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Marlboro Academy teams working into playoff shape

By David Shelton

Senior Writer

Bennettsville – Playoff fever will be running high around Marlboro Academy as the boys and girls basketball teams gear up for the 2011-12 postseason.

Entering the final week of play, both teams were in position to lay claim to an automatic playoff berth based on the finish in region play.

In fact, coach Atley Jackson’s girls team was closing in on a region championship. The Lady Dragons won the first 16 games of the season before suffering its first loss, an overtime decision to Byrnes School on January 24.

Marlboro Academy entered play this week with a 16-1 record overall and an 11-1 record in region play.

Providing solid play and leadership throughout the course of the season are several players as balance across the board has been a strength.

Leading the way are McKayla Pruitt, Katie McLaurin, Kristen English and Megan Quick.

The boys team, coached by Pat Rogers, is having a remarkable season considering the amount of inexperience the coach had to work with when the season began.

“The one thing my assistant and I have been preaching is that if we play smart, on any given night we can compete with anybody,” Rogers said earlier this season. “These are young guys that don’t have experience. As they have some more success they’ll gain more confidence.”

Well, the Dragons have experienced success and they have indeed gained confidence. Rogers has led the young team to a solid 10-6 record overall and a 7-4 record in region play.

Entering this week the Dragons were in second-place in the region standings with a 7-4 record, which included two wins over Williamsburg Academy. Williamsburg and Dillon Christian are in third place with a 6-4 record but the Dragons would hold the tie-breaker with Williamsburg if the teams finish with the same regular season region record.

After losing his top six players from last year’s team, Rogers is working with a much younger team this season. Of the top five players in terms of production this season, none are seniors.

Two of the more consistent offensive players this season have been junior Malcolm Calhoun and junior Will Bundy. Neither player had pivotal roles on last year’s varsity team.

Another junior, Scott Bruner, has been a solid performer. Eighth-grader Chase Bruner and sophomore Stephen Andrews also have been playing consistent basketball this season.

The region tournament will be contested next week at Byrnes School.

Bennettsville?The most successful person in the history of Marlboro Academy soccer may be current head coach Kevin Williams. He had a solid career as a player and has continued his success as a coach.

Playing for the Dragons in sixth grade, the team finished state runner-up. Then as a sophomore he was a member of the first state championship team. Down 1-0 with 10 minutes remaining, Marlboro Academy scored three goals before time expired to earn the victory.

?It?s been so long ago that it?s hard to remember, but it was exciting. It was back and forth and then it looked like we were going to lose, but we had a gut check and came back and won. We put a lot of time into conditioning back then and that?s the same thing I preach now,? Williams said.

Williams went on to win another title in 1991 and finished runner-up once again in 1992. He came back to coach the team two years ago, guiding the Dragons to a 10-4-1 record before losing in the state semifinals to Greenwood Christian in double overtime. Although they didn?t win it all, he definitely changed the culture of the program.

?Whenever I took over they basically only had a recreational team. They had some coaches before that really didn?t know soccer or what to do. A .500 record would have been a good season for them. That first year I had to teach them how to win,? Williams said.

Last season the team broke through with their third state championship. The way they won was a familiar one for the head coach. Down 3-2 with two minutes left, the Dragons tied it up and sent the game into overtime. A minute into the extra time they scored the winning goal to cap off a 13-1 season.

?(Oakbrook Christian) had players that were probably more skilled than mine, but mine had the heart and determination to win the game. We had the conditioning to win the game just like we did in 1990 when we won the first one,? Williams said.

Next season Williams hopes to repeat once again. Marlboro Academy only lost three starters from last season but will face a difficult schedule in 2009.