BRANCHVILLE, S.C. — The Wolverines fought hard after their kickoff was delayed due to the inclement weather, but came up short in their second half comeback attempt. Whitmire(0-1) fell 38-30 to Branchville(1-0) in their season opener on Friday, Aug. 21.
Whitmire was one of two area teams that opened their 2026 season on the road and they had to battle on and off the field. The off the field battle came against the bad weather that many teams experienced across the state in the opening weekend. The on the field battle was just as tough as they found themselves trailing by two scores at the half.
The Yellow Jackets got off to a fast start after the long weather delay and was able to get into the end zone three times and made a field goal to give themselves a 24-14 lead at halftime.
Branchville would add to their lead in the third quarter to make it a 30-14 game before the Whitmire made their run. Whitmire’s offense got rolling and they would score 16 unanswered points.
They trailed 30-22 midway through the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game. Unfortunately, senior quarterback Kaden Malpass committed one turnover all night and came at the worst possible time. His interception lead to the Yellow Jackets scoring a late touchdown that would extend their lead to 38-22. The Wolverines would battle back and score using their two minute offense. They now trailed 38-30 with a chance to possibly recover the onside kick and have a shot at a miracle, but couldn’t recover the kick.
“I am proud of how the guys kept fighting and battling especially in the second half. So many guys played well for us tonight even though we came up short. We gave ourselves plenty of chances in the second half to possibly pull this one out but fell short. We are going to get back to work this week and correct our mistakes but I am proud of these guys effort and fight,” said head coach Andrew Campbell.
Malpass went 13-of-22 with 176 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Kingston Green had 12 carries for 72 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. His backfield mate D’Angelo Ruff had nine carries for 69 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Landon Wulf and Asher Alexander each had over 40 receiving yards and each had a touchdown reception. Brayden Rita had a huge interception in the game as well.
Whitmire will hit the road for the second consecutive week on Friday, Aug. 28 to face Spartanburg Christian Academy.