Latta trying to overcome slow start

By Dennis Brunson

hssr.com Associate Editor

Latta – Head coach Brandon Iseman knew there could be some tough sledding for his Latta High School football team coming into the 2024 season. After all, the Vikings were having to replace 13 seniors, many of them key contributors on both sides of the ball, from a 9-2 team.

And that’s what happened. After opening the season with a 49-6 victory over East Columbus of North Carolina, LHS lost three straight games. Class A Latta lost to AA Marion 8-7, fellow Class A McBee 28-7 and AA Mulllins 6-0.

“We honestly anticipated there would be some growing pains.” Said Iseman, the veteran head coach. “We knew we had a very inexperienced group.”

The Vikings snapped the losing streak with a 47-8 victory over Green Sea Floyds, winning their Region 6 opener in the process. Iseman hopes that was the start of a turnaround.

“It was tough to lose those two games (to Marion and Mullins),” said Iseman, whose team was scheduled to play at Carvers Bay on October 4. “We’ve grown a lot though and it was great to start out region play with a win.”

Win or lose, Iseman has nothing bac to say about the performance of the LHS defense. It had allowed just 56 points, half of those coming against McBee. Even in that contest, Latta allowed just 265 yards of total offense.

“It’s kind of hard to complain about way our defense has played,” Iseman said. “I’m Just happy with where they are. We brought back more experience in the right areas, linebacker and up front.”

Senior linebacker Tyquan Drawhon was leading in tackles, while junior linebacker Xy’Mari Bethea had 27. Senior outside linebacker Amir Rogers had 25 tackles and a team high four quarterback sacks.

Senior defensive back Makinley Wallace had 22 tackles and senior defensive end Jakoby German had 21. Defensive back Tymir Durant led in interceptions with two.

Iseman is hoping the Vikings turned things around offensively against Green Sea Floyds. Rogers rushed for 166 yards and four touchdowns, while Wallace rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

           “We had to make some changes and put the kids in some better situations,” Iseman said. “The tell-tale will be the next region game and see if we have the carryover. We have the ability to execute at a higher level.”

           The Vikings have been run-heavy on offense throughout the season. Junior quarterback Jayden Alford had rushed for 167 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries. He had completed 8 of 15 passes for 136 yards. Adrian McDonald had six catches for 129 yards.