Laurens Academy plays at undefeated Jefferson Davis with berth in SCISA 8-man title game on the line
Senior quarterback Ethan Collins will be trying to help Crusaders to 3rd straight championship appearance
Laurens – Laurens Academy has played for the SCISA 8-man football state title for two straight years. It is one win away from making it three in a row after topping Wardlaw 42-8 on November 6. However, the Crusaders have a big test ahead if they hope to make it back.
They will be traveling to Blackville to take on undefeated Jefferson Davis Academy in the semifinals on November 13.
“We're going to have to play near perfcct to beat them,” LA head coach Jolly Doolittle, saif in reference to JDA, which is 12-0 on the year after blasting Cambridge 52-7 in the first round. “They’re a really good team. They've been pretty dominant all year.”
It’s not as if Laurens is chopped liver though. It will bring a 9-1 record into the contest. The general consensus was the Crusaders and the Raiders would meet for the state title. However, LA dropped a 28-24 decision to Richard Winn Academy in its regular-season finale, thus causing it to finish second in the region.
Dolittle was pleased with how the Crusaders rebounded from the loss.
“That’s the best we had played in quite some time,” Doolittle said. “We just had better focus, there was no complacency, better execution.
“We didn’t play well against Richard Winn, and we had played poorly the week before that too (in a 34-28 win over Newberry Academy). I think we had become complacent, and that’s the fault of the head coach.”
Quarterback Ethan Collins had a big game against Wardlaw, completing 19 of 24 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Caleb Hardy and Riley Whitaker both had six catches and a TD reception, Hardy for 51 yards and Whitaker for 41. Jensen Tarver had the other TD catch, and Eli Hornberger had five grabs for 90 yards.
Laurens ran for 213 yards with Hardy carrying the ball 10 times for 60 yards and three scores. Reid Campbell had 47 yards on five rushes, and Hornberger had 36 yards on four attempts.
On the season, Collins has been very accurate. He’s completed 134 of 186 attempts for 2,199 yards and 26 touchdowns. He’s also has run the football for 278 yards and four touchdowns.
Hardy leads the Crusaders in both rushing yards and receiving yards. He has rushed for 965 yards and 17 touchdowns on 114 carries while catching 36 passes for 787 yards and 11 more scores.
Whitaker is the leading pass catcher with 43 receptions for 529 yards and six scores. Hornberger has 31 catches for 666 yards and five touchdowns and has rushed for 259 yards and two TDS on 42 carries.
Defensively, Laurens has 118 tackles for a loss on the season. Sophomore Eli Garrett leads with 28 TFLs and is followed by junior Trey Oakes with 24 ½, and freshman Hodges Compton with 20. TFLs. Hardy leads in tackles with an even 100, and sophomore Elias Littleton has six interceptions and Hornberger has four picks
