Scott’s Branch football starts 2-4

By Dennis Brunson

hssr.com Associate Editor

Sumter – Earning a berth in the Class A state playoffs is a goal for the Scott’s Branch High School football team in its first season under head coach Patrick Fleming. The Eagles took a big step toward that with a 59-6 victory over St. John’s on Saturday, September 28.

That made SBHS 2-4 on the season, but more importantly, 1-1 in Region 5. There is still some work to do, but Fleming likes where his team stands.

“It would mean a lot to make the playoffs this year,” said Fleming, who became the Scott’s Branch head coach after serving for well over a decade as an assistant coach at Manning. “It usually takes two or three years to rebuild a program, and we’ve been able to do it in a couple of months. It means the players, the coaching staff, the administration and the community are buying in and supporting it.”

Scott’s Branch is doing this after going 0-10 last year. It has been far from a seamless transition, but Fleming likes the way things are coming together.

“We don't want to be complacent,” he said. “We’ve been working hard to build the program and it’s good to see the progress and the process unfolding in front of my eyes.

“It’s just been the fundamental, working on things like lining up right. We just want them buying in on stuff we’ve been harping on since January. They’re starting to hone in on it and it is starting to translate from the practice field to the game field.”

Junior quarterback Javien Conyers had a huge game against St. John’s. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns while carrying the ball three times for 43 yards and another score.

Nyren Bowman had six catches for 64 yards and a score while carrying the ball two times for 43 yards and a score. He was also a force on the defensive side at linebacker, coming up with six tackles and two tackles for loss. He also forced a fumble that he returned 34 yards for a touchdown.

“That was his best game putting it all together,” Fleming said of Bowman, who is a sophomore. “He reminded me of (Colorado standout) Travis Hunter. He needs to believe in his ability as a top prospect.”

For the season, Conyers had completed 30 of 57 passes for 459 yards and four touchdowns. Bowman has been the top target with 20 catches for 218 yards and two scores. Junior Christian Green had 11 catches for 164 yards and a TD, while sophomore Quintin Jackson had six catches for 108 yards and two scores.

Jackson has also returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

The defense has been up and down. It has been led by senior linebacker Dresean Blanding with 53 tackles to go with three tackles for loss, on interception and two forced fumbles. Junior linebacker Nazaiah Richardson had 50 tackles, three TFLs an interception and two forced fumbles, senior Jeremiah Butler had 47 tackles and five TFLs, and Bowman had 47 tackles and a team high 12 tackles for loss.