Tyrone Walker/Post and Courier

Goose Creek running back Ranoy Hines (21) cuts the ball up field while Stratford defensive back Tyrie Poinsette looks to make the tackle.

Tyrone Walker/Post and Courier

Goose Creek’s Albert Kirk (17) returns a punt up the field as Stratford’s Ryan Barnwell (32) moves in for the tackle.

Rob Gantt/Gazette

Stratford’s cheerleaders support their team against Goose Creek.

Gators top Knights in Friday night nail-biter

Goose Creek football coach Chuck Reedy breathed a huge sigh of relief and finally showed a smile with under a minute left in the game, knowing his team had just staved off a spirited effort from its biggest rival.

The Gators defeated Stratford 14-13 Friday night to extend their winning streak in the series to three games. It wasn’t until a field-goal try from Stratford kicker Cole Rymer missed its mark from 42 yards with 30 seconds left that Reedy’s team could exhale.

“We bent a little bit but we didn’t break,” Reedy said. “I’m proud of our football team for finding a way to win the game.”

The Gators’ Jawaun Foreman dropped two interceptions that would have killed the final drive earlier, and the Knights eventually converted a fourth-and-long on a pass from Chris Hanna to Brant Sally to keep it alive. The Knights bogged down at the 25 and turned to Rymer, who had already hit from 25 and 30 from the game.

“I was just praying over there, praying very hard,” Reedy said.

After the miss, Goose Creek took one snap and ran out the final 30 seconds. It was a tough loss for the Knights, who fell to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in region play.

“I’m very proud of our kids,” said Stratford coach Ray Stackley, whose team was playing without nine players suspended a week earlier for their role in a postgame skirmish at Summerville. “I thought we played our hearts out. We had a great chance to win the football game against a very good football team.”

The Gators upped their mark to 4-2 overall and successfully started defense of their Region 7-AAAA championship.

Stratford was missing its top two receivers and running back but still rolled up over 300 yards of offense, more than half on the Hanna to Sally connection. The Knights’ defense was intact and held Goose Creek to just over 200 yards of offense.

Hanna was 14 of 30 for 192 yards.

“I give them a tremendous amount of credit for playing like they did with all the adversity they were facing,” Reedy said.  “They’re a great program and they’re a measuring stick for us.”

Hanna’s 65-yard touchdown connection to Sally less than 90 seconds in the first half gave Stratford a 10-7 lead.  The two connected six times for 158 yards during the game.

Stratford’s Shaquille Brown pounced on a fumble on Goose Creek’s ensuing possession and the Knights went up 13-7 on Rymer’s second field goal with 7:12 left in the third quarter.

But the Gators came back with one of their two productive drives to reclaim the lead, going 74 yards in nine plays to score on Virgil Smalls’ 1-yard plunge with 3:40 left in the third quarter. Ranoy Hines’ 25-yard run to the 1 set up the score.

Daniel Smith’s extra point made it 14-13.

Smalls led all Gators with 79 grounds yards, followed by Hines with 69.

Goose Creek failed on fourth down on its first series but held Stratford on three plays to get the ball back and drove 70 yards in 17 plays to make it 7-0 on Smalls’ 1-yard plunge and Smith’s extra point with 10:55 left in the first half.

Stratford cut into its deficit on the ensuing possession, competing a pair of 25-yard passes to Sally to get to Goose Creek’s 5. But the Gators defense held firm and Stratford settled for Rymer’s first field goal with 6:55 left in the first half.

Straford then got an onsides kick but was unable to move the ball and had to punt.

Goose Creek’s Malcolm Howard got through to block the kick and raced up the field before fumbling it back to Stratford.

The Knights moved down the field near the end of the first half but Foreman made an interception in the back of the end zone in the closing seconds and the scored stayed 7-3.

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