By DAN BISER

You would have never known Friday night that the East Columbus Gator football team had won only once in its last 22 games.

By scoring on their first two possessions of the second half, the Gators brought visions of long-lost playoff days to their Homecoming crowd as they claimed a 30-14 Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference victory over the visiting North Brunswick Scorpions.

“We have stressed steady improvement and believing in ourselves,” said ECHS second-year head coach Travis Conner following the win. “Tonight, we seemed to bring it all together from start to finish. That is what we have been striving for.

“There is still a good ways to go, but I’m very proud of our players and the effort they gave tonight,” said Conner, whose Gators evened their conference record at 1-1 while putting their season mark at 2-5.

Behind the heady quarterbacking and running of junior Alex Williamson and a “rise-to-the-occasion” defense, the Gators broke away from a 6-6 halftime deadlock to control second-half play. The Homecoming victory also brought on a little payback from last year’s 49-0 loss to the Scorpions.

The Gators rolled gained 358 yards of total offense while North Brunswick accumulated 339 yards.

Williamson, operating out of the Gators’ tricky “spinner series,” rushed for 188 yards and two touchdown on 26 carries. Zack Ward added 98 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.

North Brunswick tailback Josh Balloon led the Scorpions with 130 yards on 19 carries. Scorpion quarterback Jesse Riley completed seven passes for 112 yards. The loss dropped the Scorpions to 1-1 in conference and 2-4 overall.

Williamson said that the Gator offense brought a lot of confidence from the dressing room to start the second half.

“We had done pretty well the first half and we knew the opportunity was there for us,” Williamson said. “Driving the ball in the third quarter was the big key.”

After Demetrius McKelvie returned the second half kickoff to the ECHS 48-yard line to open the half, it took the Stallions five plays to score. Ward capped the 52-yard drive on a 17-yard reverse with 9 minutes, 29 seconds left in the third quarter. Williamson passed to Kevin Richardson on the two-point conversion for a 14-6 Gator lead.

McKelvie came up big again for the Gators as he intercepted a Scorpion pass and returned it to the ECHS 45 to set up another scoring drive.
It took the Gators seven plays to score with Williamson ripping off a 16-yarder and McKelvie taking a option pitch 20 yards to the one-yard line to set up the TD. Williamson scored on the next play and McKelvie ran the two-point conversion to make the score 22-6 with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

North Brunswick battled back midway through the final quarter when Riley rifled a 46-yard Tevin Mapson for a touchdown. Gator cornerback C.J. Ganus had tipped the pass while closely defending Mapson, but the NB receiver came up with the ball and ran the rest of the way to the end zone. Balloon ran the two-point conversion to cut the Gator led to 22-14 with 6:02 remaining.

The Gators scored moments later after Ward ripped off a 60-yard run to the North Brunswick 11. McKelvie carried to the one on the next play and Williamson carried the ball over on the next snap. Richard Jones caught a two-point conversion pass from Williamson to round out the scoring.

East Columbus got its only score of the first half when it capped a 91-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Demetrice Howard with 8:47 left in the first quarter. The drive had been ignited by a 41-yard run by Williamson and 25-yard pass from Williamson to Jones.

North Brunswick, which had an early touchdown nullified by a penalty and also fumbled the ball away at the one-yard line, tied the score with three minutes left in the half on a one-yard run by Riley, capping a 77-yard drive.

The Gator defense got big efforts from McKelvie, Ganus, Jolly Jacobs, Wakeem Johnson and Greg Dudley.

“We’re better than our record,” said Jacobs, a junior outside linebacker. “Coach Conner has told everybody to be patient, work hard and try to put the past behind us. East Columbus hasn’t had a winning tradition in football, but we’re trying to turn that around. Tonight showed that we can be a good football team.

“I’m proud to be a Gator!” Jacobs proclaimed.

During halftime ceremonies, senior Deonna Anders, daughter of Dedrick and Devonia Anders was crowned 2006 ECHS Homecoming Queen.

East Columbus will travel this Friday to play county rival South Columbus. East Columbus has never beaten South Columbus in their previous 15 meetings.

EC – Montrice Howard 3 run (kick failed).

NB – Jesse Riley 1 run (pass failed).

EC - Zack Ward 17 run (Kevin Richardson pass from Alex Williamson).

EC – Williamson 1 run (McKelvie run).

NB – Tevin Mapson 46 pass from Riley (Josh Balloon run).

EC – Williamson 1 run (Richard Jones pass from Williamson).