Williamsburg football team looking for another state championship

           Kingstree – Getting to a state championship game has become the expectation for the Williamsburg Academy football program. After all, the Stallions have played for a state title the past four seasons.

           However, they’ve only one of those games, that coming in 2022 for the SCISA AA state crown. The goal for Williamsburg in 2025 is to hoist that championship trophy again, according to senior quarterback Micah Balder.

           “The past two years we’ve lost state, so this year we’re just trying not to lose state,” said Balder, whose team lost to Thomas Heyward Academy in last year’s SCISA Class A title game. “We’ve got the experience of playing in the state championship game, but we don’t have the experience of winning it. I guess that’s the overall goal. I guess they’ve got to learn winning is a whole lot better than losing.”

           Williamsburg will be under the leadership of its third head coach in four years. Don Shelley led the Stallions to the first two title games, while Tyler Boyd took them to the last two. When Boyd left for Lamar High School, in stepped Will Furse.

           Furse, who came to Williamsburg after one year at Lee Academy, likes what he has seen.

           “Things are coming together,” said Furse, who led Laurence Manning Academy to a pair of SCISA AAAA title games while its head coach. “Things are trucking right along. I like our team spirit. We have a lot of football players, so I’m excited.”

           Williamsburg started the season with a pair of victories, beating Thomas Sumter Academy 38-14 and Pee Dee Academy 39-22.

           The Stallions return eight starters on offense, the most important being Balder. He completed 64 of 119 passes for 1,072 yards and 14 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 822 yards and 10 touchdowns on 137 carries.

           “He’s a really good leader, our guys look up to him,” Furse said of Balder. “Everybody likes him, and he’s calm and collected. He understands what we’re trying to do on offense. I can talk for hours about the things he brings to our team. He’s very competitive, and he’s very athletic. We’re very fortunate to have someone like him at quarterback.”

           Having come up in a system with Boyd calling the plays, Balder has had to make some adjustments in regards to terminology and such. However, he feels good about things.

 “We were kind of questioning it, but everything has turned out great so far,” said Balder. “I think we’ve put in every single play that we want so far. As we get closer to the season I think we’ll be alright and we’ll be just as good as we were last year.

           “I think my confidence is there. I can always improve my skill set. I trust in my receivers more this year than I did last year. I feel really good about our running backs, so if I’m not playing my best, we’ve got the running backs to fall back on.”

           Junior Grant Small returns at running back after rushing for 709 yards and eight touchdowns on 104 carries. The other running back will be senior Eli Brown.

           Senior Jay Kellahan returns as one of the starting wide receivers. The other starter will be junior Hall Dukes. Junior Michael Ard and junior Charlie Caulder will both see plenty of time at tight end. Caulder had 13 catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

           Williamsburg returns two starters on the offensive line in senior right guard James Elmore and junior right tackle Marlin  Morris. Junior Mason Cribb will start at left tackle, junior Sammy Tomlinson at left guard and sophomore Henderson Livingston at center.

           Furse is happy with the development of the offensive line thus far.

           “We’re coming along,” Furse said. “We’re definitely getting better every day. (Assistant) Coach (Ken) Kellahan and (assistant) Britton Morris are coaching the offensive line, and they’re doing a really good job. We’re only going to get better from here.”

           Just like on offense, the Stallions return eight starters on defense. That includes all four linebackers in their 3-4 look.

           The linebackers are Small, Caulder, Ard and Kellahan. Ard had 54 tackles and six tackles for loss, Caulder had 41 tackles and 10 tackles for loss, and Small had 27 tackles and two tackles for loss.

           Marlin Morris and senior Connor Morris return as starters up front. Connor had 36 tackles and six tackles for loss, while Marlin had 28 tackles and one tackle for loss. Tomlinson will be the other starter.

           Returning starters in the secondary will be Balder and sophomore Gamble Wilson. Dukes and sophomore Lane Patrick  will be the other starters.

“I feel really good about the defense,” Furse said. “We’ve performed really well in the scrimmages, and defensively there hasn’t been as much change. We still need to continue to improve there.”

           Connor Morris will be the placekicker, and Small will handle the punting chores.

           Williamsburg will be counting on the development of some younger players as the season progresses to help build depth.

           “We have a very line-heavy freshman class,” Furse said. “We’re excited about them. Were trying to figure out how fast we can bring them along. Those are discussions we have as a coaching staff almost every day. We have a plan, and we hope it’s the right one.

“For the younger guys, especially their first year on varsity, it’s about how you have to practice every day to make it to the championship game. A lot of that comes from the players who have been there before. They kind of set the tone in practice, and for the young guys it’s either sink or swim.”