(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
Senior leaders Maleik Williams of Silver Bluff and Trey Huff of Lincoln County share “Best of the Best” honors this week for quarterbacking their teams to victories in high impact games that moved their respective teams one step closer to earning a region championship. Williams completed 13 of 19 passes for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns while rushing for another 46 yards in Silver Bluff’s 27-15 win over No. 4 Saluda. Huff rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns while completing 4 of 5 passes for 84 yards during Lincoln County’s 28-24 win over No. 8 Aquinas.
The win for Silver Bluff, last season’s class 2A runner up, brings the overall record even for the Bulldogs at 4-4. But more importantly, Silver Bluff is undefeated (3-0) in region 3 action, having won three straight after going 1-4 during a difficult non-region slate. Williams has played lights out during the team’s three region wins. During the stretch, the lefty has passed for an average of 155 yards and 2 touchdowns per game. And he has averaged 85 rushing yards per game while scoring four total touchdowns on the ground.
Last Friday’s win secured at least one playoff game at home for the Bulldogs. But what fifth year head coach De’Angelo Bryant’s team will be focused on now is this Friday’s showdown at home against #8 Strom Thurmond, which will be for the region championship.
Like Williams, Huff’s performance Friday helped Lincoln County (5-2, 2-0) extend a winning streak to three games. And Huff is on a hot streak similar to Williams during the stretch. Combining his rushing and passing output, Huff has accounted for an average 201 yards per game and scored seven total touchdowns in wins over Richmond Academy, Washington-Wilkes and Aquinas. The last two wins were especially important because if the Red Devils are able to defeat Greene County (5-2, 2-0), Lincoln County will hold the tiebreaker against the next three teams in the class 1A (Division II), region 8 race.
In the honorable mention section below, you might find more astonishing statistics than this week’s winners. But Williams and Huff’s value can only partially be seen by looking at the numbers. Consider Aquinas head coach James Leonard’s assessment of Huff a few days before last week’s rivalry game when Leonard called Huff one of the best players he’s seen in a long time. And take it from former Silver Bluff and Wake Forest standout Bryant, who has coached Williams for the past four seasons.
“His veteran leadership is really showing at this point in the season, which is what you want and expect,” Bryant typed in a message about Williams twenty-four hours after Silver Bluff’s big win. “The best quality about Maleik is he puts his teammates in position to make them and the team successful. He has tremendous knowledge of the game and is so poised. It is a tremendous honor to coach him.”
Honorable Mention
In an area so wide that values its football so dearly, there will never be a shortage of standout players on Friday night during the Fall. So, let’s survey the players who helped lead their teams to victory first, and then we’ll notice those who stood out in defeat.
Excellence in Victory
Huff wasn’t the only Red Devil who stood out during Lincoln County’s victory Friday. Juniors RJ Crite and Semaj Jenkins made key defensive plays, as did senior Judson Beggs.
On the first play from scrimmage for Aquinas’s offense, Jenkins forced a fumble that the Red Devils recovered, the first of two fumble recoveries for the game. The second came late in the second quarter when Beggs snatched the ball out of Clark Jackson’s hands inside of Lincoln County’s 5-yard line, saving a potential a touchdown for the Fightin’ Irish. Lincoln County, on the other hand, played a turnover-free game.
After Lincoln County took a 28-24 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Crite recorded sacks on back-to-back plays to snuff out Aquinas’s best chance for a comeback.
Harlem (7-1, 3-0) topped Richmond 30-0 to set up a likely region championship game against Morgan County on November 4. The stingy defense of the Bulldogs limited Richmond to only 2 first downs in the first half. Part of that effort was do-it-all senior Johnathan Howard, who snagged an interception and returned a punt for 47 yards to go along with a nice offensive showing. Howard caught 3 passes for 88 yards, including one for a touchdown.
Also, Jason Williams rushed 20 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns. After being kept out of the end zone in week one, Williams has now scored at least one touchdown in seven straight games. He has 16 for the season to go with 979 rushing yards. Williams is averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
No. 6 Thomson (6-1, 4-0) finished the game against Laney (6-1, 3-1) that started a month ago and handed the Wildcats a 15-14 defeat to set up a showdown at home this Friday against #9 Putnam County. Jontavious Curry rushed 12 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. But the play of Storm Hunt should be credited for putting the Bulldogs over the top. Hunt returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown to give Thomson its first lead of the game late in the second quarter. And with less than a minute remaining he made an interception deep in Thomson territory to seal the victory.
As is their custom, South Aiken (2-6, 1-1) posted offensive numbers fit for a video game in a 62-21 victory over Airport. Junior quarterback Terrence Smith completed 7 of 10 passes for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. And he rushed 7 times for 101 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Jevon Edwards rushed 11 times for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns. And Jeff Jackson caught two passes for 59 yards and one touchdown to go with an 82-yard touchdown on a kickoff return.
The Thoroughbreds will try to claw their way towards the top of the region standings when Midland Valley (5-3, 2-0) visits the Stomping Grounds this Friday. Midland Valley almost broke the scoreboard themselves last week with a 70-33 win over Aiken. Senior quarterback TJ McElmurray rushed for three touchdowns in the win for the Mustangs, which recently gained the services of 4-star junior running back Traevon Dunbar, who is back from an off-season injury. Curry, who helped lead Silver Bluff to the state championship game last season, transferred to Midland Valley this year, and last Friday was his second game back. Dunbar has found the end zone both weeks he has suited up.
Burke County (6-1, 1-1) might not need a bye week after last week’s 63-0 thumping of Islands, but the Bears will get one anyway before finishing their region slate in a couple weeks with a three-games-in-eight-days stretch. The Bears got everybody involved in the action and posted offensive yardage figures like I haven’t seen, not even from South Aiken. Burke County gained 580 yards of total offense, including 445 on the ground, in the drubbing.
No. 8 Strom Thurmond (6-2, 3-0), continued its run as the area’s hottest team with a 51-7 win over Pelion. Thurmond’s defense surrendered only 85 yards of total offense. That unit has only given up 10 points in three region games. The offense was led by junior quarterback Quan Edmond, who completed 19 of 27 passes for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns. Gregory Bryant caught eight passes for 105 yards. Dallas Hitt snagged five receptions for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. Izzy Glanton rushed eight times for 118 yards, and Juju Stevens found the end zone both times he carried the ball.
Three-time defending GIAA class 1A state champion Thomas Jefferson Academy blitzed Bulloch Academy 35-7. The Jaguars piled up 326 rushing yards, led by quarterback Cam Beasley (4 rushes for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns) and Beans Hunt (5 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown). The Jaguars rushed for an average of 11 yards per carry. John Durden also rushed for a touchdown, and Beasley completed both of his pass attempts to Cole Parrish for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Augusta Prep (3-4) topped Southwest Georgia Academy 28-6 behind a balanced offensive attack. Senior quarterback Tyon Waiters completed 4 of 8 passes for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns, one each to junior Sam Connell and sophomore Elijah McFadgen. Connell caught three passes for 80 yards. And senior Bryson Cronan rushed 16 times for 138 yards and a touchdown.
Notable in Defeat
Before exiting Friday’s game against Lincoln County on the first series of the third quarter, sophomore quarterback Jim Franklin and junior running back/linebacker Clark Jackson appeared to be leading Aquinas to a potential victory. Franklin completed 10 of 10 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown, and he also rushed for a score. And Jackson had four receptions for 102 yards to go with 21 yards rushing.
Freshman Jack Rhodes performed admirably after Franklin went down. Rhodes completed 9 of 14 passes, including two to Kevin Douglas on third-and-long to keep scoring drives alive. A 15-yard completion to Douglas on third-and-thirteen eventually led to a 9-yard touchdown run by Christian Kates that gave Aquinas a 21-14 lead in the third quarter. And a 44-yard strike to Douglas on third-and-nine set up a 26-yard field goal by Rhodes himself that put Aquinas on top 24-21 early in the fourth quarter.
Junior Telly Johnson rushed 17 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns in Hephzibah’s 49-33 loss to Morgan County. Jalen Patrick passed for 142 yards and a touchdown to Deonte Singleton, who caught 3 passes for 96 yards.
Senior DJ Walton completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown for Evans in a 35-22 loss to Effingham County.
Senior Temarcus Elam rushed 14 times for 81 yards to go with two receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown in Lakeside’s 26-13 loss to South Effingham.
Junior Amare Clark completed 9 of 16 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns for Grovetown in a 46-13 loss to Glynn Academy. Clark also rushed for 68 yards. Senior Joseph Jean recorded 12 tackles (five solo), including one for a loss.
Chad Cook is a sports columnist who is known on the field and court as AugBball. Follow him on Instagram @AugBBall
