On Campus: Airport Eagles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WEST COLUMBIA |</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158030' first='Bryant' last='Cherry']</strong> (pictured) received a special visit earlier this month at Airport.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Showing up to the Eagles Nest to see the senior middle linebacker was South Carolina State defensive Jonathan Odaffer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Such visits in recent years were a rare occurrence at Airport High School. After posting a winning record under first-year head coach Shane Fidler, the Eagles are slowly building their program back to prominence.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It starts on defense with Cherry. The 5-foot-11 three-sport athlete had a team-high 112 tackles and is the team's main play caller on that side of the football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The linebacking corps will have a deep mix of youth and experience. Senior <strong>Montrell Keys</strong> - a state finalist in wrestling - provides speed from the outside linebacker position and has shown a strength during workouts in pursuing tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Up front, the Eagles return 5-foot-9, 268-pound sophomore nose tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1781924' first='Jessiah' last='Thompson']</strong>. He plays at a quick level and shows good movement at the line of scrimmage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He's joined by <strong>Gavin Shuler</strong>, one of Airport's tallest players on the defensive line at 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds, and senior defensive end Jarvis Simons. In the secondary, Airport welcomes back <strong>Mahrley Rast,</strong> junior <strong>Chris Burgess </strong>and senior <strong>Jeremiah Gilchrist</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the breakout stars on offense last season was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157959' first='Avery' last='Jones']</strong> at receiver. Moving up from junior varsity during the season, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound rising senior made an immediate impact with 29 receptions for 425 yards and five touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite missing time with an injury, Jones finished second on the team in all three categories. He's looked to add muscle and strength in the weight room and provides Airport with its best deep threat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The question is which quarterback will look to target him. Fidler expects a battle brewing this summer between rising sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819878' first='Talon' last='Harlin'] </strong>and rising freshman<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1467834' first='Jay' last='Eady']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Harlin backed up <strong>Jesse Ray Hoove</strong>r last year and is comfortable throwing from the pocket. Meanwhile, Eady is considered a potential electric playmaker who can score from anywhere on the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leading rusher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360401' first='Amari' last='Lewis']</strong> is back for his senior year. He'll be joined by a pair of former linebackers in <strong>Kendrick Pearson</strong> and <strong>Justin Conyers</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, the Eagles' offensive line was bookended by All-State selection <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771066' first='Dylan' last='Barbrey']</strong> at right guard and “Classic blue-collar Airport” lineman <strong>Ben Humphries</strong> at left guard. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Humphries is back to provide leadership by example and physical toughness along with returning center<strong> Parker Hudson</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rounding out the team is placekicker <strong>Edward Hernandez</strong>, who was near-perfect on PATs and punter <strong>Weston Mims</strong>, who averaged 36 yards a kick last season using both his right and left foot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Along with overseeing his team, Fidler has stayed busy as a South assistant coach in the Touchstone Energy Cooperative Bowl. He will call the plays as offensive coordinator and has already scouted over 50 quarterbacks as the position coach.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He will get to see more up-close July 13 when an invitation only combine for both the Shrine Bowl and Touchstone Energy Cooperative Bowl takes place at Airport High School. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19009616/654a5cfdd21b95135c791047' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6632eaee60633"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1264445,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Justin Connors","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"180","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Airport","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The rising sophomore is making his varsity debut this season. 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