Week 0 Midlands Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 football season started with a bang for several Midland standouts. There were returners that put up huge numbers to continue what they started last season. There were also some younger players that showed they will be a force to deal with.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at the top performances in the first full weekend of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Editor's note:</em></strong><em> To nominate your players for a Game Ball, please send a member of the Prep Red Zone South Carolina team your players' performance data by noon Saturday following Friday games.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267430' first='Jaden' last='Allen-Hendrix']</strong> RB, Irmo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The transfer from Gilbert made his debut one to remember with 257 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-3 win over Chapin. Combine those numbers with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand']</strong> – 220 passing yards, 120 rushing yards and a total of three touchdowns – and the Irmo offense should be difficult to defend. Allen-Hendrix had over 1,600 yards rushing last season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997334' first='Montrell' last='Byrd']</strong> DE, Lexington</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats defense was impressive in the opening 17-7 victory over West Florence. Boyd was one of the biggest reasons for that success with 8 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360013' first='Sam' last='Burks']</strong> RB, Northside Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burks started off the 2023 season with a five-touchdown performance in a 45-42 victory over First Baptist. He ran for 185 yards with scoring runs of 20, 5, 31 and 53 yards. He also added two receptions for 68 yards and a 61-yard TD.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jed Essig</strong> LB, Ben Lippen</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Falcons ventured into the state of North Carolina and came away with a wild 62-54 victory over Asheville Christian Academy. The senior linebacker registered 11 solo tackles and 14 total stops in the high-scoring affair. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='284134' first='Jayvon' last='Gilmore']</strong> threw for 251 yards and five scores as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='233146' first='Jordon' last='Gidron']</strong> WR, Ridge View</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore saw limited action last season, but he made a statement in the dominating 32-21 victory over rival Blythewood. He caught five passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns. He even trucked over one of the defensive backs on one of his scores. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816735' first='Jamel' last='Howse']</strong> WR, Newberry</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another sophomore made a season opening statement. In a 47-20 win over Union County, Howse had 207 yards on seven receptions. He scored on passes of 32, 86, 57 and 12 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15186132/64e0502d4deb9d05c4f00d52' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64e22e32e7269"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157959' first='Avery' last='Jones']</strong> WR, Airport</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All Jones did was become the favorite target of QB <strong>Jesse Hoover</strong> in a 36-2 victory over Swansea. The junior hauled in nine passes for 149 yards and four touchdowns. Hoover did his part as well, throwing for 215 yards and running for another 56 yards and a total of five touchdowns. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589009' first='Javion' last='Martin']</strong> QB, Crestwood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our top ranked quarterback in the Class of 2024 accounted for five touchdowns in a 49-21 victory over Richland Northeast. The Knights rushed to a 49-7 halftime lead in which Martin (pictured) put up most of his numbers. He threw for 180 yards and two scores and added 53 yards rushing and three touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BJ Montgomery</strong> RB, Gray Collegiate</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior running back put-up video game numbers in the season-opening 49-21 win over Christ Church. He ran for 297 yards and four touchdowns. This comes on the heels of rushing for over 900 yards in just nine games as a sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe']</strong> QB, White Knoll</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sharpe completed 75 percent of his passes and threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-0 victory over Orangeburg-Wilkinson. The junior threw for over 2200 yards last season and is poised to have another breakout season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997222' first='Casey' last='Shropshire']</strong> RB, North Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talking about being a workhorse. The senior accounted for 212 of the 258 total offensive yards in a 28-21 victory over Johnsonville. He ran for 201 yards on 27 carries and added two catches for 11 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139311' first='Grayson' last='White']</strong> QB, Camden</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>White had over 350 yards of offense in the 43-0 win over Myrtle Beach. He was 17-of-23 for 321 yards and two touchdowns. He added 34 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. The senior is in his third year starting for the Bulldogs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->