By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Mt. Pleasant — Last season Palmetto Christian stepped up to an 11-man football program, after playing 8-man for several years, and the learning curve under new head coach Will Owens had challenges as the team finished 0-9.
Coach Owens told the HSSR that he and his staff worked with between 25 and 27 varsity football candidates in Spring drills in May.
Owens is a very experienced football coach, having worked with John Wheeler at St. Josephs for several seasons. He is also a former head coach at Carolina High School in the upstate.
“Last year we tried to be a ground and pound running team and we just didn’t have the depth to have much success in that style offense,” said Coach Owens. “During Spring drills, we are installing an up-tempo spread offense that includes an H-Back and a running back.
“On defense we are going to a high pressure attacking 3-3 defense with a 5 high safety,” said Coach Owens. “We feel like these changes better suits our talent and the players we now have in the program.”
Senior Haden Burris (5-10,165) returns for his second season at quarterback and he is a team co-captain. “Haden has a great arm and he stays cool under pressure,” said Coach Owens. “He is a hard worker and good team leader.”
The starting running back should be junior Cade Patrick who rushed for 600 yards as a sophomore. Patrick will also play in the secondary. The H-Back will be sophomore Sam Horton (5-8,170) who will also see action in the defensive line.
The wide receivers coming out of the Spring work-outs will include junior Peyton Shaw who will also play free safety. William Hollifield (6-2, 295) returns at receiver and he is a very talented middle linebacker on defense. The third receiver is Caden Bevelle who will also flip to corner back on defense.
The offensive line will consist of tackles Noah Brenneman, sophomore Keane Parker, along with guards Graham Kincaid and freshman Daniel Stewart. The center will be Paxton Parrish.
On defense, additional depth will be provided by sophomore free safety Sully Huemffner and freshman b who will hold down the SAM linebacker slot. Senior Josh Howard will start at linebacker and senior Ben McCartney 6-1, 225) will see action as a defensive tackle. Ross McMillian (5-9,215) will add depth along the defensive front as a nose guard.
“Our goals and expectations are for our players to adapt and get comfortable with our new offense and new defense we installed during Spring drills,” said Coach Owens. “We will be flying around more on both sides of the football. We are hoping that we have figured out some things that we can use to make us more competitive.”
Coach Owens is assisted by OC Jonah Deverling and he serves as the team’s DC. Matt Manning, who played at Coastal Carolina, works with the offensive line. Tony Poston works with the defensive line.
Palmetto Christian will once again compete as a SCISA AA member. They start the 2023 season against Memorial Day of Savannah in mid-August.
Numerous Spring PCA Athletes Earn All-Region Honors
PCA athletic director Dale Hoover provided the HSSR with a list of Spring sports all-region and Honorable Mention all-region selections in various sports.
Girls Soccer: Ava Chakeris - All Region (chosen for North-South All-Star game) Abby Creech - Honorable Mention All-Region.
Boys Soccer: Cole Seltz - All-Region, Miles Surrat - All-Region, Evans Baker - All-Region, Ryan Lozano - Honorable Mention All-Region, Noah Moser - Honorable Mention All-Region.
Baseball: Davis Knuse - All-Region (playing in North-South game on May, 20) Jake Taylor - Honorable Mention All-Region
Golf: SarahAnne Horne - All-Region, Grayson Campbell - All-Region, Davis Johnson - All-Region.
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