Kason Herlong has big night both at plate and on mound to lead Wild Gators

Lake View – After coming up short in their bid for a Class A state championship a year ago, the baseball program at Lake View High is hoping for another shot in 2024. The Wild Gators lost to Southside Christian in the Class A finals, a best-of-three format, after winning the Lower State title. Winning state championships is nothing new for the program. Under veteran coach Kip Herlong, the Wild Gators have won eight state championships and the coach recorded his 600 th career victory early in the 2024 campaign. “It’s a good accomplishment but it basically means I have been able to do this for a very long time and we’ve had some great young men come through our program,” Herlong said recently. The coach says milestones are something he will likely cherish after his career is complete and winning games in the past does not replace the sting of losing in the championship. Herlong feels his 2024 team is capable of another run through the Lower State but insists his team is not the favorite. “Some good Class A baseball teams in the Lower State and it’s a real dogfight every year,” Herlong said. “We have a good group this year. They have worked hard. We have some kids who are in their fourth or fifth year in the program and they understand what it takes in terms of work and effort. This team has good senior leadership and those four or five guys want to go out in style. We return all but three starters, but those three that we lost were really good players.” Lake View is out of the gate in a good way this spring. After losing their season opener, the Wild Gators entered spring break on an eight-game winning streak, including a 3-0 start in region play. Herlong says his team will not participate in any spring break tournaments but will have games against Lamar and Carver’s Bay to stay sharp. Herlong feels he has four quality arms to anchor the pitching staff. Logging most of the innings on the mound are juniors Chris McGill and Kason Herlong, senior Luke Price, and sophomore Chase Price. McGill has notched four early wins with a 0.87 earned run average. Luke Price and Herlong each have two wins. “I think pitching and defense will be our strengths,” the coach said. Herlong (.517) and McGill (.414) also rate as two of the leaders offensively. Luke Price is hitting .400 early and sophomore second baseman Ian Capps is hitting .385 through the first nine games. Senior Tucker Bass returns behind the plate with junior Braydon Borders also seeing action. Bass also can play in leftfield. McGill and Chase Price hold down first base while Herlong is the shortstop. Luke Price and Chase Price share duties at third base. With Bass working in left, seniors Parker Ammons and DJ Hardee hold down center and right, respectively. “We don’t have a lot of burners on the basepaths but we try to be sound in what we do,” Herlong said. Lake View faces stiff competition within the region with solid teams at Green Sea Floyds, Latta and Hannah-Pamplico. The Wild Gators needed nine innings to beat Latta, 8-7, and beat Green Sea Floyds, 3-2, the first time around. “It’s a very competitive region and any team truly can win on a given night,” Herlong said. “It’s important that we continue to work and improve. We need to come around a little more offensively and I am starting to see some positive signs. Just have to keep working at it.”

Lake View – With a fairly young team, the 2023 Lake View softball team managed 16 wins and were one of the last three teams remaining in the Class A Lower State playoffs. Coach Brandy Huggins was quite encouraged by how her young roster grew over the course of the season and ended up as a competitive unit. Huggins is hoping a roster full of returning players will mean her 2024 squad can take the next step. Huggins begins her 13 th season with a 195-83 career head coaching record. “We have a lot of experience and leadership returning on the infield and we hope to just get better each day at practice and each game we play.” While experienced overall, this year’s roster has only two seniors. Those two seniors are vitally important to the success of this year’s team. Raven Locklear is Lake View’s top pitcher and shortstop Emma King is the top returning offensive threat. Both have been a part of the varsity program since they were seventh-graders. Locklear finished last season with 14 pitching victories, recording 156 strikeouts with a 2.06 earned run average. She also contributed at the plate, hitting .418 with six homers and her 37 RBI’s lead the team. King finished 2023 with a .559 batting average, belting 11 triples with 36 runs scored and 18 stolen bases. “I hope to see much leadership from Raven and Emma,” Huggins reports. Two more key leaders are junior first baseman Hollie Scott and sophomore third baseman Kaleigh Blackmon, both returning starters. Scott missed about half of the season a year ago but finished with a .479 batting average. Freshman Chloe Cox will be the full-time catcher after splitting time between the outfield and the dish last season. Eighth-grader Hanna Coburn returns as the starter at second base. Freshman Zy’Kiara Waters returns in centerfield and junior Kaylynn Turner returns in left. Both were starters a year ago and gained valuable playing experience. Sharing time early in right field are eighth-grader Carleigh Matthews, eighth-grader Sarah Price and freshman Madilyn Hunt. Working as the designated hitter is freshman Maddison Strickland, who can also play first base. Seventh-graders Cannon Price and Sophia Rogers also will work as backups during their first varsity campaign.

Lake View – You would have to live in a cave to not know the rich athletic tradition of winning that permeates through the athletic program at Lake View High School. Lake View, a small Class A school in Dillon County, is synonymous with winning state championships in sports. Whether it be in football, baseball or softball, Lake View’s trophy case is stocked full of memorabilia from past successes. However, up until Mar. 2nd, the girls basketball program had failed to put a state championship trophy on display. That all changed when the 2023-24 squad upended Denmark-Olar in the Class A state title matchup, securing the first girls basketball state championship in school history. It’s not as if the girls basketball program could not win. Under coach Larry Inman, the program has been a perennial region powerhouse and has consistently been one of the top five teams in the Class A ranks. But there always was a stumbling block and in recent years, the powerhouse program at Military Magnet was in the way. Entering this season, Military Magnet had won the last three Class A state titles and the last four Lower State championships, often at the expense of the Lake View program. Lake View would consistently win 20 or more games but always came up short in the pressure game against Military Magnet. Inman talked early on this season about finding a way to get past Military Magnet. Lake View may have had a deeper team last season but the coach saw unlimited potential in his 2023-24 squad. Seniors Jaleya Ford and Gwendasia Page were veterans who had been with Inman since the seventh-grade. Both are 1,000-point scorers and Page grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds as well. Led by the two seniors, Lake View started the season on fire, took a few losses during a Christmas tournament, but closed with a flurry of wins. The Lady Wild Gators breezed through the early rounds of the playoffs and survived a tussle from Carver’s Bay in the third round, winning 48-41. That set up yet another challenge against mighty Military Magnet for the Lower State championship. This time, Lake View would not be denied. The Lady Gators rallied late to post a 50-46 upset win, reaching the Class A state championship game against Denmark-Olar High School. In the championship game, Lake View jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first three minutes of game time. Denmark-Olar missed their first seven shots but found their mark to close the gap to 13-8 after one quarter. Lake View missed eight free throws in the opening period, which would be a story throughout the contest. After two quarters of play, Lake View held on to a 21-18. Page was saddled with three fouls and the Vikings took advantage. By the end of the third quarter, the game was back to square one, tied at 35. Eight minutes to play for all of the marbles. Early in the fourth quarter, Denmark-Olar took a 37-35 lead but Ford quickly tied the score before Zy’Kiara Waters, a freshman, hit a layup for a 39-37 Lake View lead. Back and forth the game went on. By the time the clock hit two minutes left, Lake View trailed, 45-41. Late in the game the free throw issue again reared its ugly head as Lake View missed four straight. But all was not lost. Lake View continued to play terrific defense and forced a few turnovers. With 1:08 remaining, Lake View hit two free throws, to make it 45-43. After forcing a turnover, Ford tied the game with a minute left. With :29 seconds left, Ford hit another basket for a 47-46 lead. Denmark-Olar had a final possession but was whistled for an offensive foul with only three ticks remaining. Page was fouled and calmly sank two free throws for a 49-46 win. Lake View was state champions in girls basketball! Lake View finished the game making just seven-of-24 free throws but canned four crucial ones with the game on the line. Ford finished with 21 points, five blocks and four steals. Page played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls and scored 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds. As fans or parents, seeing the teenagers celebrate a state championship is pretty awesome. But, no one should forget coach Larry Inman. The man who lived with disappointment after disappointment. His biggest goal as a coach was to lead his alma mater to a state championship. Inman never lost faith or hope in the program he was building. He knew if they could just keep working, a little luck would come their way. “I think there’s gonna be a party when we get home,” Inman said in his post-game television interview. “This is such a great feeling. I guess a lot of people never thought it would happen but we did it! A complete team effort.” Ford and Page finished their career as Class A all-state selections. Ford averaged 21.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.1 steals this season. Page averaged 13.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and a whopping 7.8 steals per game. The freshman Waters averaged 11 points per game and junior Ta’Kirah Waters did solid work on the boards. Senior Emma King averaged less than five points per game but she was a primary reason Lake View beat Military Magnet. King scored a season-high 14 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Lower State title game.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Florence – Trailing 45-41 with 1:32 left in the game things looked bleak for Lake View when head coach Larry Inman called timeout to settle his team down, that turned out to be what they needed as they finished the game on an 8-1 run to capture their first girls state basketball championship 49-46 over Denmark-Olar . “When I called timeout, I was a little hysterical, but the girls looked at me and said coach we got this, we got this,” said a smiling coach Inman after the game. “I told the girls that if we get one basket to get ahead, we can bring it home.” Coach continued, “We made history today for Lake View. We won the first lower state championship earlier and now the first state championship. They are probably going to give us a parade back in Lake View.” For Denmark-Olar the season turned bitter-sweet in that 1:32 as they finished state runner up for the third consecutive year. They had a couple of turnovers and an offensive foul in that stretch, and it was too much to overcome. “Our youth came into play in that last minute of play. We made those mental errors that led to the turnovers, and we let one slip away,” said a dejected Denmark-Olar head coach Terrance Jones . Lake View started the game on a 7-0 run as senior All-State guard Jaleya Ford scored six of those seven points. She would finish the night with a team high of twenty-one points. Denmark-Olar coach Jones called timeout to settle his girls down and it did the trick as they outscored Lake View 8-6 the rest of the quarter and it ended with the Lady Wild Gators up 13-8. The Lady Vikings All-State guard Av’eian Walker keyed the turn around as she scored seven of the eight points on her way to a game high 24-point morning. “Av’eian is the heart of our team. She played a great game and tried to bring us home,” coach Jones said. Lake View’s lead could have been larger except for eight missed free throws in the quarter. The missed free throws would be an issue all game for the Lady Wild Gators. The second quarter saw Ford and Walker trade baskets for their teams, and they went to the half with Lake View on top 21-18. Denmark-Olar’s Amuria Wright had a three-pointer in the quarter. Both teams played solid defense in the first half which led to the lack of offense. One of the key players for Lake View was senior Emma King . She had a rough night shooting but more than made up for on the defensive end causing turnover, diving for loose balls, and leading the team in rebounding with ten on the night. Ford was also stellar as she had a team high five blocked shots to go with four steals while fellow All-State selection Gwendasia Page had a team high five steals. Denmark-Olar’s Walker and Ry’naisha Barnes played solid defense as well, with Walker getting five steals and Barnes having three. Behind Walkers seven points and Azauria Wright four points the Lady Vikings fought back to take their first lead of the game at 35-33. Lake View tied it on a put back by Zy’Kiara Waters right before the buzzer and the teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 35. Page scored seven of her fourteen points in the quarter. Behind Walker’s eight points in the quarter the Lady Vikings took their largest lead of the night at 45-41 when Inman called time out at 1:32. After the timeout, Lake View’s Ford scored four quick points to tie the game at 45 forcing Denmark-Olar’s Jones to call a timeout. Coming out of the time Waters got a rebound and was fouled in the act of shooting on the put back, so she headed to the foul line to shoot two free throws. She nailed them both to give the Lady Wild Gators a 47-45 lead. The Lady Vikings came down with a chance to tie the game. Lake View forced the ball out of bounds underneath the Denmark-Olar basket. Then Ford came up with the biggest play of the game as she drew an offensive foul to give the ball back to Lake View. Denmark-Olar fouled Page and sent her to the foul line. Despite missing six of her previous eight free throws, she calmly sank both shots for the final score of 49-46. Lake View finished the year at 26-4/8-0 while Denmark-Olar finished 25-4/14-0.

Lake View – As the 2023-24 regular season winds to a close, the boys and girls basketball teams at Lake View High are in position to claim region 6-A championships this season. Both teams entered play on Jan. 30 in control of their own destiny. The girls team, in fact, had all but secured a region championship while the boys team sat in first-place with three games remaining in the region slate. Boys coach Jeffrey Ceasar saw his team get off to a slow start this season but that is not unusual. Due to the success of the football team, the basketball teams often struggle early. Lake View started the season with a 2-8 record but has since rallied. Entering the game on Jan. 30 against Green Sea Floyds, the Wild Gators were 6-11 overall but 4-1 in region six play. “We normally get off to a little slow start, and that’s okay really,” Ceasar said. “We need December to get them in basketball mode so that we’re playing our best when it comes time for region games. Christmas break will be good for us so we can practice and start developing the chemistry.” The chemistry has been developing and the coach likes the way his team is playing. “We still have our issues, missing too many free throws and some inconsistent play offensively, but we are playing hard defensively,” Ceasar said. “I like the way these guys have worked. We never panicked when we had the slow start. We just keep working to get better. We have a chance to win the region and that was the No. 1 goal. We have put ourselves in position.” Lake View won the region championship last year, its first under Ceasar as head coach. The program also has a couple of runner-up finishes. Several players are working in the backcourt rotation early on, led by senior Jayden Ford. Ford, a full-time starter last season, is leading the team in scoring overall, averaging 12.1 points per game. Senior Camden Umphries is also in double figures, averaging 10.9 points per game. Senior DJ Hardee is one of the top defenders on the floor and contributes 8.2 points per game. Another leader defensively is junior Daniel Ray, who also averages about five points per outing. Senior Ahmarion Nichols is scoring about four points per game. Manning most of the early time in the post are juniors Ray, Caleb Roundtree and Timothy Waters. Senior Tamir Bellmon has been another key performer on the defensive end. Junior Ja’Mire Barden has been effective in the post and junior Jonathan Carter is performing well as a backup point guard. Also competing for playing time are seniors Jamarion Jones and Ja-Quentin Johnson; and juniors Brayden Borders, Connor Abraham, and Tyrell Foxworth. The key to Lake View’s success, according to Ceasar, is defense. The Wild Gators look to pressure the opposition into turnovers, which leads to lay-up opportunities on the offensive end. “We use our defense to score in transition. That has to be a strength for us to have a chance,” the coach said. “We want to play fast but, at the same time, play under control and play smart. We want to run but if we can’t. we have to be able to execute the offense in the halfcourt.” The Lake View girls look to finish out the regular season strong and make another deep run in the Class A playoffs. Lake View opened the season with eight straight wins and went through a three-game losing streak just after Christmas. Entering play on Jan. 30, the squad is 18-4 overall and 5-0 in region play with a two-game lead in the standings. “We are working hard and they are improving,” coach Larry Inman said. “We just working to get more consistent production and we have a few stepping into new roles for us this year.” Inman looks for team leadership from two veteran senior performers. Both Gwendasia Page, a forward, and point guard Jaleya Ford have been with Inman on the varsity since they were seventh-graders. Both players already have scored more than 1,000 career points and Page is closing in on 1,000 career rebounds. “We know what we’re going to get from those two,” Inman said. “Both have been great players for us and we expect big things from them in their senior year.” Both are responding to their coach’s call this season. Ford is averaging 21.2 points per game, to go with 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game. Page is averaging 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds, but is excelling defensively with 7.4 steals per game. Freshman Zy’kira Waters, a two guard, is adding 8.6 points per contest. Junior Takyia Waters returns with solid experience as a forward, and junior Alexis Blackmon is learning to play the forward position this season. Seventh-grader Sophia Rogers also has seen solid minutes in the early season. Other seventh-graders on the roster include Delilah Jones, Aaliyah Hardy, Ky’Asia McDonald, along with eighth-graders Ny’Kya Jones, Aura Green, and LaShanna Jordan. Seniors Eva Newell and Emma King, freshmen Sydney McAllister and Adrionna Jacobs, sophomore Shayla Johnson and junior Kayleigh Bugarin round out the roster.

Lake View – Slow starts to a boys basketball season at Lake View High is nothing unusual. Due to the success of the school’s football program, the boys basketball season gets a late start. Many members of the basketball team also play football so coach Jeffrey Ceasar shows a lot of patience in early December as his players find their basketball legs. Ceasar himself is an assistant football coach. “We normally get off to a little slow start, and that’s okay really,” Ceasar said. “We need December to get them in basketball mode so that we’re playing our best when it comes time for region games. Christmas break will be good for us so we can practice and start developing the chemistry.” The Wild Gators opened the 2023-24 season with one win in their first five games. Ceasar sees potential in this year’s team. “I believe we can compete for the region title,” the coach said. “We have some work to do but we feel like we have the pieces. We’re just working on the rotations and getting everyone on the same page.” Lake View won the region championship last year, its first under Ceasar as head coach. The program also has a couple of runner-up finishes. Several players are working in the backcourt rotation early on, led by senior Jayden Ford. Ford, a full-time starter last season, is leading the team in scoring overall. Senior DJ Hardee, senior Camden Umphries, senior Ahmarion Nichols, and junior Jonathan Carter also work as guards. Manning most of the early time in the post are three juniors – Daniel Ray, Caleb Roundtree and Timothy Waters. Also competing for playing time are seniors Tamir Bellmon, Jamarion Jones and Ja-Quentin Johnson; and juniors Brayden Borders, Connor Abraham, Ja’Mire Barden, Tyrell Foxworth and Jonathan Carter. Ceasar has been getting a look at freshmen Cameron Wheeler and Terrence Alford early on but expects those two players to move down to junior varsity to get more playing time and development. The key to Lake View’s success, according to Ceasar, is defense. The Wild Gators look to pressure the opposition into turnovers, which leads to lay-up opportunities on the offensive end. “We use our defense to score in transition. That has to be a strength for us to have a chance,” the coach said. “We want to play fast but, at the same time, play under control and play smart. We want to run but if we can’t. we have to be able to execute the offense in the halfcourt.” Lake View girls ready to contend for state title again Lake View – The girls basketball program at Lake View High has been a state title contender for the past several seasons. Lake View is routinely ranked among the top five teams in Class A. Despite some losses in key personnel, Lake View is again considered one of the top teams in Class A. Coach Larry Inman feels this year’s team has as much potential as any of his most recent teams but there is work to be done. “We are still working on putting it all together but we have some good pieces to the puzzle,” Inman said. “We have some youth but with no jayvee program we usually have some young players with us. We are working hard to teach the young girls what we do while also getting the older players working together. But we will play them all. We believe you get better by playing. “We are working hard and they are improving. We just working to get more consistent production and we have a few stepping into new roles for us this year.” Inman looks for team leadership from two veteran senior performers. Both Gwendasia Page, a forward, and point guard Jaleya Ford have been with Inman on the varsity since they were seventh-graders. Both players already have scored more than 1,000 career points and Page is closing in on 1,000 career rebounds. “We know what we’re going to get from those two,” Inman said. “Both have been great players for us and we expect big things from them in their senior year.” Junior Takyia Waters returns with solid experience as a forward, and junior Alexis Blackmon is learning to play the forward position this season. Freshman Zy’kira Waters is working as a two guard. She played considerable minutes as an eighth-grader. Seventh-grader Sophia Rogers also has seen solid minutes in the early season. Other seventh-graders on the roster include Delilah Jones, Aaliyah Hardy, Ky’Asia McDonald, along with eighth-graders Ny’Kya Jones, Aura Green, and LaShanna Jordan. Seniors Eva Newell and Emma King, freshmen Sydney McAllister and Adrionna Jacobs, sophomore Shayla Johnson and junior Kayleigh Bugarin round out the roster. “My wish is that we could have a jayvee team but no other schools in our region have teams that we can play,” Inman said. Every team in Class A continues to chase three-time defending state champion Military Magnet. Lake View has been eliminated by the Eagles in each of the last three seasons. Inman expects to have to go through the champion once again. “We have high expectations this year, just like every year we want to have a chance to win a state title,” Inman said. “The potential is there to make a run if we can keep improving. We’re in good shape but we have to get better every day. We need every player to contribute and play as a team.” Lake View has opened the season by winning their first six games, including a win over AAAA West Florence. “We’ve been inconsistent some but we’ve been able to win. I tell these girls every day we have to bring our best every game. We can’t turn it on and off when we want to. We have turn it on every game and keep it on. Correct our mistakes and continue to move forward.”

Lake View – A new coach and some new names on the roster has not slowed down the winning of the Lake View High volleyball program. The program has been one of the top winners and contenders in the Lower State of the Class A ranks for many years. Former coach Bill Spivey retired from coaching after last season and named as his replacement was longtime junior varsity coach Angie King. The new coach had five returning players from last year’s team that went 16-5 before losing to Branchville in the Class A Lower State final. The starting lineup this season is loaded with underclassmen who have seen plenty of action in recent years. The Wild Gators are in contention for the region title, having split with Latta this season. Each has one loss. “This is a good group, a mix of returners and some new faces that are gelling together pretty well,” King said. “Our mindset has been making it to the state finals. We are capable. Of course the Lower State is really competitive but I think we are in the mix.” The starting lineup has three starters, all with multi-years of experience. Ja’Leah Ford is an outside hitter, along with Raven Locklear, who leads the team in kills this season. Senior Emma King, the coach’s daughter, is the starting Libero. Locklear and King have been varsity players since the seventh-grade. “It’s fun being able to coach Emma in her senior year,” King said. “I never got to coach her in junior varsity because she didn’t play down there. We are both enjoying the season together.” Junior Takiyah Waters is returning as a middle hitter and freshman Zy’kiara Waters, a cousin, also works in the middle. Taking over as the setter is newcomer Kay Bugarin, a junior. She replaces King, who was the setter in the past but is more valuable as a defensive leader. Junior Hollie Scott is a right side who sees extensive playing time while sophomore Naveah Price is a key defensive specialist as well. Rounding out the roster this season are seniors Eva Newell and Anna Camp, and juniors Kaylynn Turner and Jamie Davis. “Our depth is good. We can interchange players and still be successful,” King said. “I’d say 10 of the 12 players see playing time in various roles. King says the Wild Gators have shown great improvement in their serving, which will be a big factor in the postseason. She feels the strength of the team is in hitting and middle blocking. “We work hard and stress taking care of the ball when it’s on our side,” King said. “We can control what happens on our side of the net and we put a lot of emphasis on playing clean and finishing off points.” The final two weeks of the regular season will include region games against Hannah-Pamplico and Lamar, with two non-region games to close out the season. “I’m optimistic about this team,” the coach said. “Of course, we have to finish strong and perform to our potential in the playoffs. We have what it takes physically. We just have to keep the right mentality and play our game.” The program will take a hit losing five seniors after this season but King does not expect a drop off in competitiveness. “We have 13 girls on the jayvee and they are developing and playing well,” she said. “They are winning a lot so they’re gaining confidence. That will help us next year.” Football team enters bye week on five-game win streak After a week zero loss to Marion to open the 2023 football season, the Lake View football team enters a bye week (Oct. 6) on a five-game winning streak. The Wild Gators opened region play with a win over Green Sea Floyds on Sept. 29. They have remaining region games with Latta, Lamar and Hannah-Pamplico. “Certainly we are excited to be on a good little streak but the schedule gets really tough down the stretch,” head coach Daryl King said. “We need to come back from the off week ready to play our best football of the season.” King has been pleased with the overall work ethic and attitude of this year’s team. “We truly don’t have a superstar player like maybe we had in the past,” King said. “We have a really good group of hard-working kids who will fight hard and don’t give up. They want to win and they play well together. We have good leadership. The kids police themselves and hold each other accountable.” Defensively, Lake View has been fairly consistent through six games. Middle linebacker Dawson Hunt leads the team in tackles. Fellow linebacker Landon King, all 5-6, 125-pounds of him, also is playing well. Defensive ends Luke Price and Daniel Ray have been solid and free safety Cam Umphries has three interceptions and a slew of tackles as well. “All 11 of them are playing hard and fulfilling their roles,” King said of the defense. Running backs Tyrell Foxworth and Jayden Ford have been the leaders in the wishbone running attack. Foxworth has more than 700 yards and eight touchdowns while Ford has over 600 rushing yards and 14 combined touchdowns, rushing and receiving. Junior Kason Herlong runs the offense “like a coach,” according to King. “He’s an extension of our offensive coordinator on the field.” The offensive line, as a unit, has been steady. That group is led by junior Chris McGill. A player who has come from nowhere to be a key performer is junior Lucas Schamp. Schamp is not a starter but was seen one day by a coach, during a school break, kicking a football. When King heard of this, he sent the player to work in practice with the special teams coach. Schamp became the placekicker for the last few games and provided the game-winning extra point in a 15-14 win over Loris. The kick came from 35 yards out after a penalty. “The kid never says a word, a really nice kid,” King said. “He never told anyone he could kick. We had no idea. He’s missed a few here and there but he is really working on it and he’s going to help us. He had no place to play as a far as a position but he does now, an important position.”

Lake View – With a lot of new faces at several positions, the 2023 Lake View football team will be forced to learn on the go this fall. Several of Lake View’s key offensive weapons over the previous two seasons have moved on, prompting head coach Daryl King to scrap the shotgun spread look in favor of the wishbone. Lake View was known as a wishbone team for more than a decade prior to the switch. “Probably the first time in seven or eight years that we haven’t been in the gun,” says King, who took over as head coach in 2007 and is nearing 150 career wins. “It’s a different group in terms of our skill people and we’re probably more suited for the bone. This gives us the best chance to compete and win. The players are adjusting well to it.” Lake View opened the 2023 season on Aug. 18 against a very good Marion High team, which is ranked among the state’s top 10 teams in AA. The inexperienced and out-manned Wild Gators gave a great effort before losing, 28-18. “It was 22-18 with about 10 minutes to play and we battled all nigh long against a really good team,” King said. “We made some mistakes but we sort of expect that with so many inexperienced players on the field. You sort of know that week zero won’t be perfect. And Marion is going to win a lot of games. We saw a lot that we can be happy with in terms of our effort.” Lake View notched win No. 1 on Aug. 25, beating Mullins , 38-22. “We had a 32-6 lead and we subbed some guys, but the main thing is we saw improvement and fewer mistakes,” King said. “As a coach, we always want things to be better. Again, the effort was good. If these guys will work hard and play hard on Friday night, we will be a competitive football team.” Lake View returns only one starter along the offensive line, junior tackle Chris McGill, who is now a third-year starter. Senior Luke King began the season as a starting tackle on offense and defense. Senior Deshawn Clark and sophomore Tyree Fore are the starting guards, with junior Lance Floyd starting at center. “They are a work in progress,” King said of the line. “We started with a ton of work to do there. We’re coming along but we definitely have to keep working.” Junior Kason Herlong returns as the starting quarterback this season. Junior Tyrell Foxworth returns as a running back with experience and will be the No. 1 back in the run game. Jayden Ford , Kiwi Jackson , Asher Lee and Demarius McArthur also get work in the backfield. “We will run a lot of guys,” King said. “Not much size there and some play defense too so we will try to keep a fresh guy in there as much as we can.” On defense, the starting ends are Luke Price and Daniel Ray . Inside at tackle are Connor Abraham and Zy’drivuzz Roberts-Inman , otherwise known as “Z-dog.” Foxworth plays a lot at linebacker and is joined by Dawson Hunt , Seth Deese , Landon King and Kiwi Jackson . In the secondary are Camden Umphries and DJ Hardee at corner. The safeties are seniors Tamir Bellmon and Jayden Ford . “I like this group’s attitude and approach to work,” King said. “There is no complaining, no whining. When someone makes a mistake they own up to it and try not to make it again. We still a way to go but we’re just trying to get a little better each week.” Lake View was scheduled to play Hemingway on Aug. 31, followed by a home game against Chesterfield on Sept. 8. The Wild Gators travel to Pageland for a game against Central on Sept. 15, and return home to face another good AA team, Loris, on Sept. 22. The region opener against Green Sea Floyds is Sept. 29, followed by region games against Latta, Lamar, and Hannah-Pamplico. Latta and Hannah-Pamplico are off to 2-0 starts this season. “It’s a tough region up and down, no easy nights,” King said. “Nothing will come easy for this team. We have to use these non-region games to improve as much as we can. There are no easy games for us.”