CORDOVA, S.C. - Brandon Green's debut as starting quarterback for Orangeburg-Wilkinson Friday night at Cougar Stadium started out in forgettable fashion.

Not only did the junior Bruin struggle with his passing against an inspired Edisto team, Green left the game early in the third quarter with a leg injury.

Upon returning to the game late in the fourth quarter, Green provided Bruin fans with a dramatic, memorable ending.

Green's two-point conversion on a screen pass to Eric King provided the winning margin for O-W's 20-19 double-overtime victory over the Cougars. It was the second straight win in the series for the Bruins (1-0), while the Cougars (0-1) suffered their fifth straight season-opening setback.

"I already knew it was going to be a hard-fought game," Green said. "Most of my family and friends are from down here, so I already knew how it would be like. I just came out, fought hard with my team and came away with the victory with the help of my coaching staff."

"Brandon's a competitor, that's the thing we like about him," O-W head coach Reggie Kennedy said. "I think his legs are little ahead of his arm right now, while Josh (Charles who substituted for Green in the second half) is vice-versa. His arm is ahead of his legs. So we try to do things that try to fit Brandon...but we've got to get his arm caught up with his legs."

The 2-1/2 hour contest featured various shifts of momentum that left both teams drained but proud at the end of the contest. Each had opportunities to come away with a hard-fought victory, only to make critical mistakes at crucial times.

With the score tied at 6-6 with 51.3 seconds remaining, Edisto was driving deep into O-W territory when running back Johnny Moorer lost the football at the 8-yard line. After Green completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Ford to make it 12-6, the Bruins' defense appeared to seal the victory when they forced an incomplete pass on fourth down by Edisto quarterback Kamrie Connell.

Instead, a roughing-the-passer penalty was assessed on O-W and Edisto capitalized on the fresh set of downs with Charles Fredrick's second TD of the game from four yards.

Victory again eluded Edisto as Joe Woodward's PAT attempt sailed wide right of the goalpost to the shock of the Cougar fans.

Edisto opened with possession in the second overtime and took its first and only lead on Connell's 6-yard touchdown scamper. The third PAT attempt was the charm for Woodward as he connected just inside the right goalpost to put the Cougars up 19-12.

Green again proved to be "money" for O-W in the second overtime as he found Ford just inside the goal line to make it 19-18. Although Ford had to be helped off the field after the catch, O-W still opted to go for the victory.

Taking advantage of the charging Edisto defense, Green floated a short pass to King, who turned upfield and dove into the end zone for the two-point score.

"My offensive coordinator, John Jones called that one," O-W head coach Reggie Kennedy said. "He said 'Coach, they're coming. Let's try the screen down here.' We wanted to go back to Eric Ford, but he got hurt. So we decided to Eric King and he came through for us."

The first half was an exercise of futility for both offenses as they combined for 65 total yards. Edisto actually had more possessions than O-W and had a 47-34 edge in the rushing department.

The Cougars' passing game was nonexistent, thanks in large part to the fierce pressure applied up front by the Bruins' defense. O-W sacked Connell four times in the first half, two by defensive lineman Clinton Gidron, while linebacker Sterling Lucas was omnipresent in applying punishing hits to the Cougar running backs.

O-W's offense was equally plagued by problems caused up front by the aggressive-playing Cougars, who had four sacks on the evening. The Bruins also had difficulty with the center/quarterback exchange, leading to a fumble late in the first half.

Ironically, Lucas accounted for the Bruins' longest play from scrimmage in the first half as he turned in a 28-yard run while attempting to punt.

O-W's defense would set up the lone score of the contest early in the first half. On the third play of the game, Bruin cornerback Marvin Howell picked off Connell at around the Edisto 28 and returned it 20 yards.

"We had that turnover on the first darn series and we talked about that all week with field possession and what not, and dern if we let them have a turnover and let them have a short field," Edisto head coach Andy Palmer said.

Two plays later, Green threw a short screen pass to running back Jacob Meyers, who turned it into a 6-yard touchdown reception. The PAT was blocked, leaving the score 6-0 at halftime.

Edisto quickly seized the momentum in the second half. After forcing O-W to punt on its first series, Brian Brown caught the ball at midfield and scampered 28 yards to the 22-yard line.

After a face-mask penalty regained the yards lost on an O-W sack, Edisto converted a crucial fourth down on a 3-yard run by Connell to set up first-and-goal at the 10. Three plays later, Fredrick scored from 4 yards to tie the game.

The Cougars' bid to take the lead was thwarted when the Bruins blocked the PAT attempt by Woodward.

On the first play of O-W's next series, Green left the game with the leg injury and was replaced was Joshua Charles.. The sophomore quickly provided a shot in the arm of the offense with two completions of 25 and 13 yards to Eric Ford to advance the Bruins into Cougar territory.

The drive stalled at the Edisto 23 following an incomplete pass by Charley.

With 5:48 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cougars embarked on what their fans hoped would be the game-ending drive. Pounding away on the ground against the tiring O-W defense, Edisto moved the football close to field goal range with less than a minute remaining.

Instead, Moorer fumbled the football away to O-W, whose choice to play for overtime would eventually prove wise.

O-W plays its home opener next week against Colleton County, while Edisto plays host to Calhoun County.

"It was all heart on both sidelines," Palmer said. "I know it was all heart on my sidelines and to come out on top 20-19, I know it had to be all heart on (O-W's) sidelines."

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