BAMBERG - For Kevin Crosby’s first game as Bamberg-Ehrhardt head football coach, he employed a simple yet proven gameplan against archrival Edisto Friday night at Leon Maxwell Stadium.

Constantly using his “foot soldiers” in the backfield - running backs Demetrius Williams and Anquan Thomas - and getting his upfront people to dominate the line of scrimmage, the Red Raiders turned the “Battle of Highway 301” into a grinding ground game.

The strategy worked in B-E’s favor as it came away with a bruising 7-0 victory over the Cougars to extend its winning streak in the series to six games.

“We came out, we wanted the run the football,” Crosby said. “It was wet tonight. We didn’t want to put it up in the air too much and a game like this when it’s a rivalry, you throw everything out the door because both teams are going to play hard and both teams are going to get after that and I thought that’s what that was tonight. It was a good hard-fought football game.”

In handing Edisto its sixth straight season-opening loss, the Red Raiders (1-0) used the wet, slippery field conditions to their advantage. The one-two punch of Williams and Thomas accounted for 173 of the team’s 229 total yards - all on the ground and helped set up the game’s lone score on a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Zack Godley with 6:10 left in the first quarter.

Despite three missed field goals by Randon Sandifer, the score was more than enough for the Red Raiders. Its defense forced two key turnovers and made a critical fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.

“That is one thing that you talk about in early games - conditioning, mistakes and turnovers - and unfortunately, we had too many turnovers,” Edisto head coach Andy Palmer said. “Those type of things we’re going to have to cut out if we are to be successful.”

B-E set a physical tone on the game’s opening drive. With Williams and Thomas taking turns running for chunks of yards against Edisto’s defense, the Raiders burned six minutes off the clock on what proved to be the game-winning drive.

As effective as Williams was running the football, he also accounted for the biggest defensive play of the first half. After a pair of long receptions by Ruben Thomas and Tyler Davis moved Edisto inside the B-E 9, Williams managed to run in front of a Kamrie Connell pass for a touchdown-saving interception.

“We took a shot at throwing the ball back across the field, it probably wasn’t a good idea on my part,” Edisto head coach Andy Palmer said.

The Red Raiders were unable to build on its lead in the second half. On two occasions, B-E advanced into the Red Zone of the Cougars but Sandifer was unable to connect from 32 and 40 yards.

Although Edisto’s offense started to show signs of life in the second half (finishing with 194 total yards), B-E’s defense kept the Cougars out of the end zone. The Red Raiders recovered a fumble at the Edisto 13 with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter, then with the Cougars advancing the football to the B-E 10 with 3:49 left in the game, forced a dropped pass by Derrick Jenkins on fourth down.

“We ran a play that you get one opportunity to run in a game,” Palmer said. “It’s kind of like a two-point play. We’re looking to get a first down and put it in the end zone and the kid was a little bit distracted and that’s what happens.”

Despite battling painful leg cramps, Thomas, who had 25 carries for 95 yards, mustered enough strength to burst to the outside and pick up 14 yards on 3rd and 11 with 2:13 left. With Edisto out of timeouts, the Red Raiders ran out the remaining seconds.

“Anquan got the big first down there coming up with some cramps,” Crosby said. “That’s something that we got to check in. You’ve got a guy that goes both ways and he’s cramping on a cool night like tonight, that’s something that we’ve got to find a way to get himself in shape to get himself ready to go. Nothing big about it, but he did a great job of getting that first down. But he knows he’s got a lot of work to do.”

Up next for B-E is a trip to Summerville to face Ashley Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Friday, while Edisto plays its home-opener against fellow Orangeburg Consolidated District Four school Hunter-Kinard-Tyler.

T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547.

You must be logged in to comment.