Wilson Hall Back in Title Game for Second Straight Year

Wilson Hall back in title game for second straight year

By Dennis Brunson

hssr.com Associate Editor

                 Sumter – Wilson Hall played for the SCISA AAA football state title last season, losing to Hilton Head Christian Academy. However, the Barons lost 15 seniors from that squad, many of them key performers on both sides of the ball.

                 That fact left people questioning how good Wilson Hall might be in 2024. The Barons have answered that question in a big fashion as they will play for the AAA state title once again.

                 Wilson Hall will take an 11-1 record into the championship game against Pinewood Prep on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Charleston Southern University’s Buccaneer Field in North Charleston.

                 Barons head coach Adam Jarecki said getting back to the championship game means a lot ot the returning players.

                 “It’s huge to the group that we’ve got now,” Jarecki said. “This is a very strong group. They were looking to repeat (in getting back to the title game).

                 “We knew we had a good core group coming back. They’ve been very resilent, done the jobs they are supposed to do. They’ve done what they had to do to put themselves in this position. You can’t expect this, but each week they did what they had to do.”

                 One of those returning players is senior Owen Meyers. Actually, Meyers missed most of last season after suffering a season-ending injury early in the year, so this season has been special for him.

                 “Last year was a big setback, and he didn’t really get to be a part of last year,” Jarecki said of Meyers, who returned to be the quarterback as well as playing his regular inside linebacker post. “We knew what kind of athlete he is. He’s had to battle through injuries this year, but he’s as healthy as he’s been this year. He’s been consistent all year.”

                 Meyers has completed 54 of 94 passes for 889 yards and 11 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He’s carried the football 62 times for 214 yards and five touchdowns.

                 On the defensive side of the ball, Meyers has 45 tackles and shares the team lead in tackles for loss with nine to go with one interception and five quarterback sacks.

                 Meyers operates an offense that uses the veer formation and a lot of misdirection by its ball carriers. There are no eye-popping numbers, but a lot of good, solid numbers among several people.

                 “We just do what we do,” Jarecki said. “We try to spread the ball out among several people.”

                 Leading the way running the football is junior B back Milling Galloway. He has 688 yards and seven touchdowns on 87 carries with three 100-yard games. Another junior B back, Ben McLaurin, has 101 carries for 492 yards and six touchdowns. He had his first 100-yard game in Wilson Hall’s 21-9 victory over Hilton Head Christian in the semifinals, as did Galloway.

                 Freshman A back Carson Wilsey has 393 yards and a touchdown on 55 carries, junior B back Harris Naylor has 246 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries, and sophomore B back John Land has 228 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries.

                 Meyers spread the wealth when throwing the football to his teammates. Wilson Hall’s 58 completions have gone to 10 different players.

                 Leading the way is junior wide receiver Ford Wilder. The only Baron with double-figure catches, Wilder has 22 receptions for 424 yards and four scores.

                 Junior wide receiver Cooper Hill has eight catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Naylor has seven catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns, McLaurin has six catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns, senior tight end Shawn Michael Matthews has five catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns, Galloway has four catches for 82 yards and a touchdown, and Wilsey has three catches for 28 yards.

                 Senior Cooper Scott anchors the offensive line from his center position. Senior Carson Wilsey is the left tackle with sophomore Peyton Gilley lining up beside him at guard. The right guard is junior Andrew Howle while senior Adam Baker and sophomore Reese Wilson are splitting time at right tackle. Senior Andrew Segars is the tight end.

                 Starting along the defensive front are Howle at one end with junior Walker Wilson and Segars at the other end. Reese Wilson, Baker and Scott are alternating at tackles.

                 Howle is the team leader in tackles with 62, tackles for a loss with nine and sacks with six. Walker Wilson has 42 tackles, five sacks and five tackles for a loss, while Segars has 19 tackles, three sacks and two tackles for loss. Reese Wilson has 12 tackles and two tackles for loss, Scott has 22 tackles and one tackle for loss, and Baker has 15 tackles and four tackles for loss.

                 Starting alongside Meyers at linebacker are Gilley and McLaurin. Gilley has 39 tackles and seven tackles for loss, while McLaurin has 34 tackles and two tackles for loss.

                 The secondary is made up of senior Thomas Creech, Naylor, senior Jackson Bonser, Hill and senior Knox Buxton. Bonser has 45 tackles and one tackle for loss, Creech has 42 tackles, Naylor has 21 tackles, Hill has 14 tackles and Buxton has 25 tackles.

                 Wilson Hall has 13 interceptions with 10 different players having at least one. Those with two picks are McLaurin, Buxton and junior defensive back Matthew Behmer.

                 While Bonser is a key performer in the secondary, his right foot is an integral part of Jarecki’s plans as well. Bonser, who is committed to Gardner-Webb as a placekicker, is 33 of 36 on extra point attempts and 7 of 8 on field goal attempts. He has a long made field goal of 48 yards.

                 Bonser has 36 touchbacks on 53 kickoffs and is averaging 36.2 yards per punt on 21 punts.

                 Wilson Hall’s lone loss on the season did come at the hands of Pinewood Prep and it wasn’t close. The Panthers, who are 9-2, beat the Barons 49-7 on October 4.

                 “It’s a tall task,” Jarecki said of taking on Pinewood Prep again. “This is a team that wore us out. We got beat once this season and this bunch put it on us. They don’t have a lot of kids going both ways. They do what they do and they do it well.

“For us to be able to win, we have to control the ball, control the clock. Pinewood has the potential to score quick, and that ‘s what hurt us last time. We can have no turnovers. We’ll take what they give us and we’ll do what we do. We’re not going to reinvent the wheel, I promise you that.”

OFFENSE

QB Owen Meyers 2 Sr.

A Back Ben McLaurin 2 Jr.

B Back Milling Galloway 6 Jr.

WR Ford Wilder 5 Jr.

WR Cooper Hill 16 Jr.

TE Shawn Michael Matthews 14 Sr.

and Andrew Segars 32 Sr.

LT Carson Wilsey 76 Sr.

LG Peyton Gilley 60 So.

C Cooper Scott 52 Sr.

RG Andrew Howle 62 Jr.

RT Reese Wilson 53 So.

and Adam Baker 50 Sr.

DEFENSE

DE Andrew Howle 62 Jr.

DE Walker Wilson 54 Jr.

and Andrew Segars 32 Sr.

DT Cooper Scott 52 Sr.

DT Reese Wilson 53 So.

and Adam Baker 50 Sr.

LB Peyton Gilley 60 So.

MLB Owen Meyers 2 Sr.

LB Ben McLaurin 3 Jr.

        DB Thomas Creech 11 Sr.

        DB Jackson Bonser 28 Sr.

        DB Cooper Hill 16 Jr.

DB Harris Naylor 4 Jr.

and Knox Buxton 21 Sr.

SPECIAL TEAMS

        PK/P Jackson Bonser 28 Jr.

        Long snaper Carson Wilsey 76 Sr.

        Holder Cooper Hill 16 Jr.

        Kickoff Returns John Land 12 So,

           and Milling Galloway 6 Jr.

        Punt Returns Milling Galloway 6 Jr.

           or Harris Naylor 4 Jr.

           or Ben McLaurin 3 Jr.