Week 1 GSPD Game Balls

When it's worth it, we'll stretch the list of Game Balls we hand out each week.   After Thursday and Friday's game, it's certainly worth it.   The Grand Strand and Pee Dee was full of huge performances that made any chance of cutting this post to even seven or eight players impossible. That's how good the individual showings were.   Editor's Note: To nominate your players 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.   [player_tooltip player_id='1012592' first='Hakeem' last='Watters'] RB, Hartsville   The first-year starter didn't exactly come into the season without any experience. And he's proving very quickly he's a perfect fit for this offense. The junior pumped out 278 yards and three touchdowns on just 17 carries in the 55-26 win against Darlington. The crazy part is he could have had plenty more. The score was lopsided enough in the third quarter that the clock started running, reducing his workload.   Cade Amell QB, Trinity Collegiate   Not only did the Trinity signal caller throw for 219 yards and three touchdowns in just his third career start. And not only is Amell still an eighth grader. Against CA Johnson, he led a game-winning, 70-yard drive with less than 2 minutes to go to give the Titans a 30-26 victory, the team's first win of the year.    [player_tooltip player_id='267473' first='Courtlyn' last='Brunson'] RB/WR/DB/LB/PR, Trinity Collegiate   Brunson (pictured) is starting to take on the job that [player_tooltip player_id='208350' first='Brycen' last='Scott'] held last year at Trinity, doing a lot of everything on both sides of the ball. In the win over CA Johnson, Brunson had a lengthy list of notables: 25 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown; three receptions for 40 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion; nine total tackles, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble; a 26-yard punt return.   [player_tooltip player_id='464882' first='Jamarcus' last='Williams'] RB, Hannah-Pamplico   A relatively casual night by Williams' standards, he overcame a slow start against North Central to finish with 17 carries, 167 yards and three touchdowns, as well as a reception that added another 19 yards to his overall total. Just a junior, Williams is now within striking distance of 3,000 total yards from scrimmage for his career, a mark he should probably hit inside of the Raiders' next two games.    [player_tooltip player_id='1013054' first='Brandon' last='Cumbee'] QB, Andrews   The Yellow Jackets' junior was heading toward the game of his career when Andrews' trip to Georgetown was called at halftime because of a fight that led to shot being fired in the parking lot. Up to that point, Cumbee was everything coach Scott Durham believes he can be in his first year as the starter after replacing his older brother, Cam. The young Cumbee needed just two quarters to throw for 109 yards and rush for another 108 yards and two scores against the Bulldogs in a high-scoring game that was surely heading for plenty more production.   Evans Bellamy/Stephen Vereen RBs, North Myrtle Beach   North Myrtle Beach hasn't had a reliable run game since the end of the 2021 season, but Bellamy and Vereen look to be a strong building block after they combined for 242 yards in the double overtime loss to Loris. The duo did the majority of their damage after the Lions jumped out to a 21-0 lead and looked to be en route to a huge romp. Instead, they kept the chains moving and the Chiefs' offense looking as good as it has in two seasons. The biggest knock was Vereen's fumble during the first overtime, but the two tailbacks were largely responsible for leading the come back.   Rivers Johnson QB, Aynor   As anyone who has followed the Blue Jackets the last few years can tell you, this offense is based upon the quarterback's ability to find holes in the defensive line to punch through. Johnson had his best game to date, taking his 17 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown in the 30-14 win over Kingstree to give Aynor its first win of the 2023 season. Johnson is already more than halfway to his rushing total from last year, when he was playing mostly in a reserve role.   [player_tooltip player_id='1013079' first='Xavier' last='Dukes'] WR, Kingstree   The Blazers aren't exactly known for big passing/receiving nights. After all, only one player (Nic Brown, three times) was able to eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark in a game last year. Dukes is now the second player in the school's brief history to have done it. Dukes needed just three receptions in the loss to Aynor to put up 112 yards and two touchdowns, including a 55 yarder in which he got behind the defense and turned it into six points.    Timothy Rawls/Antonio Sirmans DLs, West Florence   West certainly called an audible by moving both of its top defensive standouts - [player_tooltip player_id='443495' first='Franklin' last='Emerson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='208334' first='Kelvin' last='Hunter'] - to offense almost exclusively against Lake City. The change worked, thanks in large part to Rawls and Sirmans. The Knights' big guys each had considerable nights, as Rawls finished with five tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble while Sirmans accounted for 4.5 tackles, three tackles for loss a sack and another forced fumble.     La'Ontray Knox RB, Loris   Knox is proving he's going to take on even more responsibility for leading this offense during his senior year. After rushing for 681 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, he's already up to 187 yards and three scores this year after his solid performance against North Myrtle Beach on Friday. Knox finished the double-overtime win over the Chiefs with his third touchdown of the game, a 10-yard score. Knox previously had touchdown runs of five and 18 yards.

When it's worth it, we'll stretch the list of Game Balls we hand out each week.