Undefeated Williamsburg comes down stretch with healthy roster
Williamsburg volleyball program has big numbers
Kingstree -- For the first time since the very beginning of the season, the Williamsburg Academy football team had all of its players suited up and ready to play on September 29 against Lee Academy.
The result was a 47-7 victory for the defending AA state champion Stallions against the defending Class A state champion. It’s not as if Williamsburg has been struggling without the injured players as it improved to 6-0 on the season. First-year Stallions head coach Tyler Boyd is just happy to have all of his arrows in his quiver.
“Last night was the first time we had the whole starting crew since the first quarter of the first game of the season,” Boyd said. “We were worried about our depth coming into the season. We had some freshmen starting so I hope this helps us in the long run.”
Back on the field was senior quarterback/safety Conrad Balder, senior center/defensive lineman Blake Hedrick and senior left tackle/defensive end Wyatt Floyd. TJ Bennett, a top backup at running back and linebacker, was also back after missing the previous week.
“It was kind of like a breath of fresh air to have them back on the field,” Boyd said of the returning players. “They were practicing, handling it well, moving around. Everything moves faster.”|
The Stallions, ranked No. 1 in the High School Sports Report Pick 6 SCISA AA poll, only led Lee 15-7 at halftime. However, they got the running game rolling in the second half and took control.
“We established the run a little better in the second half,” Boyd said. “We had a 10-play drive to start the second half where we scored and that kind of set the tone for the remainder of the game.
We had our opportunities in the first half, but we missed some passes, missed some blocks that hurt us. We got stopped a couple of times close to the goal line, we dropped a TD pass and we bobbled a snap on a field goal attempt. In the second half we played clean, didn't miss blocks and took advantage of what they gave us.”
Balder, a 3-year starter, completed 9 of 13 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns. He had not played since being injured at the start of the second half in the second game of the year, a 20-18 win over Florence Christian School.
“He looked great,” Boyd said of Balder. “He’s a good quarterback, but the best part about him is his knowledge of the game. He can make checks at the line and put us in the best things against the defense. I don’t ever call a bad play because he can check out of whatever I had us in.”
While Balder was sidelined, his younger brother, sophomore Micah Balder, was behind center. He completed 19 of 37 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns in the first five games while rushing for 166 yards and five touchdowns on 25 carries.
Micah will be playing wide receiver now that Conrad is back on the field. Boyd said there was an “incident” between the Balder brothers against Lee where they disagreed on who was right or wrong on a pass play that was called.
“They were giving it to each other a little bit,” Boyd said. “That was actually pretty funny.”
What is fun for Williamsburg, but not funny for its opposition, is its ability to run the football. The senior duo of Camden Moore and Teague Ward provide a lethal inside-outside punch.
Moore is the speedster with 422 yards and seven touchdowns on 47 carries through the first five games. Ward, strong with a little wiggle had 360 yards and eight TDs on 43 carries. Both are adept at catching the football out of the backfield as well. Moore had five catches for 79 yards and a score, while Ward had seven catches for 157 yards and a TD.
Bennett had rushed for 130 yards on seven carries, one of them a 90-yard touchdown run.
Wes Smith is the leading receiver with 10 catches for 158 yards and two scores.
The Williamsburg defense is led by Ward at middle linebacker and JD Sholar at cornerback among others. The Stallions have allowed just 73 points with 28 of those coming against archrival Pee Dee Academy.
Williamsburg has a huge road game against undefeated Beaufort Academy, the No. 3 team in AA, on October 6. After that it’s at home against Orangeburg Prep, which is now coached by Boyd’s predecessor in Don Shelley, a home game against Thomas Suimter Academy and a road game against Carolina Academy.
Boyd is pleased with the way his team has handled itself as the defending champion.
“I feel like we’ve responded well,” he said. “I feel like every week we play we’re going to get the opponent’s best game. We usually see a different defense or offense than what we’ve been preparing for. We’ve been handling it well though. We’re just trying to win the game.”
WILLIAMSBURG VOLLEYBALL HAS BIG NUMBERS
The Williamsburg volleyball team is in its first season under head coach Jessie Cribb. The captains of the team are Mary Katherine Tisdale, Allie McFadden and Kate Wilson.
“We're working on growing as a team on and off of the court,” Cribb said.
The remainder of the roster is Mary Hannah Price, Carmela Jones, Trystan Burrows, Audrey Wadford, Blakeley Moore, Lizzy McGee, Meredith McFadden, Brayleigh Matthews, Megan Gibbons, Abby Miles, Hannah Hall and Anna Brown.
There is a lot of interest in the volleyball program. Along with the 15-player varsity roster, Cribb and assistant coaches Sarah Gore and Ashley Ward have 19 players on the junior varsity team as well.
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