It may not have meant much to the average spectator, but Calhoun County’s Walter Wilson saw a little meaning in Saturday night’s finale of the Willie Jeffries classic.

With less than 30 seconds to play and his team moving down the field, Wilson watched as his quarterback Brandon Thomas connected with Shamier Jeffrey on a 19-yard slant for a touchdown securing the 7-0 victory for the Saints over Orangeburg-Wilkinson.

“I think this did more for me than than the team coming here,” Wilson said of the game at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. “This is where I played and I told them, ‘I’m coming home and it’s a special thing when you come home.’”

Wilson’s homecoming didn’t start off the way he anticipated early on as the offense failed to move the ball on their first possession. Meanwhile, O-W took an aggressive approach by attacking the right side of the Saints’ secondary.

“We’re a young football team,” Brown said about his players. “So we have to come out and play with an attitude. So we showed some attitude tonight.”

However, the Bruins were unable to keep up the momentum after getting one first down and giving up a sack to USC commit Brandon Golson.

The Saints seemed to find a bit of a rhythm in the second quarter. Calhoun County, slowly but surely, chipped away at the large field they had in front of them by using their running game. Unfortunately, they were unable to take advantage of their position inside the red zone thanks to a costly fumble by Brandon Thomas.

“We have to stay consistent,” Wilson said. “This is Brandon’s third scrimmage at quarterback. I think he did well. He made some errors, but he’s an athlete. He makes plays. It’s just like I told him earlier. He has to stay focused, but he’ll learn from that and he’ll get better as we go.”

After forcing the Bruins to go 3-and-out deep in their own territory on their next possession, Calhoun County knew they had to strike and time was of the essence. Using their no-huddle offense, Thomas orchestrated a drive that began from the Bruins’ 35-yard line. After mixing up the playcalling and keeping the Bruins on their toes, Thomas threw a strike to Jeffrey after finding him open across the middle of the field. Jeffrey broke a couple of tackles and powered his way across the goal line to give his team the lead with just 18 seconds left.

The victory may not count in the record books as far as the standings go, but the win does provide something for the Saints to look back at when the season starts.

“I told them our goal is to get back here,” Wilson said. “I wanted you to see how this field feels so you can get back here when everything is on the line.”

Calhoun County’s next scrimmage will be on the road against Brookland-Cayce while Orangeburg-Wilkinson will host Wilson. Both scrimmages will be Tuesday.

Other results from the Willie Jeffries classic:

North 19, Bethune-Bowman 0

Freddie Martino and Davonta James led the Eagles offense to victory. The duo each came away with a rushing touchdown. Martino also found James for a 6-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

“We’ll see them again this season,” Martino said, “but we’ve got to keep playing hard if we want to pull it out.”

Bethune-Bowman and North will meet on Sept. 11 in Rowesville.

Hunter-Kinard Tyler 20, Denmark-Olar 6

Thanks to three passing touchdowns by Montaurus Gleaton, the Trojans rolled to victory over the Vikings.

Two of the three touchdowns were caught by S.C. State commit Schawn Jamison.

“Last Thursday, we didn’t have the intensity we needed,” Jamison said. “So we picked it up today. We went out, picked up the intensity and played ball.”

Gleaton went 8-of-15 passing for 103 yards.

Battery Creek 8, Darlington 0

Cecil Franklin’s 1-yard touchdown run proved to be the difference for the Dolphins as they edged the Falcons for the win.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt 19, Lake Marion 0

The tandem of Demetrius Williams and O’Keefe Jones each picked up a rushing touchdown by powering through and maneuvering around head coach Chris Carter’s Gator defense. Carl Williams tacked on a 93-yard interception touchdown return for the Red Raiders, giving them just a little more insurance against Lake Marion.

Allendale-Fairfax 16, Scott’s Branch 0

The Tigers didn’t need too much time to put points on the board against the Eagles. Jerrell Priester scored for A-F on their second play from scrimmage with a 52-yard dash to the end zone in the first. Bashaud Breland scored for the Tigers in the second quarter from 50 yards out. The Tigers added two-point conversions after each touchdown.

T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.thetandd.com.

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