Lucy Beckham beats Wando to win battle of Mt. Pleasant; and yes a goat was kissed

MOUNT PLEASANT — Wando High School principal Kim Wilson was a man of his word.

When the final seconds ticked off the clock at Robert E. Hayes Field, Wilson made his way to midfield to honor a bet he had made with Lucy Beckham principal Anna Dassing.

The losing team’s principal would have to kiss Little Billy the Goat.

The Bengals (2-0) used a suffocating defense and Jack Weil kicked two field goals to lead Lucy Beckham past Wando (0-1), 8-6, in the first varsity football matchup between the two Mount Pleasant schools Friday night before a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 10,000 at District 2 Stadium.

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When Wilson laid the big smooch on the Little Billy, the Bengal players, who had gathered to watch, erupted and the celebration was on.

“We’ve had a lot of school spirit all week long as I’m sure Lucy did as well,” Wilson said. “It’s the start of a tradition between Lucy Beckham and Wando and what a great atmosphere tonight. I just wish I didn’t have to kiss the goat.”

The historic significance of the Bengals victory wasn’t lost on Lucy Beckham head coach Jamel Smith, who had served as an assistant coach at Wando for eight years before moving to start the football program three years ago.

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“It means a lot to our school, to our kids and our community,” Smith said. “Hopefully we won some fans over in Mount Pleasant. I’m just so proud of the way we hung in there and fought to the very, very end. This is what we’ve been working for since we started the program, to win games like this. Sometimes it’s not always pretty, but if you keep going until the end good things will happen.”

Neither team was able to generate much of an offense.

The Warriors managed just over 200 yards of total offense, while the Bengals had 178 yards of offense.

“The defense was great, that’s the talent I know we’ve got on this defense,” Smith said. “We just have to apply that each and every play.”

Wando grabbed a 6-0 lead on Warriors’ QB Brooks Lemke’s 79-yard TD pass to Kelby Cash on Wando’s first offensive possession.

Lemke was flushed out of the pocket by a strong Bengals rush, but found Cash over the middle of the field. Cash spun, made a tackler miss at the 40-yard line and raced into the end zone untouched for the TD.

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It would be the only TD of the game for either team.

“Wando got that early touchdown, but we didn’t panic,” Smith said. “We knew there was a lot of time left in the game, we just had to keep grinding and working.”

The Bengals answered midway through the second quarter when Weil kicked a 25-yard field goal with 7:42 left before halftime.

Lucy Beckham closed to within a point, 6-5, when the Warriors snapped the ball over the head of the punter and out of the end zone for a safety three minutes later.

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The Bengals made it eight straight points and took an 8-6 lead on Weil’s 42-yard field goal with 2:27 left before halftime.

Twice the Bengals drove it inside the Warriors’ 20-yard line in the second half only to come away with no points.

The Bengals were stopped inside the 10-yard line on a fourth down play in third quarter and Weil’s had a 27-yard attempt blocked early in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors had one last chance to win the game, driving the ball inside the Bengals' 40. But a sack and two incomplete passes ended the threat.