Hammond Football Program Seeking 8th Straight Title

By WORTHY EVANS

Contributing Writer

Columbia - At the close of the 2024 season, the Hammond football team finds itself in a familiar place—at the top, with one more game to go.

While it may be nothing new for the Skyhawks to play for it all in the SCISA 4A championship game tonight, the week leading up to it has suddenly felt heavy for head coach Jon Wheeler. Wheeler, in his fourth season as head coach at Hammond, took over when the seniors on this year’s team were freshman and scattered between the varsity and junior varsity teams.

“I’ve known these guys since I came back as the head coach, and I love these guys like they’re family,” he said after the team wrapped up practice at the University of South Carolina’s indoor practice facility Wednesday night. “Today, one of them, Brewer LaMotte, made a heads-up check or a play, and I was excited and gave him a hug and said ‘man, I love ya.’”

That’s when the passage of time hit Wheeler.

“It just kind of hit me in the middle of practice that I’m not going to be screaming ‘Good job Brewer LaMotte’ anymore after these next couple of days,” he said. “I got a little emotional about it.”

Tonight Hammond (12-0) plays Porter Gaud (11-1) tonight for what would be the school’s eighth straight state championship, Wheeler’s fourth as head coach, and the 22^nd in school history. The Skyhawks gave the Cyclones their only loss of the season, a 27-15 victory Sept. 13.

That game was a lot more difficult for the Skyhawks than the final score indicated. The Skyhawks took an early lead and held a 20-0 advantage after the first half, but the Cyclones outscored Hammond 15-7 in the second half.

“They were really good when we played them and the scary thing is they’ve gotten better,” Wheeler said. “It’ll be a tough task to beat them twice, but it’s good for us to play with a little chip on our shoulder because the last time we played them, their back was against the wall and they outscored us in the second half. I think it’ll be good for us to have that going into this week.”

Hammond, which has a 21-game winning streak dating back to Sept. 8, 2023, has outscored opponents 414-214, with two shutouts on the season. The Skyhawks have scored 48 or more points in nine games.

Senior quarterback Andrew Turner leads the offense. Turner has completed 140 of 196 passes fro 2,368 yards and 28 touchdowns to just two interceptions. He also has 570 rushing yards and 13 scores.

Senior Jack Croft heads the wide receiver corps with 52 catches for 839 yards and 12 TDs. Senior and LSU commit Michael Tyler has 35 catches for 568 yards and five scores. Junior Daylin Haltiwanger has 21 catches for 333 yards and six scores.

Senior Dartmouth commit Immanuel Johnson is one of SCISA’s top rushers with 1,040 yards and 16 touchdowns on 122 attempts. Behind Johnson is Senior Kinson Holland with 752 yards and 10 TDs on 79 carries.

Hammond blasted Augusta Christian 55-7 in the semifinal game. The Skyhawks took an instant lead on Ben Muela Kiser’s 70-plus yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. Turner rushed for two touchdowns and Croft, Johnson, and Holland each had a rushing score. Other touchdowns included Preston Springs’ interception return for a score, and Bubba Alexander’s fumble return for a score.

Tonight, Wheeler wants to see the offense get off to a solid start but play hard all four quarters.

“The offense has been doing a great job all season long, but Porter Gaud’s really good on defense,” Wheeler said. “They’ve been keeping scores low with just about everybody they play. It’s going to be a tough task for our offense but I’m excited to see them take the challenge head on and give it everything they’ve got.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Wheeler wants to see his team alert and ready for whatever the Cyclones offense will throw at them. Porter Gaud uses a lot of misdirection to power its ground attack led by Jamal Fludd, who had 163 yards and two touchdowns against Hammond that night.

“Try to do your best to focus on that next play, what’s your job on the next play, what is your assignment,” Wheeler imparted to the defense. “That’s what I want to see, focus and execution.

That’s the only way you’ll have any kind of chance against them. You’re not going to stop Porter Gaud and what they do, but to try to slow them down some, you’ve got to be focused and execute.”

The most likely starters on the defensive front include seniors Manning Redd and Drew McCall, and sophomore John Stokes.

Backing the front three are two outside linebackers, seniors LaMotte and Preston Springs. The inside linebackers are sophomores Bubba Alexander and Jackson Ross.

In the secondary are seniors Jayden Haltiwanger, Adis Jamison, and Zay Mathis, and junior Jordan Boston.

Aspen Brooks handles the most of the placekicking and Ross is the punter.

Altogether, the Skyhawks have done all of the practices, won all the games, and have all the tools to succeed in the final game, Wheeler said. But beyond the result of the game, Wheeler adds that his team has already succeeded.

“I know they’re going to give me a great effort,” Wheeler said. “That’s all they know and that comes from being at Hammond and the culture here. I love these guys. They’re a special group regardless of what happens. They’re not defined by that. That’s the beautiful thing.”