Four Auctioneers selected to All-Region football team

By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – At long last, the regular season came to an end and the Class AA state playoffs are upon us. The brackets are set and the fans of the favorites are hoping to make plans in mid-December for Orangeburg and the state finals scene. Who are the favorites in AA? Is there a sleeper or two that may surprise everyone and get to the title game. Most of the time, the teams that survive the grind and reach the fifth week of the playoffs, the title game, are teams that everyone who follows the sport predicts will be there. Let’s have a little fun and handicap the AA field. My process is to list my top four teams in the Upper State bracket and top four in the Lower State, as I see it. Any team not in my top four would be considered a sleeper to make it through the bracket. But, it can be done. In the Upper State, my No. 1 team is Batesburg-Leesville . I know, shocker. The 10-0 Panthers have answered every challenge and have proven to be quite formidable. They allow seven points per game with a defense that has speed and physicality. Nearly half of the total points they have allowed in 10 games came in one game, to Abbeville, in a two-point win. Abbeville is the top-ranked team in Class A and their coach , Jamie Nickles , is a believer. “They are certainly capable of winning the state championship,” he said. Running back Amadre Wooden and quarterback Tanner Watkins are a solid one-two punch offensively. Wooden has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and Watkins has passed for more than 1200 yards. My No. 2 pick to win the Upper State is Clinton. The 7-2 Red Devils have lost only to Woodruff and Daniel. Each of those teams has just one loss this season. The tough non-region schedule makes me feel the Red Devils are battle-tested for close, big games. Quarterback Tashawan Richardson makes it all go for the offense with James Cook adding a major threat in the run game. My No. 3 pick in the Upper State is Fairfield Central . The Griffins lost their season opener to Ridge View and have won nine straight games since. The scouting report needs just one word – speed. The Griffins can run and are explosive. Running back Tydarion Grier has gained more than 1.400 yards and averages 9.3 yards per carry. And, my No. 4 is Saluda . The Tigers’ only loss came to Batesburg-Leesville and they would love another shot at their region rivals. Saluda is another of the top defensive teams in AA and defense wins championships. Tahe your pick as the favorite in the Lower State cause several teams have a shot. My No. 1 going in is Barnwell . While not flashy or dominant, the Warhorses are solid and athletic. Senior Cameron Austin is a great leader at quarterback and if they have success on the ground, game over. No. 2 is Barnwell rival Hampton County . Again, the Hurricanes run the football and have good solid play at quarterback. They made a good run a year ago and I think their confidence level is high. The last two favorite picks are difficult and I ended up with three teams for two spots. At No. 3 I am going with Cheraw . The 8-2 Braves are not great at anything but very solid at most. Running back Cam McClendon is a threat to score from anywhere and the defense gets after it pretty good. For No. 4, I am sharing the spot between Manning and Philip Simmons . Manning has just one loss, the season opener to Crestwood, but their schedule and region was not overly difficult.  Philip Simmons went undefeated in a tougher region and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Iron Horses have a veteran quarterback and they really play hard on defense. Class AA state playoff first-round pairings Upper State Pelion at Clinton Strom Thurmond at Chester Columbia at Batesburg-Leesville Andrew Jackson at Liberty Chesterfield at Fairfield-Central Ninety Six at Chesnee Landrum at Central Mid-Carolina at Saluda Lower State Academic Magnet at Barnwell Lake City at Timberland Edisto at Cheraw Andrews at East Clarendon North Central at Manning Woodland at Hampton Co. Mullins at Philip Simmons Kingstree at Whale Branch

Manning's senior QB Jarae Mitchell moving the team down the field.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Mullins – What a year it’s been for the Mullins High School football team. The Auctioneers came into the campaign on a 15-game losing streak and were losers of 20 of their last 21 contests. Mullins snapped the losing streak in its first game and owned a 6-game winning streak heading into its game against Lake City on October 4. More importantly, the Auctioneers started 3-0 in Region 7-AA. Head coach Marc Lowery , whose team was winless in 10 contests last year in his first season, stated before the season Mullins was going to be much improved. He is not surprised the Auctioneers have yet to taste defeat. “I definitely thought this is what could be,” Lowery said. “The biggest thing is even now I don’t we’ve hit our potential or what it could be. We’ve just got to keep working.” Mullins snapped the losing streak with a 48-0 shellacking of Class A Hemingway , not much of a surprise since the Tigers have struggled in recent years. However, the next game was against Class A power Lake View. The Auctioneers trailed 14-0 at halftime and 21-8 entering the fourth quarter before scoring 14 points to win 22-21. “That was a key game for us,” Lowery said. “Not taking away anything from anybody else we’ve played, but Lake View has been our toughest competition . To come from 14 points down made it even better. To get a win over a good team coming down from two scores was tremendous. That’s the only time we’ve trailed this season.” The Auctioneers have been strong defensively, allowing just 51 points in the first six games. They’d recorded two shutouts and had two other games allowing just six points. Mullins has been a big-play defense with 45 tackles for loss and having forced 11 turnovers with six interceptions and five fumble recoveries. Lowery said a change in defensive philosophy has led to the success. “Defensively, we wanted to change up some things,” Lowery said. “We had never been a cover 2 defense. We studied stuff, looked at stuff, and we decided we were going to be a more sound defense. With the 4-2 scheme we’re playing real disciplined football. Players know their responsibilities and assignments.” Junior defensive end Ayntwain Crawford led the team in tackles for loss with 13 to go with 29 total tackles and a fumble recovery. Senior defensive tackle Lonnie Alston has 26 tackles and 11 TFLs, while junior linebacker Andre Littlejohn and junior defensive Braden Hughes both have eight TFLs. Littlejohn leads tackles with 42, while sophomore linebacker Nathan Peracki had 37. Senior cornerback Ny’zir Howard and junior free safety Deyon Ford both had two interceptions. Senior defensive back Lebron Avant had a 70-yard interception return to go with 27 tackles. The offense has had its good moments and bad moments, but it has gotten the job done. Junior quarterback Kanazzion Bethea has completed 39 of 83 passes for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 205 yards on 41 carries. Junior Tyron Allen led in rushing with 287 yards on 31 carries. Junior Justin Reaves Jr. was the leading receiver with 16 catches for 171 yards. Senior Zayan Grant had four catches for 119 yards. Nine other players had catches. “We’re winning games, and it’s good we’re not playing our best football and still winning. We need to stop making unforced errors, things that stall us. I’ve told them, ‘As soon as we clean up that kind of stuff, you’re as good as anyone in AA.’ ‘They’ve got to understand every penalty is important. To go from good to great, it’s the little things. We don’t want to sneak in the playoffs. We want to win the region. To do that, it’s the little things.”

Auctioneers have strong numbers for spring practice, spring game

Auctioneers have six region games left upon return from spring break