Gators hope to enhance playoff status Friday at Trask
ECHS running back B.J. Bracey
By DAN BISER
Sports Editor
The East Columbus Gators have their sights set this week on gaining only the second winning football season in school history as well as a possible first-round homefield game in the state 1AA playoffs.
The Gators, who snapped a four-game Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference losing streak last Friday with a 9-8 homecoming victory over South Brunswick on a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Andy Tapia with 15 seconds remaining, will travel to Rocky Point Friday to meet a Heide Trask team that has lost 11 straight conference games, dating back to last season.
“The win over South Brunswick was huge, and a win this Friday should put us in pretty good shape for the playoffs,” said Gator head coach Travis Conner, whose squad is carrying a 5-5 record and a 1-4 conference record. “This season has been a difficult one for our football team in a lot of ways, but now we have an opportunity to get things going again.”
Last fall, East Columbus closed out regular-season play with a 20-6 victory at Trask behind the option running of quarterback Alex Williamson and a strong defensive effort.
The Gator offense has not registered a touchdown in its last three games as the only ECHS six-pointer last week came on a 97-yard fumble return by linebacker Greg Dudley.
Trask fell in conference play for the fifth straight week last Friday in a 46-0 loss to unbeaten South Columbus. South Columbus led 33-0 at halftime. The Titans’ season record stands at 3-7.
“Trask presents a lot of different looks on offense and they like to throw the ball,” said Conner, who is now in his third season as ECHS head coach. “We need to come across with the same type effort on defense as we had against South Brunswick.”
East Columbus last posted a winning season in 1996 when Coach Dean Saffos’ Gators posted a 7-3 season record and finished in a three-way tie for runnerup in the Waccamaw 2A-3A Conference behind the play of senior running back Reggie Swindell.
The 1996 Gator team fell to Clayton in the opening round of the state 2A playoffs.