Summerton – Rick Atkinson and Clarendon Hall basketball have an on-again, off-again relationship.
Atkinson is back as Clarendon Hall’s boys basketball head coach for the third time. Interestingly, the last time he was a head coach for the Saints it wasn’t with the boys. He coached the CH girls team in 2013-14, a decade ago.
The Saints got off to a 2-4 start, but it came against some pretty stiff competition. The three losses came to defending AA state champion St. John’s Christian, the team SJC beat for the AA title in Cathedral Academy and defending Class A state champion Faith Christian and AAA Williamsburg.
Clarendon Hall’s wins came against Thomas Sumter Academy by the scores of 65-38 and 59-40, respectively.
Atkinson has been pretty pleased with what he has seen from the team.
“Their attitudes and efforts have been really good,” he said.
The Saints return two starters from last year’s team, which won just two games. They are seniors Darius Aiken and Kole Elliott.
Aiken was averaging 23 points a contest, while Elliott was averaging a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The other starters are senior Karson Fields, junior Griffin McIntosh and junior Evan Reynolds. The 6-foot-3-inch Reynolds is averaging 4.0 points and 9.0 rebounds while McIntosh is averaging four points and eight boards. Fields is averaging 3.0 points.
Atkinson expects to have 6-foot-6-inch, 250 pound Bryce Jordan back after the Christmas break. He suffered a high ankle sprain in the opener against TSA and had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Reynolds has been starting in his place.
“Both of them are new to basketball,” Atkinson said. “Both of them certainly have come on. Evan has done a good job filling in for Bryce.”
Junior Jamie Bryan just joined the team and will be a part of the rotation. Other members of the team are junior Drayton Barrett, junior Connor Bush and sophomore Grayson Elliott.
If the Saints play fundamentally sound basketball, Atkinson likes their chances.
“If we can limit turnovers and limit offensive rebounds for the other teams we'll be competitive,” Atkinson said.
FIVE SAINTS SELECTED FOR NORTH-SOUTH FOOTBALL GAME
Clarendon Hall had five players selected to play in the SCISA AA-Class A North-South All-Star Football Game.
They were seniors Kole Elliott, Darius Aiken, Wilder Robinson, Brock Mathis and Karson Fields.
Elliott was the Saints’ leading receiver with 23 catches for 459 yards and three touchdowns. He had a per-catch average of 20.0 yards. Defensively, Elliott had 16 tackles, one quarterback pressure and eight pass breakups.
Aiken averaged 135.8 rushing yards a game, running for 1,494 yards and 20 touchdowns on 173 carries. He also caught six passes for 43 yards and another touchdown. Aiken was a major factor on defense from his safety slot. He finished with five interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, five PBUs, two quarterback sacks, two tackles for loss and 47 tackles.
Mathis led the team in tackles from his linebacker slot with 69 and TFLs with five to go with one FF. Offensively, Mathis rushed for 219 yards and one touchdown on 35 carries while completing 18 of 51 passes for 503 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a pass for 11 yards.
Robinson played cornerback on defense an had five INTs to go with 44 tackles, two TFLs, one sack, three FRs and seven PBUs, Offensively, Robinson caught 10 passes for 124 yards to go with eight carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Fields started at center and had 53 knockdown blocks. Defensively, Fields had 35 tackles, four TFLs, one sack and one PBU.
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