Orangeburg Prep football team gets off to slow start

Orangeburg – The start of the season hasn’t gone anything like head coach Brooks Smith expected for his Orangeburg Preparatory School football team.

The Indians knew they had a difficult season opener against 3-time defending SCISA AAA state runner-up. Wilson Hall. The result of that game was a 44-0 defeat.

Game 2 wasn’t a whole lot better as the Indians dropped a 45-14 decision to Dillon Christian School.

           “We knew we were facing a really good team in Wilson Hall, and Dillon Christian is a good team too,” said Smith, who is in his second year as the Orangeburg Prep head coach. “Their quarterback (Jordan Blackmon) is the real deal.”

However, Smith said the Indians had a lot to do with the two lopsided losses as well.

“We’re making a lot of mistakes,” Smith said. “We’ve been putting the ball on the ground a lot. Against Dillon Christian in the first quarter, we really dominated the quarter. You have to give credit to Dillon Christian for the way they came back.”

Orangeburg Prep took a 6-0 lead into the second quarter. However, the Warriors scored 21 points in the second quarter and took a 38-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We’re just inconsistent on both sides of the football so far,” Smith said. “On Thursday against Dillon Christian, we had them in third and long a couple of times and they would make a play and convert.

“On offense, we Knew we would have to get in some pace and do sone things, and we did. But then we would run the wrong formation, the wrong route and it throws you off. We’ve got to be able to line up and move down the field and not make those mistakes.”

Orangeburg Prep came into the season thin on numbers with just 26 players on the roster, six of them freshmen. The Indians have already lost two starters to injury this season, so the process of moving players around to fill holes has already begun.

One of those lost is center/noseguard Thomas Fanning, who is in his third year as a starter. He tore meniscus in a knee. The other injured player is Dakota Boan, who starts at split end and safety. He broke his collarbone.

“We’re thin on numbers, thin on experience now,” Smith said. “We’ve got to shift some things around. The learning curve is tough when you don’t have a lot of depth. With those injuries and four upper classmen who had never played varsity football before, we’re really down to 13 or 14 kids with experience.”

The Indians came into the season with two other returning starters on the offensive line in left tackle Mac Strickland and left guard Parker Gray. The right side of the line has two newcomers in guard Colin Haig and tackle Cam Jolley.

Cholly Williams is back for a second year as the starting quarterback. Lining up in the backfield with him are Blake Inabinet at tailback and Mikah Gilmore at fullback.

With the loss of Boan, Williams’ top two targets are tight end Marshall Livingston and slot receiver Maxx Judy. Both were starters last season.

Through the first two games, Williams had completed 20 of 39 passes for 150 yards and no touchdowns against one interception. Livingston had been his top target with 10 catches for 47 yards while Judy had three catches for 44 yards. Boan had three catches for 34 yards before going down with the injury.

The Indians hope to get their running game kicked into gear when they take on Clarendon Hall in their next game. Williams had rushed for 83 yards on 16 carries while Gilmore had 67 yards on 25 attempts.

Prior to the losses of Fanning and Boan, Orangeburg Prep had six starters returning on defense. Fanning was playing noseguard while Gilmore and Haig were both new starters at defensive end.

The strength of the defense is at linebacker with three returning starters in Livingston on the outside and Strickland and Inabinet on the inside. The new starter of the four is outside linebacker Zawayne Robinson.

Judy and Boan were the returning starters in the secondary, both at safety. The cornerbacks are both new starters in Davis Dangerfield and Toddy McElhone.

Livingston was leading the defense in tackles with 16. McElhone and Gilmore were tied fro the lead in tackles for loss with two apiece, and Williams had an interception.

Even though he wishes he wasn’t putting him through his paces as much as he has so far, Smith is very happy with the job Williams is doing on special teams. Williams returns as both the punter and the placekicker.

“We’re punting the ball really well,” Smith said with a laugh but in all seriousness. “Cholly Williams is doing a great job with that. Special teams have been a bright spot for us.”

McElhone holds for Williams on both field goals and extra points, while Judy and Strickland handle the snapping duties. Livingston and Judy are handling the kick return and punt return duties.

           The Indians had a team meeting following the loss to Dillon Christian. Smith said he told his players that practices were about to get more intense in order to straighten up the slow start.

           However, Smith pointed out one very important thing about his team’s effort through the first two games.

           “I truly believe my kids are giving me all that they’ve got,” Smith said. “Both games the opposing coaches have said your kids play hard and are more physical than last year. I can’t ask for any more of that. They’re playing with a bunch of effort and are striking people.

           “I’ve seen glimpses of us being a good team. We just haven’t been consistent enough yet.”