Lowcountry Week 1 Game Balls

A lot of players are going to remember Week 1 of the 2024 football season for years to come.   The performances throughout the Lowcountry were that good.   Game-changing interceptions and special teams plays. Huge passing nights. Insane rushing totals. And players changing their own norms.   Week 1 in the Lowcountry had all of it.    [player_tooltip player_id='367350' first='Jaden' last='Cummings'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='1249768' first='Keshon' last='Washington'] TE, Summerville   The Green Wave as a whole deserve a bag of game balls after beating two-time defending Class 4A Lower State champ South Florence 46-20 on Friday. Eli Pressley had 11 tackles, while [player_tooltip player_id='1359137' first='Yasir' last='Smith'] had six tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Cummings (pictured) and Washington provided a huge offensive push. The quarterback finished 21-of-29 for 311 yards and five touchdowns, three of which went to Washington. The tight end had six receptions for 143 yards and those three scores to go along with seven carries for 47 yards.    [player_tooltip player_id='1157992' first='Jayden' last='Acosta'] RB, Ashley Ridge   Acosta and the rest of the offense was held relatively in check in Week 0 against Berkeley. That wasn't the case on Friday against Cane Bay. Acosta had a career-high 275 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries in the win. It was his second career 200-yard game and pushed his career rushing touchdown number to 19.    [player_tooltip player_id='1012859' first='Karmello' last='Jones'] RB/LB, Cross   Jones only got 10 carries (105 yards) in the lopsided win against North Charleston. And while he failed to reach the end zone on offense, he made up for it on defense and special teams. From his spot at linebacker, he had three tackles, a tackle for loss and returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown. He also brought back one of his three kickoff returns 90 yards for another touchdown.    [player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers'] QB, Berkeley   In a 19-14 loss at Winter Park (Fla.), Rivers again prioritized his legs over his arm. Yes, he threw for 150 yards and a touchdown. But he also had 180 yards and a touchdown on the ground, too. He's already up to 351 rushing yards through two games, a noticeable trend considering he had 557 yards on the ground in 12 games during his breakout freshman season. When teams do take the pass away, he has no problems taking off and picking up yardage.    [player_tooltip player_id='1574079' first='Asa' last='Haskins'] RB, May River   Haskins played a pivotal role in May River's 28-21 win over West Ashley. After the Sharks scored a late second-quarter touchdown, Haskins forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. A few moments later, he took a handoff and raced 43 yards to the end zone to give May River a 21-0 lead. He finished with nine carries for 145 yards and added a catch for 25 yards to help the Sharks move to 2-0 with wins over a pair of quality opponents.     [player_tooltip player_id='1656629' first='Tyler' last='Davis'] DB, Hampton County    Hampton County and Allendale-Fairfax only played three quarters (off-field situation), but Davis made some of his first real varsity action count. The junior safety had a pick-six, a pass break-up and four total tackles, including one on third down that forced a punt. Davis missed the Hurricanes' season opener and was on the junior varsity squad a season ago. His production could go a long way for a Hampton County team will realistic hopes for a big 2024.   [player_tooltip player_id='1395087' first='Reid' last='McCollum'] QB, Hilton Head Christian   The first-year starting quarterback had another monster performance. Against Bethesda Academy, he was 31-of-40 passing for 321 yards and two touchdowns, all while not throwing an interception. He also added another 68 yards and two touchdowns rushing. The effort pushed his three-game season totals to 842 yards and four touchdowns passing and 342 yards and five scores rushing.     Luke Thomas, Deona Frazier, [player_tooltip player_id='272709' first='Malachi' last='Jefferson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1012698' first='Hendrix' last='Beran'] James Island   We've known for months that James Island's foray into Class 5A ball was going to require a strong defensive effort while the offense rebuilds. The four players above all did their part in the 24-0 win over Hilton Head. Each of them recorded a sack against the Seahawks. For Jefferson and Beran, it was what we've seen from the two standout linemen. But Thomas, a linebacker, and Frazier, a safety, got into the mix, too. In total, the four also combined for 23 total tackles and seven tackles for loss.    [player_tooltip player_id='1253938' first='Chalmers' last='Ballard'] QB, Lucy Beckham   The Bengals clearly saw something on film heading into their game against Philip Simmons to try something relative new. Because while the normally pass-first Ballard had 11 career varsity carries since the start of last year, he had 12 rushes for 107 yards and three touchdowns against the Iron Horses in the 38-9 victory. Just for good measure he also threw his 20th career touchdown pass on Friday.

A lot of players are going to remember Week 1 of the 2024 football season for years to come.