Hammond going after seventh straight SCISA football state championship
Skyhawks meeting Laurence Manning for the third time in four seasons
Columbia -- As Hammond prepares to take on Laurence Manning Academy for the AAAA
football state championship, a rematch of last year’s game, Skyhawks head coach Jon Wheeler
has heard through social media that it could be the Swampcats’ time to shine.
“It’s going to be tough,” Wheeler said about Friday’s showdown at Charleston Southern
University's Buccaneer Field in North Charleston. “They’ve got the player of the year in
(quarterback) Tyler June, a ton of weapons at receiver, including Josiah Burson, a big wide
receiver and safety type. They’ve got another big wide receiver in Jackson Brunson. They’ve got a
stable of running backs and three big offensive linemen.”
Wheeler, in his third year as head coach who has 10-2 Hammond in the final game for the
seventh straight year, continued about LMA head coach Will Furse and the defense.
"Will Furse is coaching the most physical football team in SCISA. That’s the way they play.
They play so hard and so well.”
In fact, if you don’t stop Wheeler, he can continue freely about the 10-2 Swampcats, whom
the Skyhawks have beaten three out of the last four times for the state title.
Once Wheeler does pivot to the 2023 Skyhawks, however, the other teams on his mind
promptly fade away.
“We’ve got a special group of young men, and the culture was set way before I got here,”
Wheeler said. “Coach (athletic director Jeff) Barnes and former coach (Erik) Kimrey set the
standard, and I’ve come and adapted to that same deal and try to keep it rolling.”
First of all, Hammond has played for and won 14 state championships in the last 15 years,
mostly under Kimrey, who left the school to pursue other coaching interests at the University of
South Carolina and later at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Wheeler, the team’s defensive coordinator under Kimrey before taking the head coaching
job at St. Joseph’s in Greenville, took over the program in 2021. As Barnes anticipated when he
hired him, Wheeler turned out to be a perfect fit.
Hammond turned in a 13-0 performance in his inaugural year, beating Trinity Collegiate for
the state championship.
The next season, with many starters lost, the Skyhawks lost two games against Georgia’s
Prince Avenue Christian and the defending SCHSL AAAAA state champion Gaffney. Playing those
opponents enabled the team to gel, and Hammond won out the rest of the season, beating
Laurence Manning 52-0 for the first ever SCISA AAAA state championship.
This year the Skyhawks fell again to Prince Avenue Christian and lost to SCHSL AA power Gray
Collegiate. But just as last season, Hammond reeled off nine straight wins to return to the state
championship game. Along the way the Skyhawks knocked off Laurence Manning 20-6 September
8, beat a rising Cardinal Newman 35-20 on October 6 and bested the Cardinals again, 33-20, on
Nov. 10 to get to the final game of the season.
Hammond had as many as four quarterbacks play under center this year, with Robert
Malanuk and Charlie Allen seeing the most time. Malanuk completed 43 of 65 passes for 521 yards
and seven touchdowns to three interceptions. Allen is 34-for-65 with 324 yards and six TDs to three
picks.
The Skyhawks have a pair of running backs who have seen plenty of playing time. Immanual
“Manny” Johnson has rushed for 1,083 yards and nine touchdowns. Kinson Holland has also proven
to be a stout option at running back, with 825 yards and 10 TDs on 105 carries.
“Manny also starts for us on defense. He’s had a great season and has just crossed over 1,000
yards,” Wheeler said. “Kinson Holland has done an amazing job for us. He’s got a click more on
average per carry, and he did an outstanding job especially when Manny was out two to three
weeks with an ankle sprain.”
Besides Johnson and Holland there is Naeem Newton, who 142 yards and four scores on 12
attempts.
“He’s got a handful of yards and he’s a tough, hard-nosed kid,” Wheeler said.
Hammond has a deep stable of receivers and tight ends. Michael Tyler leads the receivers with
27 catches for 484 yards and six touchdowns.
“He’s obviously a weapon,” Wheeler said. “He’s got 11 or 12 Division 1 scholarship offers as a tight
end. William Hudson is another one, and then we’ve got Jack Croft, who’s also our punt returner, and
Everett Edens, and then there’s Daylin Haltwanger.”
Hudson has eight catches for 74 yards and two scores, Croft has 13 catches for 126 yards and
two scores, and Edens has eight catches for 90 yards and a TD.
Wheeler paused when thinking about Haltwanger, who has 22 ctaches for 231 yards and four
touchdowns.
“He’s got a chance to be really good,” Wheeler said. “He’s only a sophomore, but he returned
the field goal attempt for a touchdown against Cardinal Newman (in the November 10 game) that
really swung the momentum in our favor.”
When it comes down to defense, one name really stands out: linebacker Will McQueen.
McQueen has been an ongoing presence in opponents’ offensive backfields, with 33 tackles for
loss and 19 quarterback sacks on the year.
Durham Kirk, who has 19 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, has
been an additional terror to opposing offenses.
“Will’s numbers are just unheard of,” Wheeler said. “And Kirk probably gets overshadowed, but
he had a lot of plays he was in on, and had four sacks against Cardinal Newman last week.”
Operating behind a defensive line anchored by Jack Miller and Tanner Chastain, linebackers
McQueen, Kirk, Brewer Lamotte and a young secondary led by Zay Mathis are a big reason why
the Skyhawks defense has limited opponents to 15.3 points per game.
When Wheeler praises the Laurence Manning coaches and team, he absolutely means it.
“This might be the year to get us, and I don’t blame them at all for thinking that,” Wheeler said.
“They’re a great team, well-coached. They also claim to be the most physical team, and you can
see why. They’re very good.”
But when he mentions Hammond player after Hammond player, and notes the game highlights
and statistics of each one, he also means it.
About us
Recognizing the achievements of young athletes in South Carolina since 1986.