Beaufort, SC -- A depleted roster and mistakes hurt the Wildcats in their season opener at Beaufort when they went into enemy turf to play the Eagles, dropping the game 28-8.

With 54 players, including many starters missing the contest after being placed on quarantine, Head Coach Matt LeZotte would have to pull some different tricks out of his bag.

The Wildcats would come out with a different gameplan, running a lot of wildcat formation with minimal passing in response to starting junior quarterback Ty Goldrick being a quarantined player.

Freshman backup quarterback Caleb Easterling and junior running back Zion Gilliard would be the main yard getters for the Wildcats over the duration of the game.

The duo would combine for 135 rushing yards and Easterling would only throw three passes, completing two for 21 yards.

Once the Wildcats defense lined up after the offense was stopped near the halfway mark of the field, they would hold firm, forcing a three and out on the Eagles.

With a 3rd and 19 for the Wildcats, Easterling would try to use his feet to gain the first down but would fall short by five yards as Richmond Hill elected to punt.

On their next possession, the Eagles broke free of the Wildcats’ stingy defense, securing their first first down off a Tyler Haley pass to Michael Dennison for 27 yards.

Then Haley would find Zyrin Odom before the receiver fell short at the goal line.

On the next play, running back Amariee Morris scored from the one, taking a 7-0 lead for the Eagles going with 2:38 left in the first quarter.

The period would end with the Eagles having possession after the Wildcats failed to score.

Morris came out on the first play of the second and rushed for a 21-yard score to take a 14-0 lead over the Wildcats.

Wildcats’ safety Tommy Bliss gave his team a needed jolt, receiving the kickoff from the Eagles and going the distance for the Wildcats first score of the game on a 95-yard return to bring the score to 14-6 with 11:32 to go in the second.

No more scores would come in the quarter, but Bliss blocked the Eagles’ punt later in the second, placing the Wildcats on the Eagles’ 12.

“Tommy is just competitive,” LeZotte said about the senior. "He showed up ready to go and had great energy. He just needs to continue to work hard and be the great leader that he is.”

After Caleb Easterling attempted to get the ball to Hayden McCullough in the endzone before it was broken up, the Wildcats would settle for three but missed, heading into the intermission down by eight still.

No scores would happen in the third quarter with both teams struggling to gain momentum down the field.

Coming into the fourth quarter, the Eagles would be in the Wildcats territory, at the 22-yard line.

Bound to score, Morris would get a pitch and score on three-yard pitch to gain a 21-6 lead for the Eagles with 9:37 left in the game.

With a little over two minutes left in the game, the Wildcats forced a safety, getting their final score of the night.

Under a minute later, Eagles linebacker Zack Talbert stripped the ball from Gilliard and returned it for a 50-yard fumble recovery touchdown.

“We knew we were going to be limited in a bunch of different aspects of the game,” LeZotte said. “But our guys were eager for an opportunity to step up and shine. We stayed in the fight and made a lot of mistakes because we were playing with a lot of young guys. I was proud of the guys and the circumstances we prepared them under. It’s tough when you can’t go outside to practice, and you got to replace everyone. But the game means more than wins and losses. These guys worked too hard in the offseason to miss out on an opportunity.”

The Wildcats dropped to 0-1 and will be on a bye week next Friday.

The next time they will be in action is when they head to Jesup to face Wayne County in a non-region contest on September 3.