By Craig Brown
Friday night in Aynor treated fans to one of the most exciting opening games for both teams in recent history with the Blue Jackets of Aynor High School defeating the Wild Gators of Lake View High School 52-36. It was 3A vs. 1A.
Some believe it or not first-time stats were set in this game. There were no punts in this game. Of the 15 kickoffs 13 were on-side kicks with one of those having so much spin that it actually reversed and went back towards the kicking team. A Lake View quarterback passed for 270 yards.
Wild Gator Head Coach Daryl King reported that his kicker had a leg injury which resulted in their going to the short kick but the Aynor kicker sent two of his eight kicks deep so only the Aynor coaching staff know why they went for so many short kicks.
The high-scoring game was partly due to both teams starting on offense at mid-field because of the short kicks. Wild Gator tradition dictates that if they are playing a weak 1A school or the number one 5A team the Gators play to win and that is just how they played Friday night in Aynor.
The Wild Gators took the opening kickoff and the short kick caught them off guard with three Gators coming in contact with the ball that should have been fielded by the up-back near the 37-yard line. No problem for the Gators as on the second play on offense Marvin Gordon went up the middle and raced 65 yards for the touchdown. Treyvon Bellman ran in the two-point conversion to put The Wild Gators up 8-0 with 11:18 left in the first quarter. It did not take the hard-charging Blue Jackets long to even things at 8-8 with Daniel Stanley finishing the drive with a six-yard touchdown run, and Ahmad Gerald getting the two-point conversion with 7:29 left in the first quarter.
Aynor went to the onside kick that looked to me to be recovered by the Gators but the ball went to Aynor. Stanley finished the short drive on a nine-yard run with Adam Graham running in the conversion to give Aynor a 16-8 lead with 3:21 left in the first.
The Wild Gators recovered the next short kick and started at their 42-yard line. Behind the passing of Derrick Bethea the Gators finished the drive in two minutes with Bethea hitting Shaheed Dawkins with a 13-yard touchdown strike. The two connected on the conversion to even the score at 16-16 with 1:07 left in the first quarter. The first quarter would end with this score.
With 8:09 left in the second quarter Garrison Gasque crossed the goal line from 26 yards out to put the Blue Jackets on top. The conversion failed holding the Aynor lead to 22-16.
The Wild Gator offense continued to frustrate the Aynor faithful as Bethea hit receiver Tyrell Foxworth with a 29-yard touchdown pass. The conversion failed, and the score was knotted at 22-22 with 5:57 left in the second quarter.
Aynor played a lot of reserves a luxury the Wild Gators did not have. Back-up running back Wyatt Cody went 29 yards for a touchdown to put Aynor ahead. Cody added the conversion to give Aynor a 30-22 lead with the first half ending with this score.
On Aynor’s first possession of the third quarter the big 250-pound fullback, Ahmad Gerald, ended the drive on a 14-yard touchdown run. Graham ran in the conversion to give Aynor a 38-22 lead with 8:11 left in the third quarter.
The Gators started their next drive near mid-field and three plays later Bethea found Bellmon open for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Gordon ran in the conversion to close The Aynor lead to 38-30 with 6:32 left in the third quarter.
Aynor reserve back, Cade Lewis, finished the Blue Jacket’s drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Gerald ran in the conversion to give the Blue Jackets a 46-30 lead with 4:28 left in the third quarter with the quarter ending with this score.
The Gators knew they were still in this game but needed a break or two as the limited-starting roster was starting to feel the effects of one hot and very humid night. With 8:47 left in the fourth quarter, Bellmon finished the Wild Gator drive with a two-yard touchdown run. Bellmon ran in the two-point conversion that from my angle looked like he made it without a part of his body touching until he was well across the goal line. A line referee called him down before he crossed. Head referee Dennis McDaniel is well known for calling a fair game but he is still only one of five and must rely on the judgment of other referees involved in the game. The referees are human and can and will make mistakes but the outcome always hurts the feelings of the team on the wrong end of a mistake. As the coaches review the game film they may see something that happened before Bellmon got to the end zone that resulted in the call. The Wild Gators trailed 46-36 with time running out.
Aynor took advantage of the tired Lake View team and ran fresh reserves in and out on the next drive and worked on the clock. The big fullback, Gerald, finished the drive on a one-yard run. The conversion failed but the Jackets had a 52-36 lead with 5:37 left in the game.
Lake View fought until the final buzzer and knew they had done their best in this 52-36 loss. Coach King addressed his team after the game and stated that he was proud of the effort but not the loss. He added that he and the coaches were responsible and they were going to correct the players’ mistakes and make them better prepared for each game. Coach King stated that as always he was proud of his team. Wild Gator assistant coach Glenn Edge informed me that Lake View’s new passing attack was out of necessity. Coach Edge stated that they did not have the power backs as in Wild Gator past teams, and the pass puts the speedy Gator runners as receivers for bigger offensive gains.
The Wild Gator backs were hard to stop once they got going as they dodged tackles with ease.
Lake View Statistician, Jimmy Sweat, gave team statistics as follows: on offense, Derrick Bethea was 13 of 16 passing for 270 yards with three touchdowns with one interception, Marvin Gordon had 120 yards on eight carries with a touchdown, Shaheed Dawkins caught nine passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns, Treyvon Bellmon had 41 yards on seven carries with a touchdown and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass and Tyrell Foxworth had six yards on four carries with a two-point conversion run.
On defense, Raekwon McNeil had 12 tackles; Sevon Nichols had seven tackles with a quarterback sack; Camden Humphries had six tackles; Shaheed Dawkins, Jayden Ford, and Michael McDaniel had five tackles each; Treyvon Bellmon had four tackles; Hunter Norton, Tyrell Foxworth, and Luke King had three tackles each; Luke Price and Kamarik Bethea had two tackles each; Taqual McCants, Trey Page, Devin Sampson and Darius Page added a tackle each.
Coach King advised his team that due to COVID they needed to be prepared to play a team that was not on their regular season schedule.

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Photos by Craig Brown
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