The CSRA’s high school football teams find themselves almost exactly at the midpoint of the regular season. More importantly, this Friday night, weather permitting, will mark the first time nearly every area team will play for playoff seeding. In other words, the second season is here as region play is fully underway. Before we preview and pick week seven’s matchups for each region, let’s take a close look at two exceptional individuals who have already helped their team start region play with a victory, and who have distinguished themselves as two of our best players.
You might have heard about sophomore tackle Mason Short. The Evans star who has already received scholarship offers from Georgia, Alabama and more stands 6-foot-seven-inches tall and weighs 280 pounds. He has already been dubbed a “5-star” recruit and the #38 ranked player (second at his position) in his class. And his play during Friday’s 42-15 win over Grovetown matched the hype in every imaginable way.
MORE: Hurricane threat alters high school football schedules
Evans scored touchdowns six of the seven times it possessed the football. As you can see in the first three clips below, Short personally cleared the way for the three rushing touchdowns that took place near the goal line. In the first clip, he turned his opponent toward the middle and drove him to the ground to allow running back Malachi Hardin to cross the threshold untouched. Then he turned his adversary outward to give quarterback DJ Walton a free run for six. And finally he pulled from his tackle position to clip a linebacker just in time for Hardin to dive across the goal line.
Short also showed impressive footwork and agility on clip #4 when he held a block while moving laterally and up the field at the same time to spring Rayshaun King for a 60-yard dash that set up another Hardin touchdown. And on a key 23-yard completion (clip #5) from Walton to Tyler Perry that moved the ball into the red zone, Short’s pass protection allowed Walton a full eight seconds to roll right, and then left, before releasing the ball.
“The kid works hard, and he does a lot of training,” said second year head coach Barrett Davis after the game. “He does a lot of footwork stuff in the offseason. He’s just that type of player. He studies film, and he knows what he needs to do, and he knows his assignments. His football IQ’s pretty good for a young guy. And plus he’s got good feet, and he’s a massive human being. He knows what to do and he’s a strong kid, so we’re glad he plays for Evans.”
Prior to Friday’s win, Short suffered a concussion and was forced to miss games against Strom Thurmond and Burke County, both losses for Evans (3-2). This Friday, for the second time in two weeks the Knights will stay in Columbia County for a visit to the home field of arch rival Lakeside. Evans will attempt to improve to 2-0 in region play in a hostile environment, while the Panthers (2-2) will play their first region game.
Saturday in neighboring Richmond County during Laney’s 26-16 homecoming win over Butler, Laney piled up 287 yards of total offense in the second half and held the Bulldogs to only 151 yards in the game. The Wildcats improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in region action. Senior quarterback Keshaun Sanders, a three year starter, continued his season long habit of playing exceptionally during the game’s most important moments as he completed 3 of 3 pass attempts for 96 yards and one touchdown, and rushed twice for 52 yards and another touchdown, during Laney’s second half comeback that saw the Wildcats outscore Butler 26-8.
Just last week in this space I labeled Burke County’s signal caller Marshall Flowers the area’s best quarterback. But after watching Sanders for 10 quarters this year, I think the young man who Laney fans call “Mahomes” deserves equal billing. It has been easy for Sanders to slip by unnoticed while the Wildcats have employed a run-heavy offense on their way to an undefeated start to the season. For example, while Burke County has passed 35% of the time during its undefeated run through five games, Laney has run the ball on 83% of the snaps that I’ve witnessed during dogfights (or should I say cat fights?) against Hephzibah, Thomson and Butler.
In fact, the statistics for Marshall in last Friday’s dramatic 35-32 road win over Statesboro (13-20 passing for 180 yards to go with one rushing touchdown) almost exactly mirror Keshaun’s total production during those two-and-a-half pivotal games for Laney (13-22 for one touchdown to go along with two more rushing scores). This paints a picture for how Sanders has played his role of making plays in the passing game when sorely needed while the Wildcats otherwise employ their considerable advantage at the line of scrimmage with a wishbone rushing attack.
Sanders’s execution has been all the more impressive because most athletes will tell you they will produce better if allowed to “get in rhythm” with steady usage. But he has shone without the benefit of constant repetition. During Laney’s region opener against #5 Thompson, the quarterback’s number wasn’t called until the final two minutes of the second quarter when Sanders confidently dropped back and fired a beautifully placed pass right over the heads of a pair of defensive backs and into the hands of Willie Booker for a 48-yard completion. On the very next play Sanders made a gutsy 15-yard touchdown, after which his helmet was removed by a jarring hit just inside the end zone. The sequence pulled the Wildcats to within a point of the #5 ranked Bulldogs before halftime of a game that was suspended soon afterwards to be finished on Oct. 14.
Of course, this is not a contest between two fine quarterbacks. And if it were, we would have to consider rushing dynamo Terrence Smith of South Aiken, Jim Franklin of #9 Aquinas and DJ Walton of Evans. The point here is that fans who wish to travel to Washington County this Friday to see if Laney can remain unbeaten will be sure to not only see an impressive display of smash mouth football in the trenches. They’ll also see exciting action from playmakers like Sanders and junior CJ Holmes, who are shown below connecting for a wonderful 28-yard go ahead touchdown during Saturday’s game. Sanders made the roughly 40-yard (in the air) touch pass across his body while rolling left, showing why they call him Mahomes on the Boulevard.
Week 7 Schedule and Picks by Region
Class 6A, Region 2
Evans (3-2, 1-0)
– at –
Lakeside (2-2, 0-0)
Pick: Evans
If ever there were a student section that could propel an underdog to victory against its arch nemesis, it would be Lakeside’s rowdy bunch. Fans of both teams will be in for a unique experience when the lights come on at Lakeside.
Brunswick (5-0, 1-0)
– at –
Grovetown (3-2, 0-1)
Pick: Brunswick
Class 5A, Region 1
Statesboro (1-4, 0-0)
– at –
Greenbrier (0-5, 0-0)
Pick: Statesboro
Class 4A, Region 3
#5 Burke County (5-0, 0-0)
– at –
#10 Wayne County (4-1, 1-0)
Pick: Burke County
The Bears remained undefeated last Friday when Charlie Dorsey crossed the goal line as the game clock ticked below one minute remaining to allow Burke County to escape Statesboro High with a 35-32 win. The Bears led 21-0 at halftime and 28-7 towards the end of the third quarter before the Blue Devils ran off 4 straight touchdowns. Dorsey rushed 18 times for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Marshall Flowers completed 13 of 20 passes for 180 yards, including a 10-yard completion to Noah Boynton on fourth-and-six on the game winning drive.
This Friday’s game against Wayne County will be the first of two consecutive road contests for the Bears against top 10 region foes.
Class 4A, Region 4 (South Carolina)
North Augusta (1-5, 0-0)
– at –
South Aiken (1-5, 0-0)
Pick: South Aiken
In judging the attractiveness of this rivalry game between last season’s champion (South Aiken) and runner up, we can throw out the records for more reasons than one. Namely, in piling up 10 losses between them so far, the favorites to take this region crown have faced a combined 8 top 10 teams during non-region play.
Aiken (0-5, 0-0)
– at –
Airport (2-4, 0-0)
Pick: Aiken
Similar to region counterparts South Aiken and North Augusta, Aiken has tested itself against three top 10 teams. The Hornets should prove to be better than their record indicates.
Class 3A, Region 4
Cross Creek (1-4, 0-0)
– at –
Harlem (4-1, 0-0)
Pick: Harlem
Hephzibah (3-2, 0-0)
– at –
Salem (0-5, 0-0)
Pick: Hephzibah
Morgan County (3-2, 0-0)
– at –
Richmond Academy (3-2, 0-0)
Pick: Richmond
Class 2A, Region 4
#5 Thomson (3-1, 1-0)
– at –
Josey (2-3, 1-2)
Pick: Thomson
#7 Putnam County (4-1, 1-0)
– at –
Westside (1-4, 1-1)
Pick: Putnam County
Laney (4-0, 1-0)
– at –
Washington County (1-4, 1-1)
Pick: Laney
Glenn Hills (2-4, 1-2)
– at –
Butler (2-3, 0-2)
Pick: Butler
Fans of this South Augusta rivalry will be pleased by the playmaking ability on both sides of the ball from these two teams.
Class 2A, Region 6
Edisto (4-2, 0-0)
– at –
#3 Barnwell (6-0, 0-0)
Propelled by the area’s top rusher, senior Tyler Smith (1,335 yards and 21 touchdowns already this season), the Warhorses get my vote for the area team that’s “most likely to win a state championship.” But first Barnwell will have to make it through a 4-game region schedule that includes #7 Woodland (home on 10/21) and #8 Wade Hampton (away on 10/28).
Class 2A, Region 3 (South Carolina)
Silver Bluff (1-4, 0-0)
– at –
Fox Creek (1-4, 0-0)
Pick: Silver Bluff
The defending class 2A runner up Bulldogs are coming off a brutal non-region schedule. Competing in what could prove to be the area’s most hotly contested region, Silver Bluff should open with a win this Friday before a string of difficult upcoming games against Batesburg-Leesville, #1 Saluda and Strom Thurmond.
Batesburg-Leesville (2-3)
– at –
Strom Thurmond
Pick: Strom Thurmond
Class 1A (Division II), Region 8
#5 Washington-Wilkes (4-1, 1-0)
– at –
Warren County (2-3)
Pick: Washington-Wilkes
#9 Aquinas (4-1, 0-0)
– at –
Lincoln County (3-2, 0-0)
Due to predicted weather trouble, this game has been postponed to October 14. We’ll soon see if the rest of Friday’s games are similarly affected.
Greene County (3-2, 0-0)
– at –
Towns County (1-3, 0-0)
Pick: Greene County
Class 1A, Region 4 (South Carolina)
Ridge Spring-Monetta (1-4, 1-0)
– at –
Denmark-Olar
Pick: Denmark-Olar
Wagener-Salley (3-3, 2-0)
– at –
Williston-Elko (0-5, 0-2)
Pick: Wagener-Salley
Blackville-Hilda (0-5, 0-2)
– at –
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (3-3, 0-2)
Pick: Blackville-Hilda
Georgia Independent Athletic Association (GIAA)
Augusta Prep (3-2)
– at –
Thomas Jefferson Academy (5-0)
Pick: Thomas Jefferson Academy
Briarwood (3-2)
– at –
Brentwood (2-3)
Pick: Brentwood
Memorial Day (1-3)
– at –
Edmund Burke (3-1)
Pick: Edmund Burke
South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) Class 4A
Augusta Christian (2-4, 0-2)
– at –
Hammond (4-2, 2-0)
Pick: Hammond
Class 1A (Division I) Non-Region Matchups
#2 Swainsboro (5-0)
– at –
#6 Irwin County (4-1)
Pick: Swainsboro
Jefferson County (1-4, 0-0)
– at –
Emanuel County Institute (1-4, 0-0)
Pick: Emanuel County Institute
8-Man Football
Augusta Eagles (1-3)
– at –
Westminster (3-2)
Pick: Westminster
