West Ashley runs wild in playoff win over Goose Creek
Goose Creek - West Ashley rushed for more than 300 yards and overcame an early 14-0 deficit to end Goose Creek’s’ season with a 30-21 win in a first-round game of the Class AAAAA Lower State playoffs. Running backs Kevin Brown and Mason White did most of the damage in the running game.
West Ashley improves to 6-5 on the season while the Gators finish with a 4-7 record. West Ashley will travel to Carolina Forest next week.
“Really proud of our kids. What a performance,” West Ashley head coach Donnie Kiefer said. “We felt like we could run the football and our kids just executed so well. The defense stepped up too. That’s a good Goose Creek offense. We found a way.”
Kiefer said it was West Ashley’s second playoff win in school history.]
The first quarter of the contest belonged to the Gators, who scored twice through air for a 14-0 lead. Goose Creek went 89 yards on 10 plays with their first possession. Quarterback Kymani Clary hit tight end Micah Adams on a 20-yard pass on fourth down and the Gators led, 7-0, with 10:02 left in the first.
Late in the quarter, Clary combined with running back Meliq McGowan on a 43-yard touchdown pass the Gators led, 14-0, with 1:34 left.
The second quarter was all West Ashley. The Wildcats found huge success with the running game off the right side of the offensive line. White and Brown ripped off several runs and Goose Creek had a pair of unsportsmanlike penalties to aid the drive.
Wildcats’ quarterback David Dounian snuck in from a yard out to cut Goose Creek’s lead to 14-7 with 9:51 remaining in the half.
Goose Creek’s offense stagnated on the next few possessions and Brown continued to run for chunks of yards. Brown scored on a 16-yard run to tie the game with 6:45 left before halftime.
West Ashley safety Christopher Dolloff had two interceptions in the first half. Goose Creek was held to zero yards in the second quarter.
West Ashley opened the third quarter and continued to pound away with the running game. The Wildcats went 78 yards on nine plays with Terry Grant scoring on a nine-yard run to give the Wildcats their first lead at 21-14 with 7:26 left in the period.
The Gators answered West Ashley’s drive with an 11-play scoring drive, tying the score on Clary’s six-yard pass to Shy’Juan Grant with 4:01 remaining in the third.
Unfazed, West Ashley went back to work with Brown, though Dounian had a 25-yard run and a 28-yard key pass completion to the one. Brown plunged in from a yard out for a 27-21 lead with 9:56 left in the game. The Wildcats missed the extra point.
After forcing a punt later in the fourth, the Wildcats ticked off more than five minutes off the clock, reaching the Goose one-yard line, A penalty forced West Ashley to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Jacob Adams with 2:17 left in the game. The three points pushed West Ashley’s lead to 30-21.
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