Berkeley rolls past West Florence inAAAA opening round

Berkeley 37, West Florence 6

MONCKS CORNER — Finish the job.

A year ago, the Berkeley Stags made it all the way to the Division II-AAAA Lower State final, only to lose to Conway.

This year, the Stags just want to finish what they started last season and capture their third state title since 1994.

Berkeley took a step in that direction Friday night, as Andre Ellington rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the Stags' 37-6 victory over West Florence in the opening round of the playoffs at Bonner Stadium.

The Stags (10-2) will host South Pointe next Friday night. The Knights finished the season 7-5.

"We got close last year. We got to within a game of the state championship game, and this year we just want to finish the job we set out to do," said Berkeley coach Jerry Brown, who guided the Stags to state titles in 1994 and 1996. "That's kind of been the theme all season: finish the job."

Ellington, who did not play after the third quarter, rushed 24 times and scored on two 1-yard runs to lead Berkeley's offense.

"The offensive line did a great job," Ellington said. "(West Florence) has a really good defense. We knew it was going to be tough. But they got the job done."

Brown said any chance to rest Ellington should pay dividends during the rest of the playoffs.

"We need Andre on the field," Brown said. "We need him healthy if we're going to get where we want to get; he's got to be on the field for us. Any chance I can get to rest him is a positive."

While West Florence had some success throwing the ball, the Stags' defense came up with four turnovers to limit the Knights to just one TD.

"The defense played well when they had to," Brown said. "We had some trouble with some of their curl routes and underneath stuff, but overall they played pretty well."

West Florence quarterback Paul Pizzuti completed 13 of 25 passes for 171 yards and one TD.

Ellington gave Berkeley a 7-0 lead when he scored from 1 yard out on the Stags' first possession of the game.

"We wanted to get a touchdown on them early," Ellington said. "We didn't want them to think they were in the game."

The Stags pushed their advantage to 14-0 on Nick Orvin's 55-yard bomb to wide receiver Thomas Brittle with 9:30 left in the second quarter.

The Knights cut the gap to 14-6 on Pizzuti's 18-yard TD pass to Charlie Abbott with 6:12 left before halftime.

Ellington capped another long Berkeley drive with a 1-yard TD run midway through the second quarter to give the Stags a 21-6 lead.

Berkeley extended its advantage to 28-6 just before halftime on a busted play during a field goal attempt. The Stags lined up for a 37-yard field goal, but a bad snap forced Brittle, the team's holder on field goals, to scramble after the ball. Brittle rolled to his left and launched the ball into the end zone, where tight end Jantzen Glanton hauled in the pass for the score as time ran out in the half.

The Stags blocked a West Florence punt and Berkeley linebacker Kyle Shepard recovered the ball in the end zone for a TD with 9:22 left in the fourth quarter for the final margin.

B — Andre Ellington 1 run (Jonathan Hill kick)

B — Thomas Brittle 55 pass from Nick Orvin (Jonathan Hill kick)

WF — Charlie Abbott 18 pass from Paul Pizzuti (kick failed)

B — Andre Ellington 1 run (Jonathan Hill kick)

B —Thomas Brittle 27 pass to Jantzen Glanton (Jonathan Hill kick)

B — Jonathan Hill 30 FG

B — Kyle Shepard recovers blocked punt in the end zone (kick failed)