Williamsburg two wins away from defending SCISA AA football title
Stallions play host to Beaufort Academy in semifinals on Friday
Kingstree – The goal for the Williamsburg Academy football team for the 2023 season has been in place since the end of the 2022 season: defend its SCISA AA state championship.
The Stallions are two victories away from accomplishing just that. They advanced to the semifinals of the AA playoffs with a 46-7 victory over Spartanburg Christian Academy on November 3.
Williamsburg, which improved to 11-0 on the season, will play host to Beaufort Academy on November 10. Beaufort defeated Orangeburg Preparatory School 25-13 in the first round.
The winner of that game will advance to the state championship game on Saturday, November 18. That game will be played at Charleston Southern University’s Buccaneer Field beginning at noon.
First-year Stallions head coach Tyler Boyd said he is pleased with how his team has handled itself and all that comes with being the defending state champion.
“I think it's been great,” said Boyd, who moved from offensive coordinator to head coach when Don Shelley stepped down to become the head coach at Orangeburg Prep. “We’re where we want to be, which is to be in the best situation we can be in.
“We wanted to be home for the playoffs. We’ve played some great teams. We’ve had a lot of big injuries, but we’ve had backups who’ve been able to step up and get better. In the long run, that is something that will help us in future years and this year.”
Perhaps the biggest injury came to quarterback Conrad Balder. The senior missed a few games because of an injury, but he has been back for the last few games and has played well. In his absence, Balder’s little brother, Micah Balder, stepped in and ran the offense.
“With Conrad in there, we try not to run him a whole lot, but he's been smart with it and handled it really well,” Boyd said. “The offensive line hasn't allowed a sack since he came back. I think they know how valuable he is. They’ve done an amazing job.
“Micah did a great when he was the starting quarterback. He was effective throwing the ball. We’re still using him some at quarterback, mainly in a Wildcat offense.”
Conrad had completed 44 of 78 passes for 759 yards and 10 touchdowns against just two interceptions heading into the Spartanburg Christian game. Micah had completed 21 of 40 passes for 389 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 292 yards and six touchdowns.
The Stallions offense revolves around its electric senior running back tandem of Camden Moore and Teague Ward. Both had had five 100-yard games. Ward had 878 yards and 14 touchdowns on 84 carries, while Moore had 112 carries for 821 yards and nine TDs.
Both are dangerous coming out of the backfield as receivers. Ward had 16 catches for 356 yards and four TDs, while Moore had 12 catches for 166 yards and two TDs.
Another senior, wide receiver Wes Smith, had 15 catches for 203 yards and three scores. JD Sholar had five catches, but they went for 138 yards and three TDs.
Opening the holes for the backs are Wyatt Floyd at left tackle, Layton Morris at right tackle, Aiden Stuckey at left guard, Cam Morris at right guard and Blake Hedrick at center.
The Stallions have had some other linemen step up and play regularly due to injuries in freshmen Marlin Morris and Michael Ard and senior Ty Childers.
“We’ve had a lot of linemen step up who did not have a lot of experience,” Boyd said. “They’ve been able to help us out. We’ve got some seniors who have seen it all and have helped them develop. It’s gotten a lot better throughout the year It's going how we expected, maybe better.”
Ward is the leader of the defense at his linebacker spot. The 6-foot, 210-pounder had 69 tackles to go with eight tackles for loss. Sholar, also a linebacker, was tied with Ward with eight TFLs and was just behind him in tackles with 63.
Williamsburg had 71 tackles for loss led by Floyd with nine. Sophomore John Cumbie had seven and Kam Morris six, while Childers, Layton Morris, Stuckey and Greyson Moore had five apiece.
Kam Morris was the sack leader with three, while Micah Balder led the team in interceptions with five. Other top tacklers were linebacker Landon Strong with 53 and Childers with 55.
The Stallions have been dominant on defense all season, having allowed just 107 points in the regular season. Boyd thinks his defense has been pretty strong, especially considering it has seldom gone up against the offense it had prepared for in practice.
“That’s been the most frustrating thing for us, that we practice all week against what they normally do and they do something else,” Boyd said. “I guess to our advantage is the fact they were not as effective running it because they aren’t used to it.
“Honestly, I think we’ve gotten a lot better defensively this year. We were young and inexperienced in the secondary, but we’ve gotten better and better. We’ve stopped the run all year long, so teams have been trying to throw it on us. We gave up just 4 passing yards (in a 43-0 win over Carolina Academy).”
The Stallions have won 33 of their last 34 games. They went 10-1 in 2021, losing to Hilton Head Christian Academy in the championship game. Williamsburg was 12-0 last season.
Boyd believes what has made his team successful is its ability to focus on the task at hand.
“It's always the next game with them,” he said. “They’re not looking in the future. We want to play for a state championship and win it. They know how to prepare, watch film all of that. It's a day-by-day thing.
“These seniors haven't lost many. They know how to win and what it takes. It’s a day-by-day thing. They know it’s a 1-game season.”
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