Calabrese pleased with Hartsville football season as a while

Hartsville – The Hartsville High School football team won its first region title since 2018,

reeling off 10 straight wins in the process. Yet the season didn’t end the way the Red Foxes had hoped as

they lost to South Florence, the team they beat handily for the Region 5-AAAA crown, in the third round

of the state playoffs.

So how does HHS head coach Jeff Calabrese  go about putting the season in perspective?

“The goal of every season is to reach your potential,” said Calabrese, the longtime head coach.

“We have had a season in which we reached our potential. In the regular season we started out 0-1-1, and

we had to make a decision, a choice. What did we want to write about the season?

“We got better. We did a fantastic job of showing improvement. It was a byproduct of everything

we had been doing up until that point. We gave it our best effort. As a whole, I’m very proud of these

young men and their accomplishments. It was a great season, we’re just a little frustrated it ended the way

it did.”

Hartsville had Region Co-Players of the Year in defensive back Da’Marion Coe and running

back Hakeem Watters.

Coe, who played in the Shrine Bowl, had 104 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, two

interceptions, one forced fumble and 10 pass breakups. Coe was a special teams standout as well, taking

four of his 15 kickoff returns back for touchdowns while averaging 32.2 yards a return. He also blocked

two field goals and a punt.

Watters rushed for 1,317 yards and 21 touchdowns on 147 carries. He also caught 13 passes for

181 yards.

Coe and Watters were joined on the All-Region first team by offensive lineman Deric Brown,

defensive lineman Jackson Chavis, tight end/H back Dorian Mason, middle linebacker Web Barnes,

offensive lineman Fred Turner and wide receiver Tristan Spann.

Barnes, who also played in the Shrine Bowl, had 144 tackles to go with five TFLs and three

sacks. Brown was selected to play in the Touchdown Energy Cooperatives Bowl  all-star game.

Spann had 27 carries for 502 yards while Mason had 25 catches for 332 yards. Chavis had 71

tackles while leading the Red Foxes in tackles for loss with 11 and sacks with five.

Second-team selections were outside linebacker Xavier Robinson, quarterback EJ Smith,

defensive back Antwan Segars  and middle linebacker Coleman Radcliff.

Smith completed 78 of 143 passes for 1,495 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 614

yards and 11 TDs on 93 carries. Radcliff led the defense in tackles with 154 while Robinson had 56

tackles. Segars had 46 tackles and a team high four interceptions.