Five Storylines For The Aiken County Jamboree

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday's Aiken County Jamboree is going to put everyone in the CSRA in the right frame of mind for the 2022 football season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To say the teams are a little jazzed up is an understatement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>More so than the one-on-one scrimmages these teams have been participating in so far, this jamboree will include a full house of not only fans of the specific schools, but interested onlookers trying to break down rival teams and/or potential opponents during the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are five storylines everyone will see play out under the lights.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>1. How Will Area's Elite QBs Respond To Expectations?</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Want to see four different approaches to the quarterback position all work extremely well? Look no further than North Augusta's [player_tooltip player_id='336142' first='Colson' last='Brown'] (6-foot-3, 195 pounds), Midland Valley's [player_tooltip player_id='262690' first='TJ' last='McElmurray Jr'] (6-foot-4, 195), South Aiken's [player_tooltip player_id='340388' first='Terrence' last='Smith'] (6-foot, 175, pictured) and Silver Bluff's [player_tooltip player_id='91161' first='Maleik' last='Williams'] (5-foot-8, 165). From a true pocket passer (Brown) to an ultra-athletic big man (McElmurray) to an ultimate freelancer in Smith to Williams' huge-play potential on every down, fans will certainly see highlights Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>2. Can Midland Valley Mesh New Faces With The Old?</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs bring back nearly all of their starters from last season, save for a few faces from coach Earl Chaptman's first season. However, the additions of cornerback [player_tooltip player_id='141041' first='Jadyn' last='Simpkins'] (transfer from Silver Bluff), linebacker <strong>CJ Golphin</strong> (Georgia) and receiver <strong>Dez Evans</strong> (didn't play football last season) will be influential players this fall. That doesn't even include tailback [player_tooltip player_id='91348' first='Traevon' last='Dunbar'], who made his way over from Silver Bluff after a monster sophomore season but has yet to be fully cleared. Midland Valley has playmakers abound, and getting them in sync for the jamboree might open up plenty of eyes for a squad that was 1-10 last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>3. Which Linebackers Boost Their Stock?</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're just going to cut to the chase. This might be about the best collection of linebackers in any multi-team events during the entire preseason. Midland Valley's trio of [player_tooltip player_id='272716' first='Andon' last='Hawkins'], <strong>Dominic Morgan</strong> and <strong>Garrett Miller</strong>, Ridge Spring-Monetta's <strong>De'Ante Hopkins</strong>, Silver Bluff's [player_tooltip player_id='139299' first='Jordan' last='Boyd'] and North Augusta's <strong>Jacquez Ryans</strong> are all potential all-state players at the position this fall. And we're not even mentioning a combo defender. Yet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>4. Fuller? Or Ligons?</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yeah, we know those aren't really questions. But we don't care. In Ridge Spring-Monetta lineman [player_tooltip player_id='91139' first='Kanaan' last='Ligons'] and Aiken linebacker/defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='91351' first='Jayden' last='Fuller'], we're likely to see one of the best head-to-head position battles at some point during the opening matchup of Friday evening. Both are highly recruited players who cut their teeth extremely early in their respective high school careers. Ligons is a senior, Fuller a junior and both of them can be downright dominant. At some point, they're going to be charged with getting through the other. When the moment comes, fans will be in for a treat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>5. Will OC's Fight The Urge To Just Run The Ball?</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 12-minute contests and a running clock being utilized, the offenses are going to be measured. What that means is some talented tailbacks could see a bulk of the play calling. After all, look at this lineup and the types of years they're coming off. Midland Valley's [player_tooltip player_id='231445' first='Joenathan' last='Peeples'] went for 614 yards, nine touchdowns in 2021. Wagener-Salley's [player_tooltip player_id='91153' first='Cam' last='Davis'] darn near hit the 1,900-yard mark (along with 27 touchdowns). [player_tooltip player_id='91147' first='Nehemiah' last='Brooks'] transferred to Fox Creek after rushing for 458 yards and eight touchdowns last season at Ridge Spring-Monetta. South Aiken's [player_tooltip player_id='272702' first='Jevon' last='Edwards'] rushed for 1,071 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman. And North Augusta's <strong>DJ Curry</strong> went for 1,042 yards and 13 touchdowns last year. Those are a whole lot of known commodities who can be put to good use. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AIKEN COUNTY JAMBOREE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When: 6 p.m., Friday</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Where: Silver Bluff</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Schedule</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game 1: Ridge Spring-Monetta vs. Aiken</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game 2: Midland Valley vs. Wagener-Salley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game 3: Fox Creek vs. South Aiken</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game 4: North Augusta vs. Silver Bluff</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->