Stratford rallies from 17-0 deficit to beat Berkeley
Goose Creek - While there is still a lot of football to play in the 2025 regular season, Friday night’s region 7-AAAAA game between Berkeley and Stratford had the feel of a championship game.
Certainly, the winner of the game would be in position to win the region, and it was obvious that both teams had that idea.
Stratford scored 21 unanswered points in the second-half to claim a 21-17 win, improving to 5-1 on the season. The Knights won for just the third time in the last 10 meetings against their county rivals.
Berkeley fell to 4-2 in a game that saw the Stags dominate the first half to claim a 17-0 halftime lead.
Stratford running back Maliq McGowan finished with 227 rushing, most coming in the second half rally. McGowan, who transferred to Stratford from Goose Creek in July, was not selected to play in either of the state’s two all-star games.
“Berkeley was kicking our butt in the first half,” Stratford head coach Dennie McDaniel said. “We told the kids at halftime that we couldn’t score 17 points on one play. We had to one play at a time. This is a resilient group. They just kept playing.
“I feel like they got a little tired in the second half so their pass rush slowed down. Our kids didn’t give up. I am really proud of them.”
The first quarter was basically a stalemate until the Stags took a 7-0 lead on a 34-yard pass from Henry Rivers to Elijah Mitchell with :40 seconds remaining in the quarter. Rivers finished the night with 101 yards rushing and 116 yards passing.
Stratford’s offense struggled to get going throughout the first half but that would change. Berkeley turned a blocked punt into a score in the second quarter. Jahmir Heyward blocked the punt and later scored a touchdown on a two-yard run.
Ryland Curwen added a 35-yard field goal with six seconds left in the first half for Berkeley’s final points of the night.
Early in the third, McGowan got his game going, breaking off a 38-yard run to the Berkeley 14. However, the Knights ended up losing a fumble inside the five-yard line.
Berkeley could not move out of their own one and a punt gave the Knights great field position at the Berkeley 35-yard line. The Knights turned that into a score as Jachin Davis hit DQ Crosby on a nine-yard touchdown pass midway through the third period.
McGowan’s 25-yard run later in the quarter set up a 16-yard pass from Davis to McGowan, cutting the Berkeley lead to 17-14 with 1:18 left in the period.
Berkeley returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown but a penalty nullified the score. The Stags were penalized several times during the second half.
With 5:52 to play in the game, McGowan ripped of a 44-yard scoring run to push Stratford to a 21-17 lead. Berkeley was unable to move the ball and Stratford ran out the clock inside the Stags’ 10.
Stratford will play at Lucy Beckham next week while Berkeley will play at Goose Creek.
