Week 0 Lowcountry Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Between fresh faces and some names known around the state, Week 0 in the Lowcountry included some big numbers on both sides of the ball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We even saw some milestones reached and the opening stanza of potential new ones started.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To think this was only the first contest in each team's 10-game regular season let us know that 2024 is going to provide a new set of highlight reels Friday after Friday. We're a little jacked to see it play out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But let's start by recognizing the Game Balls honorees from our first weekend of action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1172368' first='Andrew' last='Massey'] LB, Hilton Head</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Massey started off his sophomore season with a bang, putting up two tackles for loss, a safety and an interception in his first defensive plays of the opener against Stall. He finished the game with eight tackles, two fumble recoveries, a defensive touchdown and those two tackles for loss and the safety in the 65-0 victory. The point total was the Seahawks' most since scoring 69 against Colleton County in 2016 and largest margin of victory in at least two decades.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lorenzo Kitching</strong> WR, North Charleston</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>En route to helping to deliver interim head coach Adrain Grady's first head coaching victory in football (he's won plenty more in hoops and track), Kitching hauled in 10 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns while tacking on a 57-yard rush that ended with a third score. Kitching is 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds and a nice complement to some of the height on the roster. On Friday, he dealt the biggest blows for the Cougars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers'] QB, Berkeley&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Year 2 with Rivers running the Stags offense included a fair amount of reasonable hype. He backed up a good bit of in the 41-26 win over Ashley Ridge when he completed nine-of-13 passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns and used 11 carries to pile up 171 rushing yards and another score. He spread his touchdown passes to three different receivers - <strong>Jonathan Mitchell</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='683478' first='Kayden' last='Bash'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1158021' first='Kevin' last='Boone'] - while completing at least two passes to four different receivers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1165076' first='Marcus' last='Henderson'] LB, Berkeley&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Henderson led the team in tackles (125) last year while averaging 11.4 stops per game. He topped that average against Ashley Ridge, finishing with 13 total tackles. He also added two tackles for a loss - a quarter of his 2023 total - and a sack. Henderson will need to keep up that energy for the next few weeks, as the Stags will have continue a tough non-region slate with a trip to Winter Park (Fla.) this week, followed a home game against Summerville and an away contest at West Ashley.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1394988' first='Aedan' last='McCarthy'] QB, and [player_tooltip player_id='402486' first='Carnell' last='Warren'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578696' first='Nate' last='Ulmer']</strong> WR, Bluffton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It wasn't McCarthy's first varsity action, but it was the junior's first start since taking over the position full time in the offseason. All he did with it was connect on 15-of-22 pass attempts for 285 yards and six touchdowns in the 57-0 win over Whale Branch. Four of his touchdown passes went to Warren (pictured; seven receptions, 95 yards), while Ulmer snagged another while hauling in five passes for 134 yards.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19421081/66c9eb49f519f4baff45fd11' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66ca8f38ba0bd"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='473027' first='Meliq' last='McGowan'] RB, Goose Creek</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We predicted during the offseason that McGowan would have every opportunity to hit the 2,000-yard rushing plateau this season. Not that it exactly makes us Nostradamus, as he rushed for better than 1,600 as a sophomore. Still, he made some first-game headway toward that total by rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries in a 41-14 win up the coast at North Myrtle Beach.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578818' first='Cole' last='Fletcher']</strong> DB, Wando</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While splitting time between direct coverage and more of a safety role, Fletcher was in the right place throughout Friday's win at Socastee. He picked off three passes, broke up a fourth, forced a fumble and had four tackles. He also caught a pass on offense. The Warriors will face a variety of different offensive schemes over the next month. Big plays like the ones Fletcher provided will go a long way toward navigating that slate.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16294092/66ca37de2e2fb8af79f47431' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66ca8f38ba108"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1165165' first='Jaylen' last='Singletary'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422535' first='Jayvin' last='Risher']</strong> RBs, Hampton County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hurricanes have clearly found their replacements for Zion Dobson - the Mr. Football finalist from a year ago who 2,574 yards and 40 touchdowns. Against Colleton County, Singletary rushed 10 times for 225 yards and two touchdowns, while Risher, a first-year varsity player, had 11 carries for 117 yards and two scores of his own. Singleton also picked off a pass from his spot at corner while Risher also started in place of the injured [player_tooltip player_id='809743' first='Mandrell' last='Sanders'] at linebacker.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18598845/66c9fd1ab60cadfa646011f6' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66ca8f38ba13a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1254044' first='Kolten' last='Kellermann'] WR/DB, Philip Simmons</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kellerman was asked to fill a lot of the voids on both sides of the ball after a large number of graduations. In the 28-26 win over Hanahan to kick off his senior season, he did just that. He picked off a pass and had five tackles from his spot at safety. Meanwhile, he and senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='502413' first='Tavien' last='Orellana'] obviously have good chemistry. The connected four times for 67 yards and two touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1360121' first='Tanner' last='Macy'] QB, May River</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Macy entered the 2024 season opener just four yards shy of 2,000 career rushing yards, and it didn't take him long to get to that figure. In the win over Airport, Macy had 12 carries for 76 yards and three touchdowns. He only attempted three passes, but he completed two of them for 79 yards. Those number leave him just 11 yards shy of 3,500 combined passing and rushing for his career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14984969/66c9ff81c91f14cc9220acf4' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66ca8f38ba166"} /-->