Manning's Kennedy pleased with spring football practice

Manning – Manning High School football head coach Reggie Kennedy was pleased with the way things went during the Monarchs’ 10 days of spring practice.

“I think it went well,” Kennedy said. “We had to address some things, and I feel like we filled some holes we needed to fill. We’ve had some young kids who stepped up and they played really well. We had good numbers (around 90 players for varsity and junior varsity), and the kids kind of know the system now, so things went really well.”

The main concerns Kennedy and his coaching staff had going into the spring was shoring up the running back position as well as solidifying three new starters on the offensive line.

Manning will be trying to replace Tristan Thames, who rushed for 947 yards and eight touchdowns last season. The Monarchs do return 270-pound Jaylnn Coard to run the football. He saw extensive action last year, carrying the ball 84 times for 676 yards and 16 touchdowns.

However, most of Coard’s work came deep in enemy territory. Kennedy said the odds are that Coard will be getting more carries up and down the field this year.

Jontavious Canty, who was a standout at linebacker last year, will get some carries. Also, Kennedy plans to get the ball in the hands of senior wide receiver Jeffrey Ceasar as much as possible. Ceasar had 34 catches for 467 yards and four TDs last year and also returned two kickoffs for scores.

“We’re going to put the ball in his hands a little bit more,” Kennedy said of Ceasar. “We’re going to have to be creative, throw it to him some, hand it off to him some. We’ve got to move him around and do a lot with him. He’s got to touch the ball 15 times a game.”

An area in which Kennedy isn’t concerned is quarterback. Rising senior Ja’Rae Mitchell returns for his second year as a starter. He completed 71 of 124 passes for 863 yards and nine touchdowns against just three interceptions. He also carried the ball 85 times for 397 yards and three scores.

“It’s not like he struggled; he didn’t miss a beat,” Kennedy said of Mitchell’s spring performance. “He knows the signals. He’s way ahead of where he was this time a year ago. He makes us go. He’s our leader on offense.”

Manning has dropped a classification from AAA to AA. It will be part of Region 7 along with Lake City, East Clarendon, Marion, Mullins, Atlantic Collegiate Academy and Kingstree.

With six starters back on both sides of the ball, Kennedy thinks a big season could await the Monarchs.

"I think with the team we’ve got coming back, I think we can compete with most 3A schools and some 4A schools,” said Kennedy, who led Manning to a 7-4 record last year. “With the pieces we’ve got coming back, I feel good about our chances come out of spring as long as we – the coaches – don’t mess it up.”

 COARD SECOND IN SHOT IN REGION 7-AAA MEET

           Manning boys throw Jaylynn Coard finished second in the shot put to lead the Monarchs in the Region 7-AAA track and field meet at May 1 at Waccamaw High in Pawleys Island.

           Manning finished fifth out of the 6-team field with 36 points. The Monarchs had four third-place finishers in Peyton Frierson in the 400-meter dash and the three relay teams, the 4x100-meter team, the 4x400 team and the 4x800 team.

           Those who finished fourth were Jeremy Blanding in the shot put, Jontavious Canty in the triple jump and Tyler Green in the 800-meter run. Dontavious Canty finished fifth in the 400-meter dash and the sixth-place finishers who closed out the scoring were Jontavious Canty in the long jump, Keinde Woods in the 1,600 run and Jacobe Henry in the 800.

`          The Manning girls finished with 15 points which was good for sixth. The top finisher for the Monarchs was Arnija Tindal, who finished third in the triple jump. The 4x4 team finished fourth, while the fifth-place finishers were Kimora Felder in the 100-meter hurdles, Destiny Gallishaw in the 400 hurdles and the 4x1 relay team.

           Scoring points with sixth-place finishes were Yvanni Epps in the shot put and Nyla Brown in the 400-meter dash.

           The top four finishers in the region meet qualified to move on to the AAA lower state meet on May 11 at Camden High. Jontavious Canty had the highest finish for the Monarchs, taking eighth in the long jump. That was enough to earn a spot in the state meet the following week, but he didn’t compete.

           Others who competed for the Manning boys in the lower state meet were Frierson in the 400, Green in the 800, Jontavious Canty in the triple jump, Coard and Blanding in the shot put and the three relay teams.

           The only girls entry was the 4x4 relay team. Tindal earned a spot in the lower state in the triple jump but didn’t compete.

           JA’RAE MITCHELL ALL-REGION IN BASEBALL

           Shortstop Ja’Rae Mithcell was the lone Manning baseball player named to the All-Region 7-AAA team.

           Mitchell, a junior, led the Monarchs in hitting with a .333 batting average, in on-base percentage at .444, hits with 20, runs scored with 18, stolen bases with 14 and tied for the lead in doubles with four. He also had eight runs batted in.

           For team honors, Mitchell was named Best All-Around. Lucas Peters was selected as Pitcher oft the Year, RJ Cantey won the Monarch Award and Miles Farmer won the Academic Award.

           Peters worked 39 innings on the mound and posted a 3.41 earned run average with 36 strikeouts against 11 walks and 38 hits allowed. Peters batted .226 with an on-base percentage of .379 to go with a double, seven RBI and 13 runs.

           Cantey batted .234 with an on-base percentage of .379. .He had two doubles, two triples, six RBI and nine runs. Peters worked 27 innings, striking out 26 while posting a 6.22 earned run average.