County football teams to open
conference play Friday night

Greg Dudley
East Columbus linebacker

Staff photo by Mark Gilchrist

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

It’s the time of the year to really start playing for keeps in area high school football.
Conference play gets underway Friday night for all four Columbus County Schools, three of which play in what has become the “rough-and-tumble” Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference.

The biggest game of interest in the Waccamaw Conference this week matches Columbus County rivals East Columbus and Whiteville. The game is set for East Columbus at 7:30 p.m., and if non-conference performances have any bearing, it figures to be pretty much of a toss-up.

Both teams have 4-1 records, and it is the first time ever that East Columbus has won four of its first five games.

Unbeaten South Columbus, which has dominated non-conference opposition thus fall, will play host to North Brunswick (4-1). In a big game involving Pender County schools, Pender (3-2) will entertain Heide Trask (2-3)
South Brunswick, which is off to a 3-0 will step into conference play next week . The Cougars will play host to a severely overmatched Fayetteville Christian team Friday.

Through five weeks of non-conference play, Waccamaw Conference teams have posted a combined record of 23 wins and seven losses.

In the Southeastern 1A-2A Conference, West Columbus will travel to play Fairmont. Both are looking for their first wins as West Columbus is 0-5 and Fairmont 0-4.

Other Southeastern Conference games have East Bladen (3-1) playing host to St. Pauls (2-3), and South Robeson (1-3) traveling to Red Springs (0-5). West Bladen (1-4) has an open date.

The Southeastern Conference’s combined record in non-conference play is 7-25.

Whiteville at East Columbus

This one appears to be a toss-up. Both teams have played particularly well on their home fields thus far, and East Columbus has never taken a homefield victory over the Wolfpack.

Whiteville coming off a 28-0 homefield victory over West Brunswick last week for its third straight shutout, has not lost to the Gators since 2001 and owns a 12-3 edge in the rivalry series that dates back to 1992.

East Columbus held on to defeat South Robeson 14-13 last Friday at Rowland for an unprecedented fourth straight win. The Gators are carrying a 4-1 record in varsity football for the first time in school history.

Both teams rely heavily on their running games and the defensive play of both teams has stood out strong, particularly in the past two or three week.

Coach Travis Conner’s East Columbus team has a strong running game built around Fred Blanks and B.J.

Bracey and along with quarterback Alex Williamson. The Gators were dealt a blow at Rowland when running back Quintin Ashe suffered a torn ACL that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

Coach Mark Little’s Whiteville team has been trying to fill the void left by the severe knee injured suffered by standout running back Jarrod McKinney two weeks ago. Senior Tyson Wilcox stepped up against West Brunswick with 134 rushing yards, including an 85-yard touchdown run.

Josh Lennon, George Spearman, Jonathan Norris, Donnelle Ross, David Mosley and D.J. Phillips are among the defensive leaders for Whiteville, which has not allowed a point since its 22-14 loss to East Bladen on Aug. 30.

Since becoming WHS head coach in 2002, Little has guided the Wolfpack to a combined record at 45 wins and 21 losses.

East Columbus survived a real defensive struggle at South Robeson. Blanks and Bracey gained some rushing yardage and the ECHS defense again got strong defensive performances from Gerard Bullock, Greg Dudley, Jolly Jacobs, Demetreus McKelvie and C.J. Ganus.

Conner took over a floundering ECHS program in 2005. They went 0-11 that year and battled to a 3-9 finish last year. The Gators are now taking aim on the school’s first winning season since 1996.

In last year’s Wolfpack-Gator game at Whiteville, the Wolfpack took a 33-7 win after holding a precarious 14-7 halftime lead.

North Brunswick at South Columbus

Based on their first four games, the South Columbus Stallions appear to be the solid favorite to claim the Waccamaw Conference title this fall.

The SCHS offense has been virtually unstoppable so far and the Stallion defense has consistently kept opponents out of scoring position in every game.

With a punishing running game and an explosive passing attack the Stallions of Coach Joey Price have the talent and experience to be a strong playoff team.

South Columbus demolished West Columbus 52-0 last week with all the scoring coming in the first half. The Stallions’s most impressive performance to date came on Sept. 7 when they overpowered a solid East Bladen team 25-7.

North Brunswick, which fell to South Columbus 35-7 last week, should still provide a formidible challenge Friday night. Coach Garry Bishop’s Scorpions return with all-around back Josh Balloon.

The Scorpions took a 40-20 victory over Lejeune last Friday.

South Columbus seniors Dakota Piver, Andrae Jacobs, Buster James, T.J.

Richardson Donovan Watts, Justin Smith, Lee Hemingway, Kevin Clay, Dusty Duncan, Michael Hansen, Thomas Everette, Jason Harper, Colby Wright, Steven Beck and Daniel Fowler give the Stallions some of the strongest on the field leadership SCHS has ever had.

West Columbus at Fairmont

A big boost will go to the winner of this one.

Both are looking for the first wins and both are coming off shutout losses. While West Columbus suffered a 52-0 road loss to South Columbus last week, Fairmont absorbed a 30-0 road loss to Albemarle.

The loss to South Columbus concluded a rigorous non-conference schedule for West Columbus, and head coach Vernon Brigman is hoping some of the tough losses his team has taken thus far will have it prepared for its conference schedule.

East Bladen again appears to be the “head-and-shoulders” favorite to win its third straight Southeastern Conference title.

The Vikings, who have been held scoreless in their last two game, hold some experience and athleticism in players like Travis Leggett, Torres Newkirk, Timmy Brown, Sean Brown and Kenyarta Smith.

Fairmont, which took a 23-14 win over West Columbus last season, has been held to 19 points through its first four games this season.