With a meager crowd on hand on a blustery Friday night in Seabrook, Jerry Hatcher’s barking voice cut through the night as the veteran coach tried to coax his Whale Branch Warriors through a trying matchup with visiting East Clarendon to open the SCHSL Class 1A playoffs.
But Hatcher’s frustration turned to smiles after the Warriors scored three touchdowns in the final four minutes to escape with a hard-fought 19-0 win. Survive and advance.
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The Wolverines had no intention of letting the Warriors waltz into the second round, and their defense did a terrific job of limiting the damage done by Whale Branch’s powerful run game and forcing the Warriors to the air on a night when passing was treacherous. East Clarendon picked off Kai’Shawn Jenkins twice, and while Joseph Hicks and Darrell Cummings found chunks of yardage, Whale Branch couldn’t keep East Clarendon’s defenders out of the backfield for much of the night.
The Warriors’ defense was just as stingy, though, twice coming up with big fourth-down stops inside the 20 to keep the game scoreless, and Keith Chisholm came up with two picks of his own to help keep the Wolverines out of the end zone.
After one of many key defensive stops from the Warriors forced a punt and gave Whale Branch a short field, Hicks took over, powering through a high tackle and sprinting up the left sideline for a 35-yard touchdown to finally open the scoring with 3:57 left in the game. The Wolverines stalled on their next drive, and D’Ante Parker pounced on a fumble, and Hicks powered in from the 14 two plays later to give the Warriors some breathing room.
East Clarendon made one last effort, but Chisholm picked off a deep pass and took it all the way to the end zone to put the finishing touches on an outstanding defensive effort.
Whale Branch (7-1) will travel to Lake View for a second-round game next week.
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