Mullins – Though it hasn’t shown on the scoreboard or in the win-loss column just yet, Marc Lowery believes change is coming for the Mullins High School football program.
“The coaches, the players tell me that people in the community are excited about what we’re doing,” said Lowery, the longtime Horry County varsity assistant and middle school head coach who is in his first year in charge of the Mullins program. “People can see what we’re doing, what we’re trying to build here.
“The players have bought in and see what improvements that have been made. They know the coaching staff is trying to change the culture, hold people accountable, have them showing up for practice, those kinds of things. We’re changing the culture.”
The Auctioneers are 0-6 on the season and started Region 8-AA play with a 46-14 loss Lee Central on September 29. Still, considering Mullins has just five seniors on the roster, Lowery has no complaints with his team’s play.
“Considering our age, things are going well,” Lowery said. “We're building for the future so we have a learning curve for lots of things we’re doing offensively. They're excited about what is happening. The young kids see that big things are happening.”
Lowery brought in a pass-heavy offense that sophomore Karnazzion Bethea has taken to quite well. He passed for 200 yards and a touchdown against Lee Central, giving him 896 yards on the season and eight scoring passes.
“He’s doing well, but he has not hit his stride yet,” Lowery said of Bethea. “He’s starting to read the field better, see what we want him to do.”
Bethea spreads the wealth with nine different receivers having between three and 13 catches after the first five games. Sophomore Justin Reaves had the most catches, 13 for 96 yards. Junior Zion Grant had the most receiving yards, 185 on six catches. Junior captain Lebron Avant had four catches for 121 yards, senior captain Jomethrus Davis had seven catches for 75 yards and sophomore Andre Littlejohn had seven catches for 75 yards.
The running game is still developing with most of the damage being done via the quarterback. Senior captain Taymore Owens is the leading rusher after running for 124 yards on 10 carries while playing for a sidelined Bethea in a 24-6 loss to Carvers Bay.
Lowery said he is proud of Bethea, Davis and Owens and their fellow seniors in the leadership they’ve provided to the underclassmen.
“They’re excited about what they feel like they are helping lay a foundation for,” Lowery said. “It gives you solace when you see them doing that even we’re struggling like we are.
“They've got no reason to be bought in to what we’re doing, but they are. I know this is not going how they envisioned or how I envisioned, but they just wish we’d started sooner.”
The defense is led by junior lineman Lonnie Alston, who has 15 tackles, seven tackles for loss and a quarterback sack. Junior linebacker Williams Boateng had 20 tackle and four TFLs, while freshman linebacker Nathan Peracki had 19 tackles. Avant had four interceptions from his cornerback slot.
Lowery said a lack of depth in linemen is one reason the Auctioneers have strugglec defensively at times.
“We’re having a tough time being consistent,” he said. “We’ll have some in third (down) and long (situation) and give up a big play. Also, we’ve got to do a better jog of getting our composure and discipline on the field and not giving up costly penalties.
“We’ve got three defensive linemen who are playing regularly on the offensive line too. They just get gassed. We’re really shallow on the offensive line. If we can get that changed, that will make a big difference.”
With hopefully 15 players in each of the next three classes, Lowery hopes Mullins can develop enough depth to have no 2-way starters along the lines next year.
Also, he is looking for a big commitment for all involved in the weight room.
“They need to find out we don't win games on Fridays, we win on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If this group commits to the weight room and what is needed to do, there’s no telling how good they can be.”
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