Lake City – The Lake City High School football team was likely going to have some struggles in the early portion of the 2023 season with inexperience in a lot of places. However, the July traffic accident that sent head coach Ronnie Baker to an intensive care unit with extensive injuries where he still remains exasperated the situation.
The Panthers have gotten off to a 0-2 start under acting head coach Jamison Estep. They lost to SCISA AAAA school Laurence Manning Academy 21-20 to open the season on August 18 before falling to AAAA West Florence 28-0 on August 25.
Sophomore Amari Hanna is the starting quarterback. He was the most valuable player on the Panthers’ junior varsity team last year – as a running back.
He took a big step forward against West Florence. Hanna completed just two passes for minus-8 yards against LMA. Against the Knights, Hanna was 8-for-18 for 97 yards with on interception.
“We saw some positive growth in the passing game with Amari from Game 1 to Game 2,” Estep said.
The running backs are senior Torrance Wilson and senior Jeffrey McFadden with juniors Treshon Burgess and Blayne Edwards the wide receivers. Senior Antonio Dickson is the tight end.
Lake City starts three seniors on the offensive line in left tackle Andre McFadden Pressley, right tackle Jacari Fullard and center Shemar Thomas. Left guard Endurance McCray and right guard Devonte Alston are juniors.
“The offense is still finding its groove,” Estep said. “We have to be more consistent at staying ahead of the chains.”
While strong on the O line, McFadden-Pressley is a dominating force on the defensive line. The 6-foot-2-inch, 300-pounder has committed to Old Dominion. He has 31 tackles, eight tackles for loss, one QB sack and three QB pressures.
“He's a full-grown man playing high school football,” Estep said of McFadden-Pressley following the LMA game. “He doesn't come off the field, playing left tackle for us. He probably played 100 snaps tonight.”
He is joined up front by Tyler Williams, Thomas and Fullard. The linebackers are Messiah Singletary, Malachi Brayboy and Tyree Burgess.
The secondary includes Shakeem Epps, Desmond Cockfield, Marquee Witherspoon and Dallas Davis.
Treshon Burgess handles the kicking chores and is also the return specialist. He had 200 return yards against Laurence Manning, taking a punt back 66 yards for a touchdown and a kickoff 75 yards for a score. He’s also a standout corner, recording eight tackles and breaking up three passes against the Knights.
Tarvares Graham is the punter.
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