Pee Dee After Second Title in Three Years

By Dennis Brunson

           hssr.com Associate Editor

           Mullins –   won the SCISA AAA football state championship in 2022 with a 12-1 record. Last season, however, the Golden Eagles went just 3-8 and lost in the first round of the state playoffs.

           Well, they’re back.

           The Eagles are back in the championship game, this time in the AA classification, Undefeated PDA will take on defending AA state champion Bethesda Academy on Saturday beginning at 3:30 p.m. at Charleston Southern University’s Buccaneer Field in North Charleston.

           Pee Dee head coach Jonathan King is not surprised his team had a major uptick this season. With that, he thought the Eagles could be in this position.

        “We knew we would be a lot better just because we have 18 seniors,” said King, who guided PDA to its first ever 11-man state title in 2022. “A lot of those seniors were major contributors on the 2022 team.

         “We knew it was possible that we could do this, but you couldn’t have predicted that. We’ve got a talented group of players who work hard. All the credit goes to them and the work they’ve put in.”

          Pee Dee will take an 11-0 record into the title game. It has scored 478 points while allowing just 183. The Eagles have won all of their games by at least 25 points with the exception of one – on October 25 against Bethesda. PDA won by a 25-22 count.

         “They’ve put in a lot of work, gotten bigger, faster and stronger,” King said of his senior class. “We’ve been able to see that translate to the field. They’ve bought into being team leaders. We were kind of outgunned in a lot of situations last season. Now we’re just stronger and more experienced.”

          Pee Dee is led by senior quarterback Colby Richardson. A standout wide receiver on the 2022 team, Richardson took over the quarterback duties last season. He went through growing pains, but that has led to a monster season this year.

          Richardson, who is committed to Coastal Carolina for baseball, has thrown 150 passes. Only 36 of those have fallen incomplete as he has 114 completions for 2,004 yards and 25 touchdowns.

           Richardson is a major threat with his legs. He is second on the team in rushing with 612 yards and 12 touchdowns on 71 carries.

            King said Richardson is one of those seniors who improved via experience.

            “He’s grown up a lot from last year,” King said. “That was his first time playing quarterback, so he never really had to command an offense a lot. It happened really fast for him. It was a growing year, a developmental year for him.

           “His ability to run the ball is a big advantage for us. He’s a tough kid who wants to win, he’s competitive and fights for the extra yards. He’s also surrounded by a lot of talented players.”

           That starts with junior running back Tristan Heckman. He is the Eagles’ leading rusher with 925 yards and 18 touchdowns on 86 carries. He also has six catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

               Junior Ryan Small comes in when the Eagles go to a 2-back set. He has rushed for 359 yards and three touchdowns on just 29 carries. He also has four catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.

           PDA has a talented receiving corps led by senior Miles Trussell. He has 52 catches for 1,112 yards and 15 touchdowns. Senior Jamison Rogers has 27 catches for 362 yards and two touchdowns, senior O’Maury McKelvy has 10 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns, and senior Bennett Causey has nine catches for 136 yards and two scores.

           When PDA goes to sets using a tight end, it’s sophomore Judson Martin. He has two catches for 13 yards and has rushed for 151 yards and a score seeing some time in the backfield.

           Opening up the running lanes and protecting Richardson when he drops back to pass is a veteran offensive line led by senior center Hayden Spivey. Lining up to the immediate side of Spivey are junior Cole Pursley at left guard and senior Storm Garris at right guard. Senior Keeton Cribbs is the right tackle and junior Chandler James plays left tackle.

           “None of those guys put up those numbers unless the guys on the line of scrimmage are doing their jobs,” King said. “They want to be the ones leading the charge for us up front. They’re only worried about doing what’s best for us to win. They know it’s not glamorous. They’re just worried about knocking defenders off the ball and creating holes.”

           The defense has James, Cribbs and Causey starting along the line along with seniors Noah Poston and Kevin Ren. James has 58 tackles and a team high three quarterback sacks, Cribbs has 33 tackles and one tackle for loss, Causey has 14 tackles, Poston has 24 tackles and two tackles for loss and Ren has 18 tackles.

Heckman, Martin and Trussell are the linebackers. Heckman, who also sees some time in the secondary, leads in tackles with 87 and tackles for loss with five to go with two interceptions. Trussell has 12 tackles, and Martin has 60 tackles and one tackle for loss.

           McKelvy and junior Miles Wiggins are the cornerbacks while Richardson and Small are the safeties. McKelvy has 19 tackles and two interceptions, while Wiggins has 24 tackles and a team high three interceptions. Richardson has 33 tackles, one interception and one tackle for loss, and Small has 67 tackles and two interceptions.

           Those guys in the secondary have had a really good year,” King said.

           Trussell handles the kicking chores. He is 41 of 50 on extra point attempts and is 2 of 3 on field goals. He’s also the punter, averaging 36.6 yards a punt on 15 attempts with two of them landing inside the opposition’s 20-yard line.

           Small is the long snapper on punts while Spivey handles the snaps on PATs and field goals.

           King knows the Golden Eagles have their hands full with Bethesda. He believes it will come down to basics as to who will be the victor.

           “We’ve got to be able to run the football and control the line of scrimmage,” he said. “Bethesda has big-play ability all over the field. They’re going to take some shots. We

Ve got to control the line of scrimmage and stop the run.

“We’ve got to limit mistakes and not turn the ball over. They’re not going to give you opportunities. It’s hard to beat team twice like that in a season. The two teams are evenly matched and do the little things well.”