Kingstree – The Kingstree High School football team will be doing something on November 10 it hasn’t done since the 2013 season: playing in the second round of the AA state playoffs.
Kingstree, known as the Jaguars back in 2013, are now the Blazers. They went on the road to beat Timberland 14-12 in the first round of the state playoffs on November 3.
“It’s huge to win this game,” said KHS head coach Brian Smith, who is in his second season in charge of the program after his old school, C.E. Murray, shut down and merged with Kingstree. “Kingstree had had a lot of struggles in the past. This was only the second time in Kingstree history that it has beaten Timberland. They hadn’t beaten them since 1993 when Timberland was a new school. Just a week ago, they went toe to toe with Oceanside Collegiate (a 13-7 loss), one of the best teams in AA.
“It says lot about our program. It shows our hard work is paying off.”
The Blazers improved to 5-6 with their third straight victory. They closed the regular season with a 52-0 win over Mullins and a 36-0 win over Lee Central to claim third place in Region 8.
Kingstree took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter when its defense came up with a safety. Wide receiver Xavier Dukes caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ja’Shaun Dorsey later in the quarter to make it 8-0.
Timberland scored to cut the lead to 8-6 before running back Rodney Bryant scored on a 3-yard run to make it 14-6. The Wolves scored another touchdown but couldn’t do enough to get the win.
Smith said his players had a major celebration when the clock ran out.
“They were ecstatic,” Smith said. “They played their hearts out and made history. I think this win changed the image of Kingstree over the past 20 years.”
The Blazers will be traveling to Kershaw on November 10 to take on Andrew Jackson High.
Heading into the Timberland game, Dorsey was the team’s leading rusher with 596 yards and six touchdowns on 97 carries. Bryant had 590 yards and nine touchdowns on 80 carries, while junior Javian McCrea had 337 yards and five scores on 66 carries and Chiquan Giles had 24 carries for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
Each of the four have had 100-yard rushing games, Bryant two.
As a passer, Dorsey had completed 36 of 117 passes for 497 yards and four touchdowns. Xavier Dukes had 15 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and Tyleek Dukes had 13 catches for 178 yards and one touchdown.
The defense has been led by senior defensive lineman James Brockington. He had 52 tackles and a team high 18 tackles for a loss. Freshman defensive end Maleek Dukes had 30 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and a team high seven quarterback sacks.
Junior defensive tackle Heavis Morris had 27 tackles, 11 of which went for a loss. Bryant, a middle linebacker, had 34 tackles and 11 TFLs, and safety Terrance Scott had 62 tackles and seven TFLs.
“Our defense been solid all year,” Smith said. “This is the most shutouts Kingstree has had since 2005 with those three shutouts.”
Smith is happy with the way his team has performed down the stretch after getting off to a 2-6 start.
“They've fought every week,” Smith said. “They’ve been able to fight through all the adversity (with injuries early in the season). They finished strong when they could have folded. winning the last two (regular-season games) 88-0. Our guys responded well.”
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