BEAUFORT – The 2013 Blythewood Bengals football season came to an end Friday night in a rain-soaked 23-15 loss to the Beaufort Eagles in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. The Eagles move on to face North Augusta in the second round of the Class 4-A Division II playoffs on Nov. 22.
“They’re going to be a problem for North Augusta,” said Blythewood head coach Dan Morgan, whose team finished 7-5. “The fact that they can control the clock as well as they do is one of the biggest things, and one of the best ways to stop a throwing team like us and North Augusta. Shorten that game and get a little more sense of urgency, a lot of pressure on every series that you’ve got to get the ball down the field.”
The Eagles used a ball-control offense to maintain possession 25 minutes longer than the Bengals Friday night, running 33 more plays. Beaufort’s running backs ate up 274 yards in their keep-away ground game.
The Eagle defense, meanwhile, snuffed out Blythewood’s running game, holding the Bengals to just 60 yards on a dozen rushes. That, and a 17-7 third-quarter Beaufort lead, forced the Bengals into a throw-first offense that the Eagle defense covered up. While Blythewood quarterback David Israel threw for 205 yards, Beaufort’s Malcolm Simmons intercepted two Israel passes on Blythewood’s final three drives, one setting up a Beaufort field goal and the other sealing the win after Blythewood had closed the gap to 23-15. Beaufort safety Jordan Clegg also intercepted a pass during the second half, making up ground on a receiver at the last instant and snatching the ball away. All in all, the Eagle defense forced Israel into 28 incompletions on the night.
Penalties also hurt the Bengals. After a short punt set them up with good field position at the Eagles’ 38, down only 17-7 in the third quarter, Blythewood was flagged for an ineligible receiver and unsportsmanlike conduct. Beaufort’s Kentrell Seabrook ended the drive with a sack to force a punt on fourth-and-51.
Beaufort’s Ben Vaigneur and Jeffrey Tookes scored on short touchdown runs for the Eagles, while Brady Cormier kicked three field goals to provide the difference.
Blythewood – 7-0-0-0-8 — 15
Beaufort High – 0-10-7-6 — 23
First quarter
BLY — Aaron Peak 33 run. Greg Huegel kick. (2:01)
Second quarter
BFT — Ben Vaigneur 3 run. Brady Cormier kick. (8:41)
BFT — Cormier 21 FG. (2:32)
Third quarter
BFT — Jeffrey Tookes 1 run. Cormier kick. (7:15)
Fourth quarter
BFT — Cormier 48 FG. (4:57)
BFT — Cormier 25 FG. (2:25)
BLY — Javon Smith 80 pass from David Israel. Trae Churn 3 pass from Israel. (2:07)
Team Stats
BLY BFT
First Downs 11 20
Rushes-Yards 12-60 68-274
C-A-I 14-32-3 4-9-1
Passing Yards 205 50
Punts-Avg 4-45.2 3-31.3
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-69 6-36
Third-Down Conv. 3-10 6-17
Fourth-Down Conv. 1-2 3-3
Individual stats
PASSING: Blythewood — David Israel 14-32-3-205; Beaufort High — Ben Vaigneur 4-9-1-50.
RUSHING: Blythewood — Aaron Peak 4-50, Jalen Williams 1-8, Jaquari Blunt 4-8, Joseph Richardson 1-1; Beaufort High — Eric Blakely 26-152, Jeffrey Tookes 30-83, Ben Vaigneur 10-35, Da’Quan Cason 1-5.
RECEIVING: Blythewood — Javon Smith 4-111, Lynard Jamison 4-53, Richardson 2-20, Deyon Grayer 2-11; Beaufort High — Cason 2-33, Stephen Baggett 1-10, Keaton Butler 1-7.