South Florence starts 2-0, Wilson 1-1, West Florence 0-2

           Florence – The south side of Florence came out victorious and Wilson & Wilson were winners in their first football game together.

           Defending AAAA state champion South Florence High School came away with a 37-6 triumph over rival West Florence, while Brian Wilson triumphed in his first game as Wilson High’s head coach, edging Conway  13-9.

           “I’m happy for our players and proud of their effort,” said South Florence head coach Drew Marlowe, who has led the Bruins to three straight state title games, winning two of them. “A team shows its greatest improvement between Week 1 and Week 2. We will need to prove that true this week.”

           South Florence went on the road and beat Summerville 22-21 in overtime on August 29.

           Messiah Jackson is back at quarterback for the Bruins. Cameron James will be the main running back, while Bruce Thompson will serve as the H back. Jackson’s targets in the 3-wide set are Jayaun Perkins, Semaj Parker and Ben Tyner. The offensive line will have Josiah Mason at left tackle, Myles  Hutson at left guard, Luke Thayer at center, Jerry Jenwright at right guard and Ethan Cash at right tackle.

           South Florence runs a 3-man front on defense with Marquez Mckithen, Myles Johnson and Brenden Williams filling those spots. The outside linebackers are Terry Gordon and Jewel Washington with Warnell Prew and Willie Kennedy manning the inside slots. The secondary is made up of Johnquis Johnson, Amare Reaves, William Wilson and Gerkeim Hall.

           Coy Joyner is the placekicker while Jackson handles the punting.

           West Florence was in its first game under the guidance of Chad Wilkes. While not happy with the result, Wilkes feels better things are coming for his team.

           “We played a great team with more experience who are way ahead of us in all of the operational aspects of the game like special teams, simple assignments, the kind of things that really hurt us,” said Wilkes, whose team lost to Myrtle Beach 42-38 in Game 2. “I’m happy with how we responded in the second half after they jumped up early, but we are a long way from where we need to be in the execution of the scheme on both sides of the ball. That comes with inexperience, and I’m excited abouts the growth we’ll see in this team over the course of the year.”|

           West Florence is working out of a 1-back set on offense and Jeremiah Bryant is the starter. The quarterback is Avery Weaver. The starting wideouts are North Willis, Corey Patterson and Jackson  DuBose when the Knights are in a 3-wide set. Cooper Creach the H back and Caden Taylor the tight end.

           The offensive line has James Tuttle at left tackle, Jamie Williamson at left guard, D’Xavier Simpson at center, Matthew Allen at right guard and Tayden Singletary at right tackle.

           Defensively, West Florence uses a 3-man front that has Karon Williamson at noseguard and Jamie Williamson and Zack Hill at the ends. The linebackers are Malik Bines, Barnabus Paye, Romello Patterson and Clayton Folse.

           The secondary has Derrick Austin and Ahmad Askew as cornerbacks, Chase Anderson as the free safety and Matthew Benjamin as the strong safety.

           The Wilson Tigers have already matched their victory total of a year ago when they went 1-9. The new head coach hopes there are more to come.

           It was good to get a win and move in the right direction,” said Coach Wilson, who was an assistant coach at Sumter. “Our kids played extremely hard for four quarters and that’s all I can ask for.”

           Wilson lost to Gilbert 29-28 in its second game.

           For Wilson, Tristen Howard is the starting quarterback, while Caleb Collins and Myquan McLaughlin are the running backs. The wide receivers are Rashawn Woodberry and Taylor Brand with Cedrick Bartell  the tight end.

The offensive tackles are Trevis McCutcheon on the right side with Jordan Owens starting on the left side. The center is Braedan McBride with Ahmad Pagan the right guard and Amir Gee the left guard.

           The Tigers are using a 3-man front defensively featuring Jade Emert, Omir Douglas and Isaiah Moore. The linebackers are Shyheem Henicks, Taumaury Echols, Jaquan Burgess and Jordan Davis. The secondary has Brian Wilson II, Devon Bowman, Zion Mack and Jalen Boston.

           Taylor Brand is the punter and Jaylen Cockfield is the placekicker.