Gators have open date

The East Columbus Gators, coming off three straight conference losses, are welcoming an open date this Friday to let some injuries continue to heal and to focus on their final three games of regular-season play.

The Gators, now 0-3 in the Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference and 4-4 overall, will resume their schedule on Oct. 19 when they travel to play Pender. The rest of their schedule has them playing host to South Brunswick before closing out at Heide Trask.

“We’ve had 12 players who have been affected by injuries this season,” said ECHS coach Travis Conner, “and I’ve never had to experience anything like that in my years of coaching,

“It’s been a tough situation, but it is also one we have to work our way through,” he added.

The Gators actually gave the unbeaten South Columbus Stallions their toughest first half of the season last week as the SCHS managed a 7-0 first-half lead. The Stallions pulled away in the final two quarters to a 46-0 win.

While the Gators are out of contention for the conference title, they are still in good standing as far as claiming a berth in the state 1-AA playoffs.

Conner and his staff hope the Gators can start bouncing back from the losses and injuries over the next few weeks to put themselves in favorable position for the playoffs.