couple of weeks, so everyone is still trying to learn the system," Brown said. "I'm proud of the way we came out here and played.

"We tried to play as many kids as we could. We were experimenting with a lot of young kids late in the quarter. But give First Baptist credit, they moved the football on us."

Military Magnet 10, Cross 6

Military Magnet coach Gene Ross thinks he has a special player in quarterback DeAntre Johnson.

Ross might be right.

Johnson accounted for nearly 100 yards of total offense to lead the Eagles past Cross.

Johnson completed three of eight passes for 59 yards, including a scoring strike to Lorenzo Mehciz on the Eagles' first offensive play from scrimmage and rushed four times for 37 yards.

"DeAntre is a good quarterback and a great kid," Ross said. "We've changed our offense a little bit, so he's still learning it. He made a couple of misreads in the secondary, but that's something that just takes practice.

"He showed what kind of playmaker he can be when he gets some blocking."

After a Trojans fumble on their third play from scrimmage, Johnson connected with Mechciz for a 34-yard touchdown just 1:15 into the quarter.

"Good read and an even better throw," Ross said.

The Eagles added a safety when Donovon Alston sacked Cross quarterback Devante Jenkins in the end zone.

Cross finally managed to score just before the end of the quarter when Jenkins threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Alex Dingle in the corner of the end zone.

Scott's Branch 16, Academic Magnet 0

Scott's Branch coach Leonard Johnson doesn't believe in fancy offensive schemes.

Shifting between a power-I formation and a Wing-T, the Eagles ran at will in their win over Academic Magnet.

Quinten Singleton ran just three times for 29 yards, but scored twice on runs of 8 and 16 yards in the victory. Fullback Kadeem Baxter scored on both two-point conversions as the Eagles ran just four offensive plays.

"We're a week away from our opener and I think we're right on schedule," Johnson said. "We're not going to do anything fancy on offense. We're going to play smashmouth football. If you can line up and stop us, that's fine. The kids played hard tonight."

The Eagles smothered the Raptors offense all quarter, either sacking quarterback William Rentz six times or stopping fullback Stephen Newman behind the line of scrimmage three times.

"The defense played well," Johnson said. "We did what we had to do tonight."