The much anticipated rematch between region 4A powers Williston-Elko High and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High lived up to its billing for a least one quarter Friday night during the second round playoff game in the Devils Den.

The Trojans, who lost to the Blue Devils High 40-22 Oct. 2 in Norway, looked to even the season score early on as they raced to a 14-12 first quarter lead.

However, that was the extent of the highlight reel for the Trojans for awhile.

Fueled by the running of Kendric Salley, the Blue Devil express shucked off its slow start and kicked into high gear.

In the aftermath, the Blue Devils amassed 336 yards of offense and five touchdowns in a convincing 38-18 victory.

Salley, who has been overshadowed at times by the Blue Devils' Dexter Staley, has emerged as the Blue Devil top ground-gainer during the last half of the season.

Salley wreaked havoc on the Trojan defense, rushing for 206 yards and four touchdowns.

Salley, who has rushed for 768 yards in the last four games, credits the offensive line for his productivity.

"As always the offensive line has done another outstanding job of creating lanes for me to run through," Salley said.

The victory sets up a rematch of last year Upper State Finals between Williston-Elko High and Ware Shoals High School. Last year Williston-Elko defeated Ware Shoals 27-7 to advance to the state finals. The team will meet Friday night in the Williston-Elko High Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

Williston-Elko High head coach Dwayne Garrick said the team had to stepped up its performance to beat a talented Hunter-Kinard-Tyler team.

"They have a very talented group over there and they can present a lot of problems for you," Garrick said.
"Defensively, I thought we played very disciplined. I thought we pressured the quarterback well during game. We didn't allow him to get into any kind of rhythm. Offensively, we just pounded the ball and ate up the clock."

At the start of the game, the Blue Devils looked to make quick work of the Trojans.

Quarterback Tamyn Garrick led his team on a four-play, 65-yard scoring march that ended when Salley navigated his way 24 yards through the defense for a touchdown. After the missed extra point, the Blue Devils led 6-0 with 6:48 left in the first quarter.
Down by a touchdown, the Trojans answered on the ensuing possession. Quarterback Montaurus Gleaton orchestrated a 64-yard drive that he capped on fourth down with a 29-yard strike to Troy Jones for the tying touchdown.

After holding the Blue Devils to a three-and-out, the Trojans offense went back to work. On completions to Reggie Edwards and William Bond, Gleaton drove the Trojans to the Blue Devil 14-yard line.

Two plays later, Gleaton ended the six-play march with a 10-yard pass to Shawn Jamison for a 12-6.

The Trojan lead, however, was short-lived. The Blue Devils struck back quickly on the next possession, going 61 yards in five plays for a touchdown.

Salley completed the drive with a 23-yard run. Salley also ran for the two-point conversion.

Moments later after a three-and-out by the Trojans, the the Blue Devils were threatening again as they drove deep in Trojan territory.

However, a promising drive ended on the six-yard line when the Blue Devils fumbled the ball away to the Trojans.

Three plays after the turnover, the Blue Devils defense stole the momentum back whhen Marcus Bates blitzed up the middle and sacked Gleaton in the end zone for a safety.

After the free kick, it took only two plays for the Blue Devils offense to redeem itself. On a second down play, Garrick zipped a pass to Dexter Staley along the sideline. Staley eluded a defender, broke two tackles and outraced two others before hurdling another defender to get into the end zone.

"That was just Dexter being Dexter. He's a terrific athlete who is very tough to get down when he gets into the open field," Garrick said.

After allowing two touchdowns in the opening quarter, the Blue Devil defense made things tougher on Gleaton and the Trojan offense.

A unit lead by Darryl Salley, Marcus Bates, Andrea Williams and Shamel Harley combined for eight quarterback pressures and three sacks in the second quarter.

Trailing 22-6 with 4:39 left in the first half, things went from bad to worst for the Trojans. During a punt attempt, the snap sailed over the punter's head and was downed at the two-yard line.

The Blue Devils scored quickly on a touchdown run and two-point conversion by Salley to raise their lead to 30-12 at halftime.

The score remained that way until early in the third quarter when Salley scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a nine-yard run. Staley ran for the two-point conversion.

Down 38-12, the Trojans added a late touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Gleaton to D'twante Fulmer.