Ellington lifts Stags to Region 7-AAAA title

Photo Gallery

Berkeley vs Goose creek

Berkeley won the Region 7-AAAA title by beating Goose Creek, 45-37, at Goose Creek on Friday night.

Goose Creek -- Bruce Ellington's first carry went for a touchdown.

So did his last one.

In between, it was more of the same as the Stags scored on all but one offensive possession.

The senior quarterback rushed for 216 yards, passed for 102 more and accounted for five Berkeley touchdowns as the Stags knocked off Goose Creek, 45-37, at John Fulmer Field on Friday night.

"He reminds me a lot of Freddie Solomon," Berkeley coach Jerry Brown said. "I'm sure a lot of the old-timers remember him. He's one of the best players in South Carolina."

The win gave the Stags (9-1, 4-0 Region 7-AAAA) their second region championship in three years and guaranteed Brown's team one of the top seeds for the Class AAAA Division II playoffs, which begin in two weeks.

"It's good to be a champion," Brown said. "That was our goal when we started off. Again, people have to come through Moncks Corner to go to Columbia."

Ellington, just selected to the South Carolina Shrine Bowl team Thursday, needed just one play and a few seconds to get Berkeley past the memories of last week's 28-20 loss to Summerville, which was a lot worse than the final score indicated. Ellington had just 79 total yards in the loss.

After a Goose Creek punt, he took Berkeley's first play 52 yards for a touchdown.

"That was big," Brown said. "It reminded me of the Stratford game (a 55-35 Berkeley win). It was the same play."

Ellington also scored on runs of 56 and 36 yards and averaged 12 yards a carry for the game.

"I give all the credit to the offensive line and the receivers for their blocking," Ellington said. "Coach Brown did a great job calling plays. He told us that we had to forget about last week and come win a region championship."

Goose Creek (7-3, 3-1 region) did hang around after falling behind 39-21 late in the third quarter, scoring on Ranoy Hines' 4-yard run with 15 seconds left in the game. He also ran in the two-point try to give the Gators a little bit of life.

Ironically, Berkeley's R.J. Robinson grabbed the onside kick to seal it. It was the only time the Stags' big-play return man got a chance to touch the ball on a kickoff return. The Gators kicked everything short all night, not giving Robinson an opportunity for his fifth kickoff return for a touchdown this season.

Ellington had 108 yards at the break as took a 17-13 Berkeley lead at the half. After Rakheem White rushed for 7 yards to convert a third-and-6, Ellington needed two plays to break another long one, racing 56 yards down the visiting sideline to make it 23-13 with 8:50 left in the third quarter.

Then it got worse for Goose Creek. The Gators' return man slipped at the 1 while fielding the ensuing kickoff, and Goose Creek had to jump on a fumble in its own end zone on the next play, giving Berkeley a safety and a 25-13 lead.

The very first play from scrimmage afterward, Ellington found Robinson wide open in the middle of the field and he raced the rest of the way on a 43-yard touchdown pass to make it 33-13. His other touchdown pass was a 53-yard strike to Pernell Irving in the second quarter. He finished 3 of 5 passing.

Dante Richardson's 5-yard touchdown run made it 39-21 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter before the Gators mounted a rally to make it respectable, outscoring the Stags 16-6 in the final quarter.

Hines' 4-yard run for a score late gave him a team-high 127 yards on the ground. Marsh added 83 rushing yards and was 4 of 11 passing for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Berkeley takes on Fort Dorchester next week, while Goose Creek travels to Beaufort.

B--Bruce Ellington 52 run (Patrick Jackson kick)

B--Jackson 26 FG

GC--Virgil Smalls 1 run (Daniel Smith kick)

B--Pernell Irving 53 pass from Ellington (Jackson kick)

GC--James Robinson 32 pas from Jaquan Marsh (kick blocked)

B--Ellington 56 run (kick failed)

B--Safety, Goose Creek has to fall on fumble in end zone

B--RJ Robinson 43 pass from Ellington

GC--Marsh 25 run (Smalls run)

B--Dante Richardson 5 run (pass failed)

GC--Marsh 29 run (Tramel Terry run)

B--Ellington 36 run (kick failed)

GC--Ranoy Hines 4 run (Hines run)