JOHNSTON – Williston-Elko head coach Dwayne Garrick tried a little bit of everything.

He used two quarterbacks, alternated between the spread and the wishbone on offense and even attempted a halfback pass – but nothing worked against the Strom Thurmond defense and the second-ranked Rebels steam-rolled the Blue Devils 45-8 Friday.

Strom Thurmond junior running back Darius Hammond rushed for 130 yards on just 11 carries and had three scores to lead the Rebels to victory. Senior quarterback Raleigh Yeldell was 7-12 passing for 134 yards and rushed for 83 yards. Malcolm Watkins also rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns for Strom Thurmond.

“I was pretty pleased with what I saw tonight,” said Strom Thurmond head coach Lee Sawyer. “I would hate to have to try to cover all three of those guys back there because they can each do something a little different.”

Williston-Elko senior running back and University of South Carolina commitment Kendric Salley totaled 126 yards on 22 carries, but most of those yards came in the second half against Strom Thurmond reserves and he did not score.

Still, Garrick saw some positive aspects despite the lopsided score.

“I knew there were going to be some tough times over here tonight, but I saw some positive things,” he said. “I thought Kendric ran hard tonight and I saw some young kids step in and run around and make some plays and some older guys who showed some character out there and didn’t quit and just kept playing hard.”

During the first quarter, both teams swapped offensive possessions before Hammond nearly broke a punt return for a score. A few plays later Yeldell did score, but the play was called back on a penalty (one of three scores called back for the Rebels). Eventually, however, Hammond crossed the goal line and kicker Trent Miller nailed the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

That score finished the period, but the Rebels were only getting warmed up and added 24 additional points for a 31-0 margin at halftime. Williston-Elko was finally able to ram home a score in the second half, but the Strom Thurmond first team offense went right back down the field and quickly pushed the final margin to 45-8.  

Strom Thurmond travels to face Lucy C. Laney High this Thursday, while Williston-Elko takes on Barnwell, a 40-0 winner Friday over Blackville-Hilda.