Wilson Hall hopes to take that final step to SCISA AAA football state title
Barons have finished as runner-up the two previous seasons
Sumter – There are plenty of hoops that have to be jumped through to accomplish it, but the players for the Wilson Hall football team know what they want to do this season: win the SCISA AAA state championship.
Those who have played for the Barons the past two seasons know what it takes to get there. They’ve played in the last two state title games. They just haven’t been able to seal the deal.
“They want to get there and win it,” said WH head coach Adam Jarecki, whose squad lost to Pinewood Prep 23-21 in last year’s title game. “We can’t lose sight of the big picture. Those games have let us know what it takes to get there. The guys understand that now. What we do in practice, what we do away from practice. It gives validity to what we need to do.”
Wilson Hall, which went 11-2 last season, opened the 2025 campaign with a 42-14 road win over Orangeburg Prep on August 22. The Barons followed that up with a 45-12 triumph over Northside Christian Academy.
“I thought we executed pretty well, especially in the first half,” Jarecki said. “Offensively we scored on every possession up until it was 35-0.’
Senior Ford Wilder is running the Barons’ flexbone offense from the quarterback position this year after being the top flanker target for the departed Owen Meyers last season. Being behind center isn’t new to Wilder as he stepped in for Meyers when he was out with an injury last season.
“He had some nice reads in our packages,” Jarecki said. “It’s not new to Ford by any means. He’s a good athlete, a great athlete for us.”
Leading rusher Milling Galloway and Ben McLaurin are back as the running backs. The seniors are joined in the backfield by sophomore fullback Cameron Wilsey.
Galloway rushed for 777 yards and eight touchdowns, McLaurin had 511 yards and six scores, and Wilsey had 391 yards and one TD.
The wide receivers are seniors as well, Cooper Hill and Benson Elmore.
There are two seniors and three juniors on the offensive line. The seniors are center Banks Smith and right guard Andrew Howle. The juniors are Braelin Lewis at left tackle, Reese Wilson at right tackle and at left guard.
Wilson Hall operates out of a 4-man front defensively. There are three seniors in Walker Wilson, Howle and Miquel Wagner and one junior in Wyatt Meyers.
McLaurin and Gilley are back at linebacker with senior Henry Jones joining the trio. Three seniors are starting in the secondary in Hill, Harris Naylor and Matthew Beamer. Junior John Land is the other starter.
The Barons are having to replace standout placekicker/punter Jackson Bonser. Sophomore Shep Vincent will be kicking extra points and sophomore Neamiah Dinkins will be the punter.
