We can count at least a dozen-and-a-half statistical performances that could describe a player of the week from last Friday’s games. But our new “Best of the Best” series will go further than most like it by considering the context in which the area’s stars work their wonders on the field. Did the performance make a critical difference between a win or a loss? Was this showing the latest example of a season-long trend of excellence? Did the player help power his team to new heights in region or postseason action? Those are some of the questions we’ll ask in determining which area player to choose as the prior week’s “Best of the Best by The Augusta Press.”
A Dramatic Finisher
Senior running back Charlie Dorsey made his case for the award after rushing 18 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns in #5 Burke County’s 35-32 road win over Statesboro. Dorsey scored from two yards out as the fourth quarter clock ticked below one minute to save the Bears from a disappointing result after the Blue Devils had scored 28 unanswered points. Burke County (5-0) extended its unbeaten streak to five with the win, but the Bears won’t open region play until Thursday. So let’s keep looking for our winner.
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Rumbling through Non-Region Action
Hephzibah also won a non-region nail biter on the road when the Rebels topped Southeast Bulloch 38-32 behind a productive effort from junior running back Telly Johnson. The 6-0 and 215-pound junior rumbled for 134 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries, an impressive line without a doubt.
A Class of Their Own
Continuing the tour through non-region play, class 1A (Division II), region 8 contenders Aquinas and Lincoln County both won big against schools from higher classifications. During #9 Aquinas’s 40-20 home win over Greenbrier (5A), and Lincoln County’s 41-20 road win over Richmond (3A), the longtime rivals produced no fewer than five players who make splendid nominees for this honor.
Let’s start on the defensive side to consider Aquinas’s Clark Jackson’s latest addition to a video game-like full season statistical record. The 6-foot, 200-pound junior recorded 13 tackles, 8 solo and two for a loss, to go along with two sacks and two hurries. And on offense, he carried the ball 17 times for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jackson also caught two passes for 14 yards from standout sophomore quarterback Jim Franklin. The 6-foot-3-inch tall and 180-pound sophomore completed 22 of 28 passes for 3 touchdowns, including one each to BuddyRow Garrer, Kevin Douglas and Jos Tyre.
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For the Red Devils, let’s start with senior quarterback Trey Huff, who completed 8 of 10 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Huff also rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown. And on the other side of the ball he tallied 13 tackles (nine solo) for good measure. Not to be left out, junior running back Semar Jenkins rushed nine times for 104 yards and two touchdowns to go with two receptions for 81 yards and a score. If that weren’t enough, sophomore Christian Crite recorded 22 tackles (nine solo) and caught a 33-yard touchdown pass that was featured Saturday morning on ESPN’s famous “You Got Mossed!” segment from NFL legend Randy Moss!
Aquinas and Lincoln County were set to meet this week in the region opener for both teams before the coming weather postponed the clash until Oct, 14. A meeting of that magnitude will be a great opportunity to mine for a Best of the Best performance for week 9.
Lining Up for Success
After falling behind region foe Butler 8-0 at halftime of Saturday’s homecoming game, Laney’s offense ran off 26 points in the second half to grab a 26-16 win and remain unbeaten for the season. Junior CJ Holmes, who has been nursing an injury, didn’t carry the ball in the first half. But in the second he accounted for 103 yards from scrimmage while rushing for a touchdown and catching a 28-yard touchdown pass from three-year quarterback Keshaun Sanders. Sanders completed 4 of 10 passes for 108 yards and the go-ahead touchdown to Holmes. And he rushed three times for 63 yards and a score.
But if this week’s award were to go in Laney’s direction, it would have to be shared by all of its linemen on both sides of the ball. After Butler possessed the ball for all but 90 seconds of the second quarter, Laney’s offensive line paved the way for 287 total yards in the second half. And its defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage to help hold Butler to only 151 total yards in the entire game.
One More Line to Remember
Senior running back Tyler Smith (Barnwell) leads our area, and the entire state of South Carolina, in rushing this season with 1,335 yards and 21 touchdowns for the #3 ranked Warhorses. Smith’s latest installment (19 carries for 224 yards and 5 touchdowns) came in a 42-19 road win over arch-rival Silver Bluff, which had to be sweet after the Bulldogs handed Barnwell two losses last season.
But head coach Dwayne Garrick reminded observers in a post game interview that Barnwell’s offensive line deserves special mention for the success Smith and the team have achieved.
Stellar in Defeat
If not for the machine-like precision Evans exhibited in picking apart Grovetown on its way to a 42-15 region opening victory Friday, Grovetown’s Joseph Jean would make a strong candidate for this honor too. The 6-foot-1-inch and 218-pound senior who has been offered by Georgia Tech recorded 19 tackles, 8 solo and two for a loss, from the linebacker position he could play on Saturday’s next year. Jean also rushed for a touchdown and scored again on a short screen pass.
DJ Walton Was the Best of the Best for Engineering Touchdown Drive after Drive
But Evans senior quarterback DJ Walton is the winner of our first Best of the Best by The Augusta Press award because he led his offense to six touchdown drives in seven tries, making every necessary play to keep each drive alive along the way. Evans snapped a two-game losing streak and began region play with a 42-15 victory over Grovetown. Walton passed for 142 yards and two touchdowns, one to Malachi Hardin and another to Jermichael Ambrose, and he rushed for another score.
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Walton set the tone for what was to come on the first series of the game when he completed a 24-yard pass to Kenneth Dorsey on third-and-sixteen to place Evans just inside Grovetown’s 20-yard line. It was the first of five completions of 20 yards or more that moved Evans into the red zone and set up five of the six touchdowns for the Knights. After Dorsey, Tyler Perry, Dontevius Williams and Ambrose (twice) found themselves on the receiving end of the timely throws by the dual-threat quarterback.
At least as many as four different Knights were candidates for the award. That’s understandable given the dominant performance from Evans. Place kicker Tyler Wallace touched back 5 of his 6 kick offs, he converted all 6 of his extra points, and he recovered his own onside kick to start the second half. Hardin rushed for 2 touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass. And sophomore Mason Short, a 6-foot-7-inch, 280-pound 5-star tackle, logged five pancake blocks for the Knights.
But Walton’s leadership and poise made him the Best of the Best from week 6.
Chad Cook is a sports columnist who is known on the field and court as AugBball. Follow him on Instagram @AugBBall
