Estill—The Patrick Henry Academy Patriots (10-2) come into the 2023 SCISA Class A finals at Charleston Southern University confident that they have a great group of skilled athletes, led by Player of the Year candidate Hugh Fairey, who has put together some awesome numbers as a dual threat quarterback.
“We like to say that High Fairey is the straw that stirs our drink,” said PHA head coach Joe Gray Peeples, who is a graduate of the school.
Fairey (5-11, 165) comes into the finals against Lee Academy having completed 125 of 221 passes for 2,257 yards and 15 touchdowns. As a runner he has gained 819 yards on 119 carries with 13 rushing touchdowns.
“There are not many offensive players in SCISA with these kinds of numbers,” said Peeples. “Hugh is our playmaker.
“We came into the season feeling like we had a chance to be a pretty good football team because we had a lot of returners,” said Peeples, who coached with Ed Cone in the early 1990s when the Patriots won some state titles. “We had several good skill guys returning and several players returning on the offensive line with playing experience.
“We started lifting weights in January to get stronger and that was a really big deal,” said Peeples. "We didn’t want other teams to outwork us. Building a winning culture in our program is still a work in progress, but we feel very good that we kept on competing and kept our focus.”
Peeples said PHA’s offense is a spread option. “It is basically the same type offense Jamey Chadwell ran at Coastal Carolina and now at Liberty,” said Peeples. “Getting yardage has not been a problem for us, but scoring once we get into the red zone was more of a challenge later in the season.”
PHA’s 10 wins came over Cross Schools (55-0) on August 18 followed by six straight wins. In consecutive weeks PHA defeated St. John's Christian (33-6), Lee Academy (47-21), Calhoun Academy (35-0), Greenwood Christian (33-20), Clarendon Hall (21-14) and then became 7-0 with a forfeit win over The Kings Academy.
The Patriots tasted defeat for the first time against Dorchester Academy (38-23) in game 8 of the season. They bounced back the next week with a quality win over SCHSL Class A member Branchville (31-28) before running into the strong running game of Thomas Heyward, losing 40-19.
PHA began the playoffs with a 28-21 win over St. John's Christian and avenged their lost earlier against DA with a come-from-behind 17-13-win last week to advance to the gold medal round against Lee Academy, the defending SCISA Class A champion. The Cavaliers are making their fourth straight finals appearance.
“We have good skill players and getting them the ball in space is what we do best,” said Peeples. “Since we were able to beat Lee Academy earlier in the season, we have lost three key offensive linemen to injuries. When this happens to you it makes things very difficult. I have also made the point that when you lose a player on offense you lose them on defense as well.”
Perhaps one of the most versatile junior football players in SCISA is PHA’s Michael Tucker Mathis. “We can line him up at several different places on offense,” said Peeples. “He can be a runner or pass receiver, and he handles all out punting and placekicking for us. He has made six field goals also, and he has a 34-yard punting average. On defense he is our best player.”
Mathis has rushed for 384 yards on 71 carries with nine TDs. As a receiver he has caught 25 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns.
The receiving corps is led by sure-handed senior Forest Fairey, who leads the team with 47 catches for 1,025 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior Al-Tariq Johnson comes into the finals as the team’s No. 2 receiver with 25 catches for 538 yards and four touchdowns. Depth in the receiving corps comes from sophomore Jacob Corley (13-181-1TD) and sophomore Rylin Brunson (13-132). Brunson has also contributed as an RB with 111 yards on 35 carries and a TD.
Junior AJ Jarrell (6-2, 245) has been replaced by senior Wyatt Greene at LT, after he tore up his knee. Former LG Nathan Corley shattered his collarbone and he has been replaced by Joe McKenzie (5-11,220). RT Warren Mole has been sidelined recently, but he could be back for limited action in the state finals.
The starting center is Spencer Kelehear with Allen Berg seeing time at RT alongsid RG Andrew Searles.
Brunson is slated to start at RB in the finals along with sophomore Diego Santana (18-65). Former starting RB senior Hunter Cook is also out for the season with a collarbone injury.
On defense PHA has been led by Mathis, a hard-hitting LB who comes into the finals with 86 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and a sack. “Mathis is the heart of our defense and he runs like a deer all over the field,” said Peeples.
Senior Luke Sobey (27 tackles, 6 TFL) is slated to start at noseguard flanked by DE Wyatt Greene (12 tackles, 4 TFL) and DE Allen Berg (40 tackles, 9 TFL).
The team will start a trio of linebackers against Lee Academy. Joining Mathis at LB are Andrew Searles (69 tackles, 3 TFL) along with senior Hance McCrary (65 tackles, six TFL). CB Forest Fairey and FS Brunson lead the defensive backs with 32 tackles each. Fairey also has six TFLs. The other starting DB is Johnson, who comes into the game with 27 tackles.
What would a state title mean to Peeples and the program?
“When we moved up from 8-man, half of our fans wanted us to stay down and the other half welcomed the challenge of moving up to 11-man,” said Peeples. “I felt like if we needed to grow, we had to move up. To come as far as we have in just two seasons is very special.
“To win a state championship in 11-man would prove that we belong in 11-man,” said Peeples. “Not only to compete, but to compete at a high level. The girl’s won a volleyball state title, and our baseball team won a state title this past May. There is a lot of excitement in a lot of our sports teams at Patrick Henry right now.”
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