Waccamaw offense stifled in loss to Andrews

Andrews played a game offensively you might expect in an early season opener.

The Yellow Jackets lost three fumbles in the first half, including on the opening kickoff, and struggled to move the ball at times.

But when your defense pitches a shutout, you don’t need a lot from your offense. “We were able to overcome it and win the game basically because of how good the defense played,” Andrews coach Scott Durham said.

Andrews got a touchdown pass from Jaizell Murphy and rushing touchdown from Maleek Johnson in the first half to earn a 14-0 win at Waccamaw.

The Yellow Jackets held Waccamaw to 100 yards of offense and recorded three interceptions – two by Paten Powell and one by C.J. Bone.

“We’ve come a long way with a lot of hard work. It pays off,” Powell said. “We’ve still got a long way to go [on defense] but we’ve got the talent and we’ve got the skills.”

Waccamaw played without arguably its best offensive weapon and another notable senior, as running back Kevin Gasque, who is coming off a 1,300-yard junior season, and defensive end Jabbrel Drayton were held out of the game to nurse injuries – Gasque a sprained ankle and Drayton a sprained knee.

“We just didn’t want to take any chances,” Waccamaw coach Tyronne Davis said. “I want to make sure they’re both healed so they can play their senior years injury free.”

Waccamaw matched Andrews’ mistakes on offense, particularly in the first half.

The Warriors fumbled the snap three times in the first quarter and threw three interceptions in the game.

“Offensively we’d make a move and hurt ourselves with a mistake,” Davis said. “Those are things that happen early in the season and we know we’ve got to go back to work next week and try to fix those problems.”

Andrews also took advantage of a long snap that sailed over the Waccamaw punter’s head to score its second touchdown early in the second quarter.

A 30-yard Brandon Tisdale punt return to the Waccamaw 29 set the Yellow Jackets up for the game’s opening score on a 10-yard Wanyae Moore reception on a quick slant from Murphy on a fourth-and-7.

Following a 26-yard loss on the high snap at the end of Waccamaw’s ensuing possession that gave Andrews the ball on the Warriors’ 24, Johnson tacked on a second touchdown on a 6-yard run up the middle 2:37 into the second quarter.

Andrews’ two scores in a span of 3:08 accounted for all the scoring.

Fumbles stalled Andrews’ next two drives deep into Waccamaw territory.

Andrews reached the Waccamaw 4 midway through the second quarter following an interception by Bone at midfield, but Murphy fumbled on an option play and Ladarious Taylor returned the fumble to the Waccamaw 32. A few minutes later, Johnson fumbled inside the Waccamaw 25.

“It’s tough playing this week. It’s so soon,” said Durham, whose team is coming off a 7-5 season that included a playoff win. “We played about like I expected us to play. We did not practice very well all week, particularly on offense. We had a pretty good defensive week but we were terrible all week on offense in practice and it showed up tonight. … We’ve got to do a better job of preparing to play well.”

Waccamaw, coming off a .500 season, didn’t achieve its inaugural first down until a 13-yard Taylor run with 4:30 remaining in the first half.

It kept itself in the game in the first half with three forced fumbles. The Warriors recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff on the Andrews 20-yard line but immediately committed a motion penalty and turned the ball over on downs.

Waccamaw was on the verge of cutting the deficit to a touchdown on its opening drive in the second half, driving 52 yards on 11 plays to reach the Andrews’ 13, but Powell recorded his first interception at the 2-yard line on one-on-one coverage on the sideline. A 15-yard pass interference penalty on Powell assisted the Warriors on their drive.

“When you mess up you always want to try to make yourself look better, especially when you’ve got a big crowd,” Powell said. “ wanted to come back and do what I was supposed to do. I was there at the right time. I was doing my job.”

Johnson had 76 yards on 16 carries, Tyler Willis added 59 yards on 12 carries and Murphy was 5-of-8 passing for 74 yards, with Moore catching three of those passes for 59 yards.

Waccamaw quarterback Kelton Grant and Taylor combined to gain 55 yards on 25 carries, as both teams were challenged to move the ball on the ground.

“I thought our defense played better in the second half. We made some adjustments,” Davis said.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Waccamaw offense stifled in loss to Andrews."