y CINDY CROSBY
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The Colleton County Cougars defeated Bluffton High School 28-7 in the Region VII-AAAA opener played on the road Friday Sept. 25.
The Cougars had 380 yards of total offense with six penalties for 45 yards. Bluffton had 296 offensive yards and 11 penalties for 95 yards.
The Cougars went on the board for a 6-0 lead with 6:40 left on the clock in the first quarter. Quarterback Nayrone Holmes connected with his receiver for a 36-yard touchdown pass (two-point conversion) to give Colleton County a 14-0 lead heading into the half. Bluffton managed to convert a fourth down and score on the next play to make it 14-7 with 1:49 left in the third quarter.
Trey Magwood had a good run with less than a minute left in the third quarter to put the Cougars in scoring position. They capitalized to make the score 21-7 with 17 seconds on the clock in the third quarter.
The Cougars had an 87-yard touchdown with less than three minutes left in the game.
Quarterback Nayrone Holmes was 5-9 in passing for 160 yards and threw two touchdowns. He rushed for 121 yards and scored two touchdowns.
JaTodd Allen had two receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown, and Jorryn Simmons had three catches for 116 yards and one touchdown.
Jackie White rushed 13 times for 53 yards and Trey Magwood had nine carries for 46 yards.
On defense, Daryl Green had six solo tackles and two assists to lead the Cougars. Antawn Griffin had five tackles and three assists, and Jaheim Bellamy had three tackles.
“I was proud of how our guys have overcome so much adversity just to be on the field,” said Coach Coby Peeler. “We weren’t perfect, and there’s a lot to clean up, but I thought we were focused and extremely physical. I’d take this group to war any day. They battle.”
Colleton County’s conference game scheduled for Friday October 2 has been moved to November 6.
“We have been notified by Hilton Head High School that they will not be able to play next week due to having to quarantine because of positive COVID-19 cases,” said Wayne Alston, Colleton County District athletic director. “We have rescheduled with them for Nov. 6 here at Colleton County. We will not be rescheduling for Oct. 2 due to an inability to find a team willing to travel to Colleton. We will have a JV home game Oct. 8. The next home varsity game will be Oct. 16 versus May River.”
