Touchstone Energy Bowl: Wednesday Morning Practice Notes

MYRTLE BEACH | Put 88 all-star football players together, and one of them standing out isn't easy.   Doing it in the first practice of the first day? That's even more difficult.   Yet, here was Denmark-Olar's Keithan Washington, a multi-tooled player doing what he's done for most of the last two seasons. Proving that his small-school designation can translate against tough competition.   Washington, who was picked for the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl as a receiver but could also see some time at tailback this week, was clearly a big part of the North squad's plans in the passing game from the very first practice on Wednesday morning.   He'll likely be flexed into some special teams, thanks to his 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame working well there, too.   “They've got me playing everywhere, so I just want to get the ball in my hands and make a play,” Washington said Wednesday morning. “I tell them they could put me anywhere. If they put me on defense, I'll go hit somebody. I'm just a ball player.”   At Denmark-Olar, Washington (pictured) wore several hats.   As a junior, he passed for 1,686 yards and 16 touchdowns, rushed for another 1,888 yards and 34 touchdowns and even returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. This fall, he added another 1,775 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground and 1,240 yards and 14 scores passing in 11 games. He was named the Region IV-1A Offensive Player of the Year and was an all-region pick each of his last three years of high school.   So far, it's resulted in offers from many of the NCAA Division-II schools in the Carolinas. With some Football Championship Subdivision schools on hand this week, that list could grow.   Washington wasn't the only player who jumped off the early session, though.   NORTH IMPACT PLAYERS   Byrnes quarterback Colby Shaw was a late addition for Robin Bacon's bunch, but he's provided a different dynamic that looks like a great complement to Hillcrest's [player_tooltip player_id='262574' first='Bennett' last='Judy'].   Both quarterbacks are big (Judy is 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds while Shaw is 6-foot-4 and 210). Judy threw for 2,752 yards and 32 touchdowns this season; Shaw passed for 2,823 and 31. But here's where it gets fun this week.   Judy is a big righty. Shaw is a big lefty. Both throw well on the run toward their throwing side. The North staff had no issue spreading either of them out to take advantage of the throwing motions, and it will surely come into play during Saturday's game.   North kicker Addison Nickles didn't get a ton of action on Wednesday morning, but he did drill a 42-yarder and then a 52-yarder to wrap up the morning session. The 5-foot-7, 195-pound Abbeville senior showed he's got plenty of power.   Powdersville's Drake Sloan hauled in the catch of the early session. With Shaw rolling to his left, Sloan found himself angling toward the sideline just shy of the end zone, high-pointed a ball amid three defenders (and an offensive teammate) and brought it down and retained possession despite the pile of bodies on the sideline. The offense and defense debated whether he foot was down in bounds. Either way, the grab itself was worth some hoots and hollers.   SOUTH IMPACT PLAYERS   Myrtle Beach receiver [player_tooltip player_id='336119' first='Jake' last='Doty'] was often penalized in 2022 due to an offense in flux and a trio of quarterbacks not able to find much of a rhythm in the passing game. That won't be the case this week.   South quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id='89345' first='Zolten' last='Osborne'] (Fort Dorchester) and [player_tooltip player_id='199432' first='Tanner' last='Staton'] (Brookland-Cayce) are among the best in the state. They both also seemed more than willing to put Doty to use. Maybe more impressive that any of his catches Wednesday morning, however, was a block that would have sprung a teammate for a big gain down the sideline (had his teammate not slipped on the Ashley Booth turf).    As we mentioned earlier in the week, Beaufort receiver-turned-state-champion-tailback [player_tooltip player_id='336146' first='Kacy' last='Fields'] spent the morning session working out at his old position. With four other top-end tailbacks on the South team, there were only so many snaps to go around. Still, Fields - a 5-foot-11, 195-pound bulldozer - proved to the staffs in attendance that he could still catch the ball. He hauled in several passes, including one along the sideline on a basic out route that could be replicated out of the backfield. Fields was slated to return to running back in the afternoon session.

MYRTLE BEACH | Put 88 all-star football players together, and one of them standing out isn't easy.