Jefferson Davis football team looking for numbers

           Blackville – Losing nine seniors off of any football team is not an easy thing with which to deal. However, losing that many players off of an 8-man team can be particularly difficult.

           That’s what Jefferson Davis Academy will be having to deal with next season. And this was a senior class that played a major role in leading the Raiders to the 2023 SCISA 8-man title and to an 11-2 record last season.

           Jefferson Davis head coach Anthony Reitenour is at this point more concerned about just who is going to step on the field for the 2025 season more so than who’s going to step into the shoes of the departed seniors.

           ”The biggest thing is just getting more guys out to play,” said Reitenour, who has been at JDA for three years. “To have a 21-man roster and lose nine, that’s a big, big loss. We’re shaking the bushes right now for bodies.”

           Reitenour said the issue Jefferson Davis is facing at the moment is having lower grade levels that are extremely girl heavy.

           “We’re facing a challenge where we’re in a weird space,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of classes that only have four boys. That’s the kind of challenge you don’t have an answer for. You can’t make them appear out of nowhere.”

           The Raiders did have a spring practice with Reitenour saying there were 16 players out.

“I don’t know if they’ll all commit to stay with us.” he said. “We’ve always had the “next man up” mentality though and that’s what we’re counting on. I’ve had small teams before that we made successful. I’m a firm believer that you build your success by how you do in the weight room.”

           With two starting linemen returning in rising juniors Fischer Robinson and Bryson Livingston, Reitenour hopes that mentality will pay big dividends, especially in the early going.

“I’ve told them I hate to put this much pressure on you, but you guys are seasoned now and we need you to step up,” he said. “If you can’t get out and go, we’re going to be in trouble..”

 Defensively, Jefferson Davis will have rising senior Nolan Craig and Tanner Williams returning at defensive end and outside linebacker, respectively, along with rising junior Reece Still at cornerback. Craig had 49 tackles, while Williams had 48. Still had six interceptions to go with 25 tackles.

 Still and rising senior Dalton Nix will likely be competing for time at quarterback, looking to replace standout Colson Loadholt. Along with Loadholt, the Raiders also lost a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Nasir Void and James Grubbs. Void and Loadholt were also defensive standouts.

Nix played some running back last year rushing for 197 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. Still had 21 carries for 131 yards but had seven catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

           Reitenour is hoping the likes of rising senior Landen Williams, rising junior Judson Bowers and rising sophomore Jake Harrington can step into bigger roles.

           While hoping to add numbers, Reitenour isn’t concerned if they remain low.

“We’re going to treat this like it’s any other year,” he said. “We’ve got some guys who helped us win a state championship two years ago and go 11-2 this past season. They know what it takes to win. We’ve always been pretty relaxed when it comes to spring practice. We’re just trying to groom them and put them where we feel we nee them on the field. We’re looking to have a good summer. We’ve got a group of guys who have been here before.”

 JDA BASEBALL FINISHES 13-9

 The Jefferson Davis baseball team finished the season with a 13-9 record and reached the semifinals of the Class A state playoffs. All in all, not a bad year in the eyes of head coach Mannie Wright.

“The year went pretty good as a whole,” said Wright, who just completed his second season as the helm. “I feel like we’ve probably overachieved considering the production and talent we had back. I think we laid the building block and the foundation for next year and the future.”

 The Raiders swept Wardlaw Academy in the best-of-3 quarterfinal series before being swept by defending state champion Richard Winn Academy in the semis However, the losses were both respectable, 4-1 and 4-0.

 JDA will return six starters next season in freshman Will Stillinger, sophomore Reece Still, junior Dalton Nix, junior Landen “Little Landen” Williams, junior Tanner Page and sophomore Corbin Perry.

“We had some young guys who really produced in big spots for us this season,” Wright said. “That has us excited about the future.”

Stillinger had a .279 batting average and scored 18 runs. Nix and Perry both hit .255, Nix finishing with 20 runs and 18 RBI and Perry with 23 runs, 17 runs and 23 stolen bases.

Still and Nix, both left-handed pitchers, were effective. Still had a 3.00 ERA with four saves while Nix was 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA. Stillinger was 4-0 with a 0.30 ERA.

 While losing only three starters, there are big shoes to fill, none more so than Colson Loadholt.

“Colson was our best hitter, best defender and our best pitcher,” Wright said. “Beyond baseball though, he is just a great human being.”

Loadholt had a .459 batting average with six doubles, three triples, one home run, 23 runs batted in, 29 runs scored and  34 stolen bases. As a pitcher, Loadholt had a 4-3 win-loss record and one save but with a 1.84 earned run average in 45 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out 61 while allowing just 36 hits and 12 walks.

 Senior Landon “Big Landon” Williams worked 40 1/3 innings and had a 2.43 ERA and a 2-3 record. At the plate, he batted .262 with 20 runs and 13 RBI.

 “He was selected as our most improved player,” Wright said of Big Landon. “He had two hits combined as a sophomore and junior but had 17 this season. He was a bright spot, a real leader and was rock solid defensively at third base. He was a man among boys on the mound.”

 The other senior is Payton Payne. He had just a .226 average, but was very productive with 21 runs, 16 RBI and 31 stolen bases.

“Those three guys helped build the foundation,” Wright said.