Jefferson Davis looks to reach SCISA 8-man title game for first time in 3 years with win over Laurens Academy

Blackville – The fact his Jefferson Davis Academy football team is 12-0 on the season doesn’t come as a shock to head coach Anthony Rietenour.

“I'm not surprised,” Reitenour said. “It is not uncommon to have one or two mistakes in a year. But this group of guys has been working hard, playing hard all year.”

 Following a 52-7 victory over Cambridge Academy in the first round of the SCISA 8-man state playoffs on November 6, the Raiders are just two victories away from claiming a state championship. Reitenour doesn’t want his players to lose sight of that.

“The hard part now becomes not getting complacent,” he said. “Now if you have a slipup, you go home. We just have to focus and work on our mindset, not beat ourselves.”

 There is a reason for that being a concern. JDA has outscored the opposition 425-71 and hasn’t had a close game since the fourth week of the season. In fact, three of its first four games were tight contests.

 In the first two weeks, Jefferson Davis topped Providence Athletic Club 24-19 and Andrew Jackson Academy 14-0. After an easy win over Palmetto Christian Academy, the Raiders edged defending 8-man state champion W.W. King 22-18.

In the final seven games of the regular season, JDA pitched four shutouts, including a 51-0 victory over AJA to end the regular season, and allowed just 34 points. Meanwhile, the fewest points it scored in any of those games was 40.

 Reitenour doesn’t think it will be a problem when Jefferson Davis plays host to Laurens Academy in a semifinal game on November 13. LA defeated Wardlaw 42-8 on Friday.

“I’ve got seven seniors on this team who have been with me a while,” he said. “They won the state title (in 2023) as freshmen, then we followed that the next year by losing in the semifinals when most everybody expected us to win again. Then last year we were kind of a middle-of-the-road team (8-4). I think they’re hungry for it.”

 Reece Still, one of the seniors, is the leader of the team. He had completed 35 of 76 passes for 811 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 453 yards and 12 more scores on 46 carries going into the Cambridge contest.. Playing in the secondary on defense, he had seven interceptions and 34 tackles to go with three defensive touchdowns.

Reitenour said there is more to Still than just numbers though.

“He still hates being the quarterback, but he does a good job commanding the offense,” the head coach said. “He’s just such a threat as an athlete. If we had someone to throw the ball to him, he’d be one of the best in the state. 

“He’s really developed into the leader that he has tried to argue with me the last three years that he is not.”

 Sophomore Marquel Williams was the leading rusher with 1,572 yards and 17 touchdowns on 138 carries. Junior Jake Harrington had 382 yards and six scores on 66 rushes, and freshman Marquis Creech had 266 yards and two TDs on 40 attempts.

 Senior Harrison Ray was the leading receiver with 16 catches for 413 yards and six touchdowns. Williams had 10 catches for 315 yards and five scores.

 Harrington was the leading tackler with 106 stops and also led in tackles for loss with 10. Senior Stanse Youngblood had 58 tackles and nine TFLs while leading in quarterback sacks with seven. Senior Judson Bowers had four sacks.

“Weve been a lot more aggressive on defense than I thought we’d be,” Reitenour said. “We've been a lot more aggressive, more physical this year. I think there has been more competition on the team as a whole to lead to that. It has been fun to watch.”

        In the win over Cambridge, Still completed 3 of 5 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 71 yards and two scores on four carries. Williams ran for 106 yards and two TDs on nine carries, Harrington had 48 yards and a score on five rushes and Creech had 66 yards and a touchdown on five totes.

Ray caught two passes for 60 yards and the score.

Harrington led the defense with 12 tackles and two tackles for a loss.