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Sumter Touchdown Club names Week 2 Players of the Week

Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • Sep 07, 2023

Wilson Hall's Bonser, Crestwood's Richardson, Lake City's Thomas, Williamsburg's Ward the selections

           Sumter -- Wilson Hall’s Jackson Bonser received a mulligan – a do-over, if you will – in the Barons’ football game with Laurence Manning Academy on Friday. Needless to say, the junior placekicker made the most of his second chance.

 

           After missing a 39-yard field goal that was nullified because LMA called a timeout just before the snap, Bonser nailed the second attempt with 3.1 seconds remaining in the game to give Wilson Hall a 31-28 victory at Spencer Field.

 

           “I wanted to end it right there,” Bonser said. “It went through at the right time.”

 

           Because of that, Bonser was selected as the Special Teams Player of the Week for the Sumter Touchdown Club presented by FTC.

 

           The other three selections for the SAFE Players of the Week are Crestwood wide receiver Jeremie Richardson as the Offensive Player of the Week, Lake City center Shemar Thomas as the Offensive Lineman of the Week and Williamsburg Academy linebacker Teague Ward as the Defensive Player of the Week.

 

           The foursome will be honored at the club’s weekly breakfast meeting on Friday at the Sumter County Parks and Recreation’s Jasmine Hall located at 155 Haynsworth Street. Breakfast will start at 7 a.m. with the meeting beginning at 7:15. The guest speaker will be Leighton Cubbage, who played on the 1969 Edmunds High School AAAA state championship team before going on to play at Clemson and is a member of the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame.

 

           SPECIAL TEAMS JACKSON BONSER WILSON HALL PLACEKICKER/PUNTER JUNIOR

 

           Wilson Hall head coach Adam Jarecki called a timeout with 9.9 seconds remaining after a running play left the Barons with a third down at the Swampcat 22-yard line. He wanted to give his team an opportunity for one more play in case something went wrong on the attempt.

 

           On the kick that counted, it almost did.

 

           “I was excited, confident when I went out there to kick,” said Bonser, who was also 4-for-4 on extra point attempts and averaged 28 yards on three punts. “The fans started getting loud and then there was a little high snap. (Holder) Clark (Kinney) made a great play, got it down and I followed through. It felt awesome to do that in front of everyone here.

 

           “I did know (it was good) when I went through and hit it. “It wasn’t the best kick, it started tailing a little bit at the end, but I knew I made it.”

 

           Jarecki said he knew Bonser had nailed the game winner when it left his foot.

 

           “He hit it crisp,” Jarecki said. “You can tell off the foot whether a kicker gets it good. It's just incredible. It was a high snap, and Clark made a great play getting it. Jackson waited on that, for Clark to get set, and Jackson was as pretty as could be kicking through it.”

 

           Bonser is 2-for-3 on field goals for the season, nailing a 30-yarder in the season-opening 17-10 win over Hilton Head Christian Academy to start the season. Jarecki said it’s nice to have that option available when a drive stalls.

           

           “Having Bonser with that ability, it's such a weapon for us,” he said. “That gives us another chance to finish drives, to get points.”

 

           OFFENSE JEREMIE RICHARDSON CRESTWOOD WIDE RECEIVER JUNIOR

 

           Richardson had five catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns in the Knights' 49-7 victory over Andrew Jackson High.

 

           Richardson’s touchdown receptions went for 60 and 85 yards, respectively. Both came on slants on which Richardson took them to the house.

 

           “When I saw it and I got the ball, I said, ‘I really can get this,’ so I did it,” Richardson said.

 

           Richardson, a junior, moved to wide receiver this season after the Knights lost their top three receivers from last season. Head coach Roosevelt Nelson said Richardson is still in the process of transitioning, but is progressing.

 

           “Jeremie is a great athlete,” Nelson said. “He’s still green, learning the position, He’s been working hard throughout the summer and getting better each week. He has good hands, top-end speed, he’s elusive. The sky’s the limit.”

           

           Richardson has emerged as the top target for 4-year starting quarterback Javion Martin. He has a team high 13 catches for 379 yards and four touchdowns. He’s just trying to improve from day to day.

 

           “I do feel like I have big shoes to fill,” the 5-foot-11-inch, 165-pound Richardson said. “I’ve been working hard to get better, grinding it out over the summer. I think the shoes are getting smaller and smaller as we developed as a team.”

 

           OFFENSIVE LINEMAN SHEMAR THOMAS LAKE CITY CENTER SENIOR

 

           Thomas graded out at 90 percent and helped the Panthers pick up 315 rushing yards in their 13-0 victory over Kingstree.

 

           That was a major improvement for Lake City, which won its first game after losing to Laurence Manning Academy 21-20 and West Florence 28-0.

 

           Thomas, a 5-11, 390-pound senior, said he and his offensive linemates have been growing together as the season has progressed.

 

           “We started to be together as a group, one as a unit,” said Thomas, who is in his first year at center after starting the previous two seasons at nose guard on defense. “We’ve worked hard in practice to become one as a unit. I had to step up and be a leader on the team.”

 

           Acting Lake City head coach Jamison Estep said Thomas had a tremendous game.

 

           “He didn’t have any knockdowns, but Shemar had some blocks where he was taking kids for rides five to 10 yards down the field,” Estep said. “We challenged the O line, that they weren't as physical up front as they needed to be. They stepped up and accepted the challenge. They were a lot more physical than the previous two weeks.”

 

           DEFENSE TEAGUE WARD WILLIAMSBURG LINEBACKER SENIOR

 

           Ward had 13 total tackles, four tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry in the Stallions' 20-18 victory over Florence Christian School. Two of those tackles came with the Eagles on fourth down with one yard to go.

 

           Ward said he was able to make the stops because he was pretty sure what was coming.

 

           “I watch lot of film throughout the week, and I knew that they would run a fullback dive in that situation,” Ward said. “The fullback lined up tight to the quarterback, and I went to him.

 

           “I thought I played well. I read the hole well, but I could have had better lateral movement. I think I made up for that in other ways.”

 

           Williamsburg head coach Tyler Boyd said his senior linebacker displayed his leadership on those plays.

 

           “Those were two big plays for us,” Boyd said. “He made some big plays when we needed him to. He made big plays when we needed to get off the field.”

 

           That let the offense on the field for the Stallions with Ward in the backfield seeing significant action for the first time. He rushed for 133 yards on 13 carries and caught two passes for 15 yards and finished with two total touchdowns.

 

           “He hadn’t touched it a whole lot because we wanted him healthy and we wanted to see what else we had,” Boyd said. “This was the most that we had run him, and he made it count.”


By Larry Gamble 15 May, 2024
Updates to the SCISA Championship Series for Softball and Baseball. Some games in this best of three series are not complete, others were weather postponed. SCISA SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES CLASS AAAA Champions - Laurence Manning Monday Laurence Manning 5 Hammond 4 Tuesday Hammond 0 Laurence Manning 9 CLASS AAA Champions - Pee Dee Academy (third straight state title) Monday Orangeburg Prep 0 Pee Dee Academy 3 Tuesday Pee Dee 6 Orangeburg Prep 5 AA Monday Colleton Prep 1 Clarendon Hall 6 Tuesday rescheduled for Wednesday at 5pm Clarendon Hall Colleton Prep Wednesday At Neutral Site if Needed CLASS A Champions- JEFFERSON DAVIS ACADEMY Monday Cross Schools 0 Jefferson Davis 4 Tuesday Jefferson Davis 11 Cross Schools 0 SCISA BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Best-of-3 series AAAA Monday Augusta Christian 3 Cardinal Newman 1 Tuesday rescheduled to Wednesday Cardinal Newman at Augusta Christian, 6 p.m. Thursday At - Lexington HS - if Needed AAA Monday Hilton Head Christian 3 Pee Dee Academy 1 Tuesday rescheduled to Wednesday Pee Dee at Hilton Head Christian, 6 p.m. Thursday At Neutral Site if Needed CLASS AA Champion - Dorchester Academy Monday Calhoun Academy 2 Dorchester 6 Tuesday Dorchester 5 Calhoun Academy 1 CLASS A Monday Richard Winn 8 Holly Hill 2 Tuesday rescheduled for Wednesday Holly Hill at Richard Winn, 6 p.m. Thursday At Neutral Site if Needed
By Staff reports 15 May, 2024
Other four Game 2s postponed, rescheduled for Wednesday
By Billy Baker 14 May, 2024
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Summerton — Softball championships are not always won just by the plays of the moment; they are won by the players on championship teams who prepare on a year-round basis, through summer ball, fall ball, outside instruction, and a total commitment to the sport. In Clarendon Hall’s 6-1 win over Colleton Prep (18-5-2) in Monday’s first game in the best- of- three SCISA AA state title series, observers could see the aforementioned on full display as a relaxed and well-trained team from Clarendon Hall played error free softball. Pitcher Calli Yount had 11 strike-outs, and the Saints produced timely hits with runners in scorer’s position.  It was the third time the two teams had meet this season and it was the third win for Clarendon Hall. The two previous wins were 8-0 and 6-0 so Colleton Prep improved by scoring a run this time. They hope to score even more as the two teams (weather permitting) get ready to play game two at 5 p.m. at Colleton Prep today. After the game Clarendon Hall head coach Jeffrey Bays , told the HSSR, “We definitely got some timely hits today but we didn’t hit the ball like we usually do,” said Coach Bays. “You do have those games where you are not as strong as you usually are at the plate, and we tell our girls to be patient and wait on their pitch. “Getting some walks, mixed in with a few timely hits, proved to be a game changer for us, said Coach Bays. “I was really proud of how the girls responded to the challenge today. I can’t think of an error we made, and that is really important, and we have played very clean ball most of the year. “Our pitcher tomorrow will be a game time situation,” said Coach Bays. “Calli had a good outing today but we do have several pitchers who can throw strikes so we’ll just have to wait and see.” Colleton Prep head coach Tiger Martin told the HSSR , “They scored six runs total and five of them came in the second inning and then they got a solo home run later and made some errors and gave them some walks that helped them score the six runs,” said Coach Martin. “More games are lost then ever won. The team that makes the fewest mistakes usually comes out on top and they played a cleaner ball game then we did tonight. “It didn’t help that we had four backward K’s and we need to swing the bats more,” said Coach Martin. “We have to lay off her riser ball that was coming in high today and it can be virtually unhittable. Hopefully, we will have an umpire today that likes them thrown a little lower. We have to hope she can bring the ball down a little.” The Saints pushed across five runs in the bottom of the second inning. Yount led off with a single and then Colleen McIntosh drew a walk. Lacey Corbett singled to score Yount for a 1-0 lead and a throwing error on the throw in allowed both runners to advance to second to third. Two batters later, Macie McIntosh drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Brynlee Brewer , the only new starter on the team this season, reached on an error allowing two runs to score to make it 3-0. Two batters later, Macie McIntosh , drew a one-out walk to load the bases. An RBI ground-out RBI by junior Mandy Wells made it 4-0. The Saints 5 th run scored on a passed ball. In the CP 4 th inning, Ava Murray led off with a double down the third base line. She was brought in on a two-out single by Hannah Strickland to close the deficit to 5-1. CH added an insurance run in the bottom of the 5 th on a solo home run by Yount over the left field fence. Yount had three hits in the game including a home run. Clarendon Hall had six hits for the game and they benefitted from several CP errors and five walks they were issued. Yount gave up five hits in the game with two walks to go along with her 11 K’s. Senior Sydney Stivender pitched all six innings for CP. She recorded four strike-outs in taking the loss.
By Staff reports 14 May, 2024
Hilton Head Christian, Augusta Christian, Dorchester, Richard Winn take openers
By Staff reports 14 May, 2024
Laurence Manning, Pee Dee, Clarendon Hall, Jefferson Davis win openers
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor 14 May, 2024
Cardinals beat Hammond 4-0 to finish as undefeated AAAA champion
By Larry Gamble 14 May, 2024
Scores from around the SCISA universe from Game 1 Monday. SCISA SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Best-of-3 series AAAA Monday Laurence Manning 5 Hammond 4 Tuesday Hammond at Laurence Manning, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday At Neutral Site if Needed AAA Monday Orangeburg Prep 0 Pee Dee Academy 3 Tuesday Pee Dee at Orangeburg Prep, 6 p.m. Wednesday At Neutral Site if Needed AA Monday Colleton Prep 1 Clarendon Hall 6 Tuesday Clarendon Hall at Colleton Prep, 5 p.m. Wednesday At Neutral Site if Needed CLASS A Monday Cross Schools 0 Jefferson Davis 4 Tuesday Jefferson Davis vs Cross Schools, @ Bluffton High School Wednesday At Neutral Site if Needed SCISA BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Best-of-3 series AAAA Monday Augusta Christian 3 Cardinal Newman 1 Tuesday Cardinal Newman at Augusta Christian, 6 p.m. Thursday At Neutral Site if Needed AAA Monday Hilton Head Christian 3 Pee Dee Academy 1 Tuesday Pee Dee at Hilton Head Christian, 6 p.m. Thursday At Neutral Site if Needed AA Monday Calhoun Academy 2 Dorchester 6 Tuesday Dorchester at Calhoun Academy, 6:30 p.m. Thursday At Neutral Site if Needed CLASS A Monday Richard Winn 8 Holly Hill 2 Tuesday Holly Hill at Richard Winn, 6 p.m. Thursday At Neutral Site if Needed
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor 13 May, 2024
Five of eight series will have teams trying to defend titles
By Billy Baker 13 May, 2024
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Sumter — The good news was that no rain fell on Sumter’s Patriot Park on May, 11 providing for some great games in the annual SCISA softball playoffs with 8 teams qualifying to compete for AAAA, AAA, AA and Class A state titles starting on Monday. Game two will be played on Tuesday at the opposite site of the home team on Monday. If a third game is needed it will be played at a neutral site on Wednesday. One notable highlight from the games on Saturday was junior Mandy Wells of Clarendon Hall hitting three consecutive home runs in her team’s 15-0 win over Calhoun Academy to advance the Saints to the AA finals on Monday against Colleton Prep . Wells hit her two home runs to dead center field and her second homer was a base clearing grand slam. Her third home run was a line drive over right center field. Wells came into the SCISA tournament batting .481 with 28 RBI’s. Game one between Clarendon Hall and Colleton Prep is schduled for 6pm on Monday in Summerton. Laurence Manning defeated Hammond 5-3 to advance to the AAAA finals. The lost sent Hammond to the loser’s bracket finale against Wilson Hall and Hammond the defeated the Barons 14-4 to earn the right to play Laurence Manning for the title starting on Monday at 6 p.m. in Manning. “We started out hitting the ball right at people and Hammond gave us a great game,” said LMA head coach Buddy Truett . ´We didn’t like having to get up at 7 a.m. to get over here by 9 a.m. and it took us awhile to get going. We are excited to playing for a state championship. It should be a very competitive series and having finished runner-up the past two seasons we are focused on winning it all this year.” LMA trailed Hammond 3-3 going into the bottom of the 6 th inning. Lily Welborn led off with a single and made it all the way to third on a throwing error. An RBI single by Kaylee Avins scored Welborn to tie the score at 3. The difference in the game was a two- run homer from 8 th grader Karly Bjork the next batter up for LMA. “I told her after she hit the home run that I didn’t think I could love her anymore but I do now,” said Coach Truett. “I am very proud of the girls. We made some errors early in the game we do not normally make but we came back from being down and I very proud of all of them. ”We know that Pee Dee has good pitching and they are a solid hitting team also so we are expecting quite a series against them,” said Coach Kinard. “We went over there last year and kicked the ball around a bit. Our goal is playing better defense against them. Defense wins championships.” In Class AAA action, Orangeburg Prep defeated Thomas Sumter 15-0 to advance to the AAA finals. The Class AAA championship games for Pee Dee and Orangeburg Prep start Monday in Mullins at 6pm. Pee Dee Academy head coach Wes Eskridge told the HSSR after his team’s big win over John Paul II Saturday: “We have been fortunate to win three state titles in a row and we are competing in the finals for the 7 th straight time and I could not be prouder of this team,” said Coach Eskridge. ”Jo Jo Perritt is just a sophomore and she gets the job down in the circle for us. “Orangeburg Prep is a tough team and the key for us is for us to play our game and not theirs,” said Coach Eskridge. “We know we have to keep working hard.” In Class A action Jefferson Davis Academy will compete against Cross Schools , who defeated Laurens Academy 4-3 to advance. Jefferson Davis earned the right to play for a Class A title by defeating Cross School 7-1 on Saturday. Head JDA head coach Bart Owens told the HSSR , “Regan Still did a great job pitching all three games in the tournament and she is headed to Florence-Darlington Tech to play next season,” said Coach Owens. “We beat Wardlaw 16-3 and Laurens Academy in our other two tournament games ”Regan is an outstanding pitcher and she is the best that I have ever had at JDA,” said Coach Owens. “Super proud of the whole team today. Or goal now is to win the state championship next week.” The Class A championship series starts Monday at JDA game time is 6pm.
By Dennis Brunson hssrl.com Associate Editor 13 May, 2024
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