Printer friendly version |   E-mail to a friend  | 

Timberland steals spotlight at football jamboree

Published Monday, August 18, 2008 1:19 PM

By Dan Brown
Berkeley Independent

A full moon smiled down on this Lowcountry Friday night for the third annual Berkeley County Football Jamboree hosted by Goose Creek High School, chasing away some intense thunderstorms that hit the area earlier in the afternoon and threatened to turn the first Friday night of the 2008 football season into a sweltering quagmire.

And who other to benefit most from the full August moon than a Wolf?

The Timberland Wolves, the pre-ordained Destiny’s Darlings of 2008, held off a last second Stratford rally to edge the Knights 14-13 on a blocked PAT with 7.2 seconds left in the game.

Timberland’s premier running back Rockarius King ripped off a 70-yard run from scrimmage to give the Wolves a stunning 14-7 lead over Stratford with just 3:02 remaining, but even that eye-popping run wasn’t the best play of the night.

With 7.2 seconds remaining, Knights’ quarterback Tyler McDonald connected on a 27-yard Eli-Manning-like flair to wide receiver Francis Lloyd. Lloyd caught the pass flat on his back in the corner of the end zone with three Timberland defenders pulling on his jersey.

Even that wasn’t the best play of the night.

The best play of the night happened on what is normally so routine that it’s missed in lieu of a quick trip to the concession stand before the next kick off.

After two false starts on what is normally a routine point after attempt, senior linebacker Paul Jefferson snuck around left end and blocked the PAT to preserve the win for Timberland.

Cross and Hanahan kicked off the third annual jamboree with the Hawks’ Jamal Lockwood scoring the first touchdown of the night as Hanahan rolled 24-0.

Berkeley followed next and returned the favor to the Hawks, posting a quick 20-7 thumping on a 22-yard touchdown run by Dante Richardson, a 50-yard interception returned for a score by Rakeem White and a 3-yard plunge by RJ Robinson.

All of this in 15 minutes, no less.

Goose Creek relied on a late score, a 15-yard scamper by tailback William Alston to edge Berkeley 14-7.

Timberland and Cross took the field and showed how there are more than just miles distancing these two northern Berkeley County schools, as THS trounced their county opponents.

This set up the Timberland and Stratford showdown that provided the most dramatic fireworks of the night.

The Gators then topped the Knights in the evening’s finale 7-0, already fueling the fires a rematch in the Sertoma Classic this week and then again when the two schools meet on Oct. 3.  

Teams will get a final look at how they stand up at the Sertoma Classic this week.

Berkeley and Timberland will put on their own rivalry show to match the Goose Creek vs. Stratford contest.

The Wolves from St. Stephen have a message they want to send to the rest of the county starting with Berkeley: “We’re as good as anybody out there, regardless of classification,” and the Stags from Moncks Corner have a message they want to send right back: “We’re still the big dog in these parts.”

All four schools match up as part of Sertoma’s Thursday night lineup at The Citadel’s Johnson-Hagood Stadium in Charleston.

Notice about comments:

Berkeleyind.com is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Berkeleyind.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Berkeleyind.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by reading our terms and conditions, and then signing up below!