AIKEN --- High school football in Aiken County began the way preseason scrimmages should be expected to start. The very first play from scrimmage at the Aiken County Jamboree saw Wagener-Salley fumble the ball on the snap for a 1-yard loss.
Later in the 18-minute scrimmage, an obvious facemask drew flags from four different officials and a 15-yard penalty.
But such mistakes were expected and should be ironed out as seven Aiken County high school teams and Wagener-Salley came together at Aiken High School a week before the regular season begins in South Carolina.
By the end of the night, the fans had quality highlights to celebrate.
North Augusta and Silver Bluff displayed their offensive power with a combined 50 points in their scrimmage, won by North Augusta 28-22.
"That's got to be an Aiken County Jamboree record," Silver Bluff head coach Al Lown said. "We might deserve a little more of the gate, because we sure had the most exciting game."
Silver Bluff's Damien Wright broke loose for a 54-yard run to the North Augusta 10-yard line on the second play of the game, and Andre Washington scored on the next play for an early lead.
But the Yellow Jackets' spread offense gobbled up yards with several different playmakers. Quarterback Lorenzo Hammonds threw three touchdowns, two to L.J. Perry, including a 70-yarder to take a 21-14 lead. Rick Griffin intercepted a pass for North Augusta's fourth score.
We've still got to get some little things right offensively," North Augusta coach Dan Pippin said. "But the thing I thought we got better in was we flew around on offense. They got us first, but the offense came in and did a good job of flying around."
Before North Augusta's victory, Ridge Spring-Monetta shut out Wagener-Salley 8-0 in the first scrimmage on an A.J. Bettis 15-yard touchdown run.
Williston-Elko scored twice in the second half to take a 14-0 victory over South Aiken.
In the finale, Aiken beat Midland Valley 6-0 despite being without projected starting tailback Aubrey Johnson, who sat out with a what head coach Carey Johnson called a "muscle tweak."
"I saw some good things defensively," Carey Johnson said. "We got to the ball and got some pressure sometimes, but there's still some concerns there we're going to have to work on."
Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.
COMING SUNDAY
DREAM 16: Top area players unveiled
TWO-A-DAYS: Start of team previews with Richmond Academy and Silver Bluff
GROVETOWN: An inside look as the team prepares for its first season
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