Scott's Branch hopes to make a run in Class A Division II playoffs starting with Lee Central
Touchstone Bowl selection Nyren Bowman one of several senior leaders for Eagles
By Dennis Brunson
hssr.com Associate Editor
Summerton – The season hasn’t gone quite the way Scott’s Branch High School football head coach Patrick Fleming had hope for, as the Eagles didn’t go undefeated and came up short of winning the Region 6-Class A title.
However, the ultimate goal is still out there: the Class A Division II crown. Fleming likes where his team is at it prepares to face Lee Central, a 68-30 first-round winner over Whitmire, in the second round on November 13 at SBHS’ Spann Stadium.
“I feel good about where we are,” said Fleming, whose team received a first-round bye as the No. 5 seed. “In the regular season we played some quality opponents, and we had three or four games that were playoff-type games. We feel like we’ve ironed out some wrinkles. Regardless of who we play, we’re going to play Scott’s Branch football.”
The Eagles are 7-3 and finished 4-1 in
Region 6, the only loss coming by a 39-0 count to defending Class A state champion Bamberg-Ehrhardt. They won’t have to worry about the Red Raiders though since they are in Division I.
The teams seeded in front of SBHS are No. 1 Blackville Hilda, No. 2 Lake View – which it beat 32-26 in the regular season – No. 3 Cross and No. 4 and defending Class A state runner-up Lamar.
Sophomore quarterback Kaleb Minger will come into the playoffs off of his best performance of the season. The 6-foot-4-inch Minger completed 23 of 33 passes for 270 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-8 triumph over Edisto.
For the season, Minger has completed 134 of 218 passes for 1,675 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Minger has a group of seniors around him who are capable of explosive plays. Running back Quintin Jackson has rushed for 1,040 yards and 13 TDs on 119 carries while catching 32 passes for 344 yards and five more scores.
Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl selection Nyren Bowman is the top catcher with 37 for 712 yards and nine scores. He’s also ran the ball 14 times for 187 yards and a touchdown.
Keith Rogers has 30 catches for 468 yards and four TDs. Rogers is a major special teams weapon, having returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and one punt.
Bowman is the defensive leader at linebacker with a team high 109 tackles. He also has 11 tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries.
Senior Danny Ragin, who just made the move from defensive end to outside linebacker, has team highs in TFLS with 13 and quarterback sacks with eight to go with 77 stops and two interceptions.
‘They just fly around and make big stops,” Fleming said. “We’ve tackled well all season. Nyren Bowman has been excellent. He’s an sideline-to-sideline guy.”
