Wilson Hall hopes third time is the charm in SCISA AAA championship game

           Sumter – The Wilson Hall football team will be playing in its third consecutive SCISA AAA state championship game on Saturday. However, the Barons don’t want that to be the high point of the story like the previous two seasons. They want to write a different ending this time around.

           “I’m really excited that the kids get to experience this again,” said Wilson Hall head coach Adam Jarecki. “You want to get back there, but, of course, they want to be able to finish it. I’m excited for the kids in the program that they get this chance.”

           Wilson Hall will again be facing the team it lost to in last year’s title game in Pinewood Prep. The Panthers won 24-21. Saturday’s game is set for a 7:30 p.m. start at South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg.

           The Barons enter the game with an 11-1 record after beating Hilton Head Christian Academy 50-29 in a semifinal game. Pinewood is 9-3 and topped Florence Christian School 45-6 in its semifinal game.

           The two teams met earlier in the season in Sumter with Wilson Hall coming away with a 28-21 triumph on October 3. Jarecki said the Panthers won’t be seeing anything different this time around.

           “We’re going to take the same approach that we always do,” Jarecki said. “We want to control the ball on offense, and we have to eliminate giving up big plays. They have weapons everywhere who can make big plays. On the other side of the coin, we have to control the ball and finish drives, control the clock and grind it out.”

           The Barons use a ball control flexbone offense that is filled with misdirection and options with lots of pulling by offensive linemen. It has worked quite well, but they will have to operate without one of their top running backs in senior Milling Galloway.

           Galloway suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first series against Hilton Head Christian. He had sat out the two games prior to that to give the knee rest. Galloway finished the season with 585 yards and 11 touchdowns on 62 carries.

           “Milling provided a lot of leadership; he was one of the seniors we lean on for that,” Jarecki said. Milling does a lot of things. He had kicking duties, played safety. We’re going to miss him, but we have to have that next-man-up mentality.”

Senior running back Ben McLaurin stepped up and had a huge game with 1,276 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. For the season, McLaurin has 1,172 yards and 15 touchdowns on 109 carries.

           Sophomore Cameron Wilsey is the fullback. He has carried the ball 64 times for 468 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Harris Naylor and sophomore Shep Vincent will split time at the other spot. Vincent has 27 carries for 262 yards and five scores, while Naylor has five carries for 12 yards.

           Senior Ford Wilder is the quarterback and is coming off of a big game running the ball against Hilton Head Christian. He rushed for 108 yards and three scores on 15 carries.

           Wilder has carried the football 68 times on the season for 414 yards and 12 TDs. He has completed 34 of 63 passes for 505 yards and four touchdowns.

           The starting split ends are senior Cooper Hill and senior Benson Elmore. Hill has five catches for 74 yards and a TD, and Elmore has six catches for 80 yards.

           Wilsey has two TD receptions, while Naylor has the most catches on the team with seven for 102 yards.

           There are two seniors and three juniors starting 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 Peyton Gilley at left guard.

           “We try to be physical up front,” Jarecki said. “Our guys do a really nice job with that. That’s the way the kids are.”

           The defensive line has senior Henry Jones starting at one of the end spots. The other positions are filled by a rotation of senior Walker Wilson, junior Wyatt Meyers, sophomore Crosby Tisdale, Smith and Reese Wilson.

           Jones has 41 tackles and eight tackles for loss as well as an interception. Walker Wilson has 39 tackles and seven TFLs, Reese Wilson has 21 tackles and eight TFLs, Howle has 22 tackles and a team nine TFLs, Smith has 20 tackles and five TFLs, Tisdale has nine tackles and one TFL, and Meyers has nine tackles. Jones and Reese Wilson lead in quarterback sacks with four apiece, while Smith has three.

           Gilley and sophomore Nehemiah Dinkins are the inside linebackers while McLaurin and sophomore Nolan Gooch are the sharks Gilley leads the team in tackles with 58 and has six TFLs, three interceptions and three sacks. McLaurin has 35 tackles and four TFLs to go with two interceptions and Gooch has 31 tackles. Dinkins has 50 tackles and seven TFLs.

The secondary has Hill and senior Matthew Behmer at cornerback and Naylor as the free safety. Hill has 18 tackles and an interception, Naylor has 29 tackles, two interceptions and one TFL, and Behmer has 37 tackles and a team high three interceptions.

           Dinkins has taken over as the placekicker with the absence of Galloway. He is 7 of 10 on extra point attempts. McLaurin is the punter and is averaging 31.9 on 19 punts.

           Vincent is the primary kickoff returner. He has eight returns for 333 yards, a 41.6 average, and one touchdown. Naylor is also a returner.

OFFENSE

QB – Ford Wilder Sr.

FB – Cameron Wilsey So.

RB -- Ben McLaurin Sr.

RB -- Shep Vincent So.

and Harris Naylor St.

SE -- Cooper Hill Sr.

SE -- Benson Elmore Sr.

LT -- Braelen Lewis Jr.

LG -- Peyton Gilley Jr.

C -- Banks Smith Sr.

RG -- Anrew Howle Sr.

RT -- Reese Wilson Jr.

DEFENSE

DL – Meyers Jr.

and Walker Wilson Sr.

DL -- Crosby Tisdale So.

and Banks Smith Sr.

DL -- Reese Wilson Jr.

and Andrew Howle Sr.

DE -- Henry Jones Sr.

Shark – Ben McLaurin Sr.

Shark – Nolan Gooch So.

ILB – Peyton Gilley Jr.

ILB – Nehemiah Dinkins So.

CB – Cooper Hill Sr.

CB – Matthew Behmer Sr.

FS – Harris Naylor Sr.

SPECIALISTS

PK – Nehemiah Dinkins So.

P – Ben McLaurin Sr.

Kick Returners – Shep Vincent So.

and Harris Naylor Sr.

SCISA Championships

AA

Saturday

at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium

in Orangeburg

Pee Dee (8-3) vs. Bethesda (11-0), noon

Class A

Saturday

at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium

in Orangeburg

Williamsburg (10-1) vs. Colleton Prep (9-2), 3:30 p.m.

AAA

Saturday

at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium

in Orangeburg

Wilson Hall (11-1) vs. Pinewood Prep (9-3), 7:30 p.m.