By London Ling
LowcoSports.com
The Hardeeville Hurricanes made a formidable debut on Friday night at Ridgeland Stadium, kicking off their first season with an exciting 43-32 win over Bethune-Bowman.
Senior Camari Brown rushed for 70 yards and four touchdowns on just eight carries, and junior Kyrell Jamison took a kickoff return and a punt return back for touchdowns in the second half to help the Hurricanes hang on despite losing the lead twice in the fourth quarter.
Hardeeville’s offense found a rhythm early and set the tone for what could have been a dominant first half, but the two teams traded touchdowns until Brown’s third touchdown with 12s econds left in the half gave the Hurricanes a 21-12 halftime lead.
Coming back from the break, Bowman scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to its first lead of the game, but Jamison retaliated with a kickoff return touchdown, putting the Canes back on top at 29-26. Bowman answered to regain the lead, but Hardeeville’s defense came up with a stop and Jamison’s punt-return touchdown put the home team back in the lead — this time for good.
A series of penalties pushed the Mohawks deep in their own territory, and a mishandled punt snap set up Brown for his fourth touchdown of the night to cap the scoring.
The lead changed hands four times in the fourth quarter, but this did not discourage the Hurricanes as they persevered and brought home a win.
This Friday, the Hurricanes travel to Whale Branch (0-1), which lost to Bluffton 49-0 last week. The Warriors won 42-0 last year in The Ville, but this new-and-improved Hardeeville team under first-year coach Arthur Gardner expects to compete Friday night.
Photos by Justin Jarrett / LowcoSports
“Last year we had a rough battle against them, but this year we’re determined to play harder, play better, and not get our heads down,” junior Joniathan Greene said. “We’re not going to beat each other up.”