Lee Academy looking to defend SCISA Class A football state championship
Cavaliers to take on Patrick Henry Academy
Bishopville – After losing 15 seniors from a team that won the SCISA Class A football state
championship last season, Lee Academy head coach David Rankin thought this year’s team might take a
step back.
And maybe the Cavaliers did, but that was a while ago. They’ve taken a few steps forward as the
season has progressed and will be playing for the state championship for the fourth straight season.
Lee will take on Patrick Henry Academy in the state championship game on Saturday at 7:30
p.m. at Charleston Southern University’s Buccaneer Field in North Charleston.
“In a way,” was Rankin’s response when asked if he’s surprised Lee is back in the title game
defending its championship. “I thought we had good players back, and I felt we could be a good team. I
didn’t know how good we would be though.
“We had a really good summer in the weight room, and these kids have worked very hard.
They’ve gotten better as the year went along, and that’s what’s happened.”
Lee has been a work in progress throughout the season while facing some adversity along the
way. Starting quarterback Andrew Bowers left the team just after the halfway point of the season.
Clayton Catoe, who was the team’s leading receiver, moved behind center and takes most of the
snaps.
“He’s done a good job,” Rankin said of Catoe, who has completed 17 of 24 passes for 423 yards
and five touchdowns against just one interception. “He's truly a game manager. He’s not a runner, but he's
our best wide receiver by far. He’s stepped into the role”
William West takes some snaps in the wildcat formation, but sees most of his time at wingback.
Like Catoe, West has stepped up down the stretch.
He had 151 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries in Lee’s 35-19 semifinal win over
Thomas Heyward Academy. He has rushed for 814 yards and eight touchdowns on 82 carries.
Lee’s leading rusher is senior running back Deshon Hadden with 951 yards and 13 touchdowns
on 127 carries. Senior Bryson Muldrow, who backs up both Hadden and West, has rushed for 531 yards
and six TDs on 82 carries.
Catoe is still far and away the leading receiver with 19 catches for 241 yards and three
touchdowns. However, senior tight end Lance Freidenberger has five TD catches among his eight
receptions for 219 yards.
The other starting tight end, sophomore Paxton Greene, has three catches for 56 yards, while
starting split end Noah Brazell has four catches for 49 yards. West has eight catches for 199 yards and
five TDs, while Hadden has nine catches for 178 yards and two TDs.
Handling the blocking chores are sophomore Hampton Layton at left tackle, junior Trace June
at left guard, junior Tyler Berry at center, senior Aubrey Boyce at right guard and freshman Dawson
Daniel at right tackle.
Senior Cambell Wilkes is the B back.
“We;ve had a lot of spots that needed to be filled,” West said. “We’ve had young guys step up and
play those spots well. The offensive line is young, but has been doing really well recently.
"Our team came out of the offseason really hungry and worked really hard.”
The Cavaliers use a 3-man front on defense with sophomore Tom Katko at noseguard and June
and Boyce at the ends. Boyce has 57 tackles, three tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks. June has
69 tackles, two TFLs and five sacks. Katko has 28 tackles.
Friedenberger and Hadden are the outside linebackers. Friedenberger has 43 tackles, a team high
six sacks and two TFLs. Hadden has a team high eight TFLs and five sacks among his 57 tackles and
returned an interception for a score.
“Deshon is a workhorse when he runs the ball,” said Rankin, who will be after his third state title
while guiding Lee to a championship game in six of the last nine seasons. “On defense he’s a speed guy
who makes a lot of tackles. We try to force everybody to him. He’s a leader on our team. He bought in
and has done a super job last two years.”
The inside linebackers are sophomore Tucker Boyce and Muldrow, Boyce leads the team in
tackles with 94 to go along with two TFLs and a sack. Muldrow has 84 tackles and five TFLs.
Brazell and Catoe are the starting cornerbacks. Catoe has 28 tackles and six pass breakups to go
with five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Brazell has 22 tackles and four picks.
West and sophomore Cain June are the safeties. West has 51 tackles, one TFL, right PBUs and two
interceptions, one he returned for a score. June has two INTs and three PBUs to go with 27 tackles.
“We returned four defensive starters from last year, so we had seven new starters,” Rankin said.
“It took some time for them to learn to play the positions, learn the fundamentals and what they’re
supposed to do in their assignments. They’ve been getting better every week.”
One of their worst defensive performances came in the second game of the season in a 47-21 loss
to – Patrick Henry. The Patriots had 546 yards of total offense, including 371 through the air.
“We have to play better defense against them than we did last time,” Rankin said. “They ran up
and down the field and threw it well. They broke contain on us. They just ran by us.
“We'll find out how good our defense has become on Saturday. I'm looking for a good ball game.
I think the best two teams are playing.”
Kaleb Early is the placekicker, having connected on 50 of 57 extra point attempts. Muldrow is
averaging 35.6 yards on 14 punts.
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