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By DAN BISER The East Columbus Gators, who were held to a total of 24 points in their six Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference games this season, will have to find a way to get into the end zone more frequently Friday when they open the state 1AA playoffs against the Ayden-Grifton Chargers at Ayden. Gametime is 7:30 p.m. East Columbus will take a 5-6 record and a No. 12 East bracket seeding into Friday’s game against a Charger squad that is 9-2 and carrying the No. 5 seed. Ayden-Grifton finished runnerup in the Carolina Conference this season. Ayden-Grifton has a long-standing tradition in the state football playoffs while East Columbus is still looking for its first playoff win in the school’s 16-year history. Coach Paul Cornwell’s Ayden-Grifton squad closed out regular-season play last Friday by taking a 28-7 homefield victory over North Johnston. Charger quarterback Matt Daugherty set the paces by passing for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the wind-swept contest. East Columbus finished with a 1-5 Waccamaw Conference record after going 4-1 in its non-conference games. The Gators fell to Heide Trask 25-2 last Friday after clinging to a 2-0 halftime lead. It was Trask’s first conference win in two years. Coach Travis Conner’s Gators have been beset by injuries from the first game of the season. More than 12 players who were counted on for regular duty have been lost or slowed by injuries. East Columbus’ only win in its last six games came two weeks ago when it defeated South Brunswick 9-8 on a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Andy Tapia with 15 seconds remaining. The Gators had scored their touchdown in the first half on a 97-yard fumble return by senior linebacker Greg Dudley. The winner of Friday’s game will face the Pender-East Carteret winner in second-round play on Nov. 16.
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