Bears look for first win against Bulldogs
Gamecocks strut to victory in Bear Den
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

Junior running back Naigee Lassiter carries the ball as Brandon Brown faces off against the Gamecock defense.

The Burke County Bears (0- 2) hope to change their luck in Augusta this weekend.

Their match up against Butler High School may be the Bears' best chance to pick up their first win of the season. They pounded the Bulldogs 41-0 last year.

The Butler Bulldogs are already in the doghouse this year after suffering two straight losses to open the season. They lost their season opener 47-0 against the Laney High School Wildcats, Burke County head coach Eric Parker's former team. Then, the Bulldogs followed up with a 28- 6 loss to T.W. Josey High School last Friday.

The Bears know the feeling, though. They're rolling off a 28- 6 loss themselves.

The Screven County High School Gamecocks handed them their second loss of the season Friday night in the Bear Den.

The Bears fared alright in the first quarter, picking up three first downs in their first drive of the game. Starting quarterback Tyler Hammett completed a pass to receiver Bobby Burum for a first down, and Hammett ran for the next first down. He then handed off to running back Quinten Holmes for another.

But on a fourth down play in that first drive, 24 yards from the goal line, the Bears failed to gain the first down and began the turnovers that would plague them the rest of the night.

Once the Gamecocks got their footing in the second quarter, they were up and running ... literally.

They had 281 yards rushing for the night compared to Burke County's 56.

Screven County's steady running game began to pay dividends when their third drive sent Gamecocks' Travis Coles to the end zone with about four minutes left in the second quarter.

Within three minutes, Screven County had the ball back in their possession and sent Coles over Burke County's goal line again with just seconds left in the half.

The kick after touchdown passed between the goal posts to put the Bears down 14-0 at halftime.

In the second half, it looked as if the Bears would gain some ground when they blocked a punt in the Gamecocks' first possession. But Screven County recovered the ball for a first down.

The drive ended in a catch that would have put the Bears down by another 6, but a flag was thrown when officials called ineligible receiver.

The Bears weren't able to move the ball on their next possession and ended the third quarter scoreless.

Two drives into the fourth quarter, the Bears' receivers were making good on Hammett's passes, and it looked again as if the Bears were on the move.

Then with 5:21 left on the clock, Screven County intercepted Hammett's pass and ran the ball back to the 43 yard line. On a fourth down play, Screven County's Michael Johnson ran the ball into the end zone to up their lead to 21-0.

With just over a minute left on the play clock, the Bears posted their only points when Hammett completed a touchdown pass to sophomore Terrell Brigham to make the score 21- 6.

The Gamecocks kept coming, though. With 42 seconds left, Screven County's Justin Zeigler ran the ball for another touchdown and added the extra point, making the final score 28-6.

PASS IT ON

The Bears relied heavily on Hammett's arm, which helped chalk up 190 yards.

He completed 13 of 24 passes and threw one touchdown pass.

Sophomore receiver Terrell Brigham led the Bears with 8 catches for 137 yards and their only touchdown. Junior Bobby Burum wrapped his hands around the ball for 5 catches and 53 yards.

UP NEXT Burke County High School vs. Butler High School

Butler's Lumpkin Road stadium in Augusta

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. 2006 result: Bears 41 Bulldogs 0