Burke County Escapes with Win Over North Augusta
Costly mistakes for North Augusta; flashes of brilliance from Flowers; the relentless rushing of Curry and the impact of Arroyo tell the story of Friday's "border bash"
Burke County benefitted from three costly turnovers by North Augusta on its way to a 33-27 road win over the Yellow Jackets Friday. The Bears (2-0) withstood a furious North Augusta comeback that saw the Yellow Jackets erase a 20-7 first half deficit to force overtime behind two long field goals by Iowa bound kicker Drew Stevens, and a pair of second half touchdown completions from Colson Brown to Xavier Davis.
But Burke County’s well rounded offensive attack and its “all hats to the ball” approach to slowing down North Augusta’s bruising running back DJ Curry proved to be enough to allow the Bears to grab an impressive road win in only their second game in the season’s first five weeks. Junior quarterback Marshall Flowers capped a strong outing with the game winning touchdown on the first play of overtime when he ran it in from 15 yards out. Flowers, a 6’4” second year starter for the Bears, completed 13 of 22 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 70 yards and 2 scores.
“Give credit to playing hard,” Burke County head coach Eric Parker said after the game. “Not always smart. Didn’t always execute great. But it’s good to be 2-0 going back to practice.”
Charlie Dorsey gained 108 yards on 14 carries, and Eldrick Williams added another 64 yards on the ground for the Bears. The pair tag teamed their way to an 80-yard third quarter scoring drive that ate up 6 minutes of clock and gave Burke County a 27-13 cushion after Williams punched it in from 3 yards out. Dorsey started the drive by gaining 46 yards on a rush around the right end.
North Augusta’s Comeback
But with the exception of that drive by Burke County, the third and fourth quarters (and the final seconds of the second) belonged to North Augusta. The comeback started when Stevens nailed a 43-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to cut Burke County’s lead to 20-10. Stevens topped that feat in the third quarter with a 50-yarder that cut the lead to 7.
Then on the very first snap after the Yellow Jackets fell behind 27-13, their comeback gained steam when Davis skied high into the air at midfield to grab a pass from Brown. When he came down, he avoided a tackle and ran for a 70-yard touchdown reception to make it a one score game again. On North Augusta’s next offensive series, Brown and Davis again connected for a touchdown when Davis took a screen pass 24 yards to to the end zone tie the game at 27 with 7:42 remaining.
Curry’s relentless rushing powered all four scoring drives during North Augusta’s comeback. The junior gained 140 yards on 21 carries and added another 24 yards after catching a screen pass. The Yellow Jackets looked poised to take the lead on their final drive of regulation when Curry carried the ball three times to move it from Burke County’s 41 yard line to just inside the 5. But a botched snap that Burke County recovered with a little more than 4 minutes remaining eventually led to a 27-27 tie at the end of regulation. And after Flowers scored to give the Bears a lead, it was Curry who coughed it up on the game’s final play to clinch the win for the visitors.
Arroyo a Force for his New Team
Standout defensive lineman Ivan Arroyo recorded 2 sacks and 3 tackles for a loss to lead Burke County’s defense. Asked how his unit was able to withstand Curry’s onslaught, Arroyo praised teammates like Khyron Fields, who forced the game’s first turnover on a strip sack that resulted in a scoop-and-score by teammate Jeremiah Whitfield. Arroyo also singled out Jermaine Jones and Brandon Lively, among others.
“We just had to fly around the ball,” said the senior transfer from Hephzibah. “Because at practice, we knew Curry was a pretty good back. He was gonna be a tough dude to tackle, so all hats to the ball. And we got the ‘dub.’”
Arroyo, Jones, Lively and Fields wreaked havoc in the North Augusta backfield during the first half while the Bears executed impressively. Parker explained why he thinks Burke County will be at its best when the players feed off of each other’s effort.
“We’re good as a unit,” Parker explained. “We don’t have those individual guys that can just put us on their back and go make plays and, you know, where they’re the person that everybody else has to stop. We just have to do it by committee. Once we accept that, and realize that every play I just have to play great… star in my role is what we call it… I think we’re going to end up being a pretty good team.”
Sustained Bear Drives
After a three-and-out on its first series, Burke County’s offensive execution matched that of the defense during the first half. During a 65 yard touchdown drive, Flowers impressed by running for 27 yards for a first down on third-and-24, only to have the play called back because of a penalty. But on the next snap, Flowers found Jaylen Golphin over the middle for a 26 yard completion to convert the first down after all. Flowers finished that drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter the Bears marched 99 yards for a score on another drive to take a 20-7 lead after Flowers and Golphin connected again, this time on a 32-yard touchdown completion.
Impressive Passing Numbers for the Sophomore Brown
North Augusta’s only points before the final play of the first half came on the third play from scrimmage when Brown connected with DaRon Dunbar for a 65-yard touchdown completion that gave the Yellow Jackets a 7-0 lead.
Brown, a sophomore, completed 9 of 13 passes for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns for North Augusta (2-3).
Up Next
Burke County will open region play next week on the road against Cross Creek (1-3). North Augusta will host Laurens (1-3).
Bonus Coverage: Evans at WACO
#10 Washington County (2A) topped #8 Evans (6A) 43-26 in Sandersville. WACO improved to 2-0 while Evans dropped its first game as the Knights (4-1) prepare to begin region play October 1 against rival Grovetown (1-3) on MeTV.
Charles McNeil and Seth Wesley reported live Friday from the House of Pain for AugBball.