2023 Preview: Johnsonville Flashes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Claiming that a team is going to play for a state championship is a ton of pressure to put on anyone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But there's no reason that Johnsonville couldn't make it to the final weekend of the high school football season for the second straight year. The Flashes, for all their roster changes - ones that included the graduations of three all-state selections - have a combination of new and old faces that are going to overwhelm the majority of the programs on their schedule.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I gave up a long time ago trying to worry about that or predict that,” coach Ken Cribb said of the possibility of making it to Orangeburg for the state title game. “Everything's got to fall right for you. Last year, everything fell right. It's just hard to predict.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What's not hard to figure out is that the strengths of this team are really, really strong.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997242' first='Malik' last='Shippy']</strong> is bigger than he was a year ago, and he's no longer a quarterback whose primary job is to hand it off 200-plus times to <strong>Daquan Burroughs</strong>. Shippy has a big arm and an ability to run when he needs to.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four tailbacks will be asked to replace Burroughs, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997329' first='Neal' last='Martin']</strong>, who ran for 300 yards and four touchdowns in a backup role. Martin will spilt the workload because of how important he is at linebacker.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He'll be joined in the middle of the defense by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012649' first='Landyn' last='Cribb']</strong> (no relation to his coach), who picked up more than 100 stops last year, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996857' first='Travis' last='Wilson']</strong> (pictured), who was an all-state defensive end and will now double up as a starting receiver.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like most Class A schools, a large number of players will have to be put on relative pitch counts when the staff can to make sure the two-way players are ready to do when the games start to mean more come region play.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the meantime, a slew of new faces are going to get their chance to earn even more playing time.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997242' first='Malik' last='Shippy']</strong> QB, 2024 - Shippy put up more than 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns passing and rushing a season ago. Now a senior, and a renewed focus on the passing game, Shippy's numbers should be dramatically better. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound quarterback is locked in with at least three of his receivers and has the confidence in the pocket to perform every single week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997329' first='Neal' last='Martin']</strong> LB/RB 2024 - In addition to his job at outside linebacker - where he had 80 total tackles and 14 tackles for loss last year - Martin is now going to enter the season as the team's starting tailback. He'll have help there, but the 5-foot-11, 215-pound bulldozer will provide some serious toughness to the run game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996857' first='Travis' last='Wilson']</strong> DL/WR, 2024 - Wilson, an all-state defensive end last year, is a big-time playmaker. He was third on the team last year in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. He also forced six fumbles and broke up four passes. None of that addresses that the 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior is a high-end receiver with the wheels to break off short passes into long gains.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012649' first='Landyn' last='Cribb']</strong> LB, 2025 - After playing in what was essentially a hybrid role last year, the 5-foot-11, 185 pounder is moving full-time to middle linebacker. He's got a great sense of everything happening in front of him, a big reason why he finished his sophomore season with 103 total tackles and 26 tackles for loss. Cribb appears to be the Flashes' next all-state selection.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996857' first='Travis' last='Wilson']</strong> DL/WR, 2024 - We're not sure there's a team in the state that couldn't find a starting role for Wilson. Whether he's on offense or defense, he doesn't just rely upon his size. Wilson seemingly moves faster than everyone else when he needs to but is equally reactive to the play happening around him. His instincts and knowledge of the game are prevalent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15078789/641934ed664b8e0868d2180f' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64cd551c12587"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BIGGEST LOSSES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Daquan Burroughs</strong> RB - The Class A All-State and Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl selection ended his senior season with 1,900 yards and 23 touchdowns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aven Generette</strong> DL - Also an all-state selection, Generette put up some video-game numbers, including his 30 tackles for loss. He was a huge run stopper throughout the run to the state championship.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UP-AND-COMING POTENTIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Zaghe Davis</strong> RB, 2027 - Davis is young and little and nobody on the Johnsonville roster seems to care. The 5-foot-7, 150-pound freshman is going to get a decent number of reps during his first year of eligibility for the varsity squad because of his speed and vision.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bubba Tapia</strong> LT, 2025 - Coming into his second year as the Flashes' starting left tackle, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Tapia was a big part of an offense that eclipsed 4,000 total yards in 2022. Tapia is a shade bigger than he was last fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quandrell Woodberry</strong> WR/DB, 2025 - The 5-foot-6, 125-pound junior started at corner last season and is going to add receiver responsibilities to his plate. He's quick in space and has already shown off some cutting ability in traffic this preseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Luke Altman</strong> DE, 2024 - Altman has spent the majority of the last two seasons on the sidelines with injuries. But he's long (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) and able to make some plays. He had four tackles for loss and a sack last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->