By Thomas Grant Jr.
For the first time in school history, Northside Christian Academy football will have a statewide television audience.
The Crusaders travel to Sumter to face Wilson Hall. It’s the Sonic Friday Night Rivals Game of the Week and can be seen on WACH 57 or online at www.wach.com.
For Northside Christian (2-0), the excitement for playing before a large audience is equal to the anticipation of meeting a desired opponent for the SCISA Region 2-3A opener.
“We have all been talking about being able to play a great team on a big stage,” Crusaders head coach Dean Howell said. “Playing on TV in our first region game in 3A… you really couldn’t ask for more than that. And to have an opportunity to play against a traditional power like Wilson Hall. It’s just a great opportunity and they’ve really been looking forward to it.”
The Northside Christian Academy players have earmarked this matchup since realignment moved it into the same region as the Barons. For quarterback Jeff McCallum, the road to the region title involves “beating Wilson Hall.”
“Well it’s been talked about for sure, but I think it really falls in line with who these guys are,” Howell said. “They are trailblazers here. We are 14-10 in 11-man football when no one gave them a chance. They’ve worked their tails off and deserve everything. This so just another opportunity to do something no one else around here has.”
The Crusaders’ offense has revolved around their running back. The senior duo of Sam Burks (259 rushing yards, three touchdowns) and J.R. Kinard (235 rushing yards, four touchdowns) have accounted for seven of the team’s eight rushing scores.
On defense, linebacker Trevor Hoffman leads the team In tackles (23). Jake Jeffrey is second with 17 tackles and a team-high four sacks.
In last week’s 33-26 win over Calhoun Academy, Christian Hickman had an 81-yard interception return of the season. He joined Burks in recording defensive touchdowns.
This is the second game of the season for Wilson Hall. It held off Orangeburg Prep 20-17 last week as Jackson Bonser connected on two field goals, including the game-winner in the fourth quarter.
The Barons used quarterbacks Owen Meyers and Ford Wilder in the win. They each threw a touchdown and combined for 115 passing yards.
“We don’t pay much attention to scores and opponents,” Howell said. “We get to know our opponents each week as we prepare for them, but we spend more time talking about us and what we need to do to get better.
“Wilson Hall is a well-coached team full of great athletes and our guys know that we will need to play really really well to have a chance against them. We haven’t put a full game together on both sides of the ball, but we are getting better and we are close. We are all looking forward to the opportunity we have Friday night.”
Season-opener for Bearcats
The Brookland-Cayce football team is one of two Midlands teams who will open the regular season Friday.
Their “reward” for the early bye week is a visit to “The Swamp” to face River Bluff. It’s the first of two straight games against Region 4-5A teams as the Bearcats will face White Knoll Sept. 6 for their home opener.
Brookland-Cayce closes out its non-region schedule against May River, who last week defeated Airport 34-13. The Eagles are idle this week and will play host to the Sept. 6 “Sonic Friday Night Rivals” Game of the Week against Orangeburg-Wilkinson.
Both Lexington School District 2 rivals finish the season with seven games in 8-team Region 4-4A.
Gray Collegiate is also in Region 4-4A. The War Eagles are coming off a 17-14 win over James Island in their season-opener to move up to fourth in this week’s S.C. Prep Football Media poll.
This week, they head to Chattanooga, Tenn. to face Baylor School. The program is led by former University of South Carolina quarterback and Hammond School head coach Erik Kimrey.
S.C. PREP FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL
Class 4A
1. Westside (19) (1-0)
2. South Florence (1-0)
3. Daniel (1-0)
4. Gray Collegiate (1-0)
5. Hartsville (0-0)
6. South Pointe (0-1)
7. Camden (0-1)
8. AC Flora (1-0)
9. Brookland-Cayce (0-0)
10. North Augusta (1-0)
Others receiving votes: Crestwood, Lancaster, May River, Hilton Head Island, Richland Northeast, Wren, Beaufort, Greer, Midland Valley, Gilbert
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