Highlights From the Berkeley County Spring Football Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GOOSE CREEK |</strong> &nbsp;Wednesday's Berkeley County Spring Football Showcase at Stratford brought together five area teams who held separate intrasquad scrimmages.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It also served as an opportunity for college scouts to further examine potential recruits. Already on those respective scouts' radar in attendance were running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473027' first='Meliq' last='McGowan']</strong> of Goose Creek, defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1357963' first='Landon' last='Jackson']</strong> of Berkeley, wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1732659' first='Bo' last='Brabham']</strong> of Hanahan, tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1167204' first='William' last='Hollifield']</strong> of Phillip Simmons, and defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615105' first='Kermit' last='Davis']</strong> of Stratford.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165148' first='Jachin' last='Davis']</strong> and wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592357' first='J'Qwan' last='Crosby']</strong> of Stratford, quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615084' first='Tripp' last='Gallus']</strong> of Hanahan, quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers']</strong> of Berkeley, and linebacker <strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592547' first='Brody' last='Tonon']</strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/brody-tonon/"></a></strong> and wide receiverr <strong>Blake Johnson</strong> of Phillip Simmons all playing post-season baseball, the event allowed head coaches to both “showcase” and develop younger and overlooked players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I thought this was a great opportunity,” Hanahan head coach Milan Turner said. “Of course, you get some college coaches out there. It was a chance for our kids to see other kids out here working hard this spring and I think it was a good experience for us.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We're right here at the end of spring for us. So really for us, it was a chance for us to get a team day. And so coming to a format like this, where we didn't need to bring equipment, we could just come out and do situational stuff. I thought it was a good kind of a finish to our spring.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a team breakdown of the Berkeley County Showcase:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Berkeley Stags</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The school's baseball success allowed wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1151306' first='Bryson' last='McGee']</strong> to lead the offense at quarterback in place of Rivers. Having McGee make numerous long throws gave speedy wide receivers like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1016577' first='Elijah' last='Mitchell']</strong> an opportunity to display their deep pass-catching skills. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound freshman reportedly has an offer from Howard. Tight end and basketball guard <strong>Jordan Livingston</strong> should continue to show improvement in his first full season at the position. Berkeley has a sizable duo at offensive tackle with 6-foot-3, 300-plus senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267220' first='Zion' last='Britt']</strong> on the right and junior <strong>Caden Freeman</strong> on the left. The Stags' Jackson continues to show why he was named the top player at his position at the Carolinas Coaches Classic at Woodland. Linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639678' first='Gehad' last='Sneed']</strong> is also an aggressive tackler and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271259' first='Jessie' last='Brown']</strong> makes plays on both sides of the football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Goose Creek Gators</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both <strong>Gabriel Christopher</strong> and <strong>Corey Rouse </strong>shared the quarterback duties. They have a potential deep threat in wide receiver Jordan Kendrick to go with McGowen and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1065949' first='Sincere' last='Lewis']</strong> out of the backfield. The offensive line has size but is young with a mix of experience with senior <strong>guard [player_tooltip player_id='1732656' first='Zion' last='Richardson'] </strong>and sophomores <strong>Ashton Ranley</strong> and <strong>Teondre Burgess</strong>. On defense, safety<strong> Joshua Bing </strong>showed an ability to cover the field and play close man-to-man coverage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Hanahan Hawks</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222230' first='Quamell' last='Grant']</strong> took all of the snaps at quarterback for the Hawks in place of Davis. While Turner would have wanted to see Grant display his extensive talents at wide receiver, he was pleased with the continued maturity he's shown during the spring. When he does line up at his natural position, he'll be joined by <strong>Evan Behan</strong> and <strong>Grayson Mathes</strong> who also showed their ability to make difficult catches. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672854' first='Mike' last='Waring'] </strong>and <strong>Isaiah Snodgrass</strong> will serve as the workhorses out of the backfield. The defense appears to have an active linebacking corps with <strong>Landen Ritchie</strong>, <strong>Gabe Connors</strong> and <strong>Josh Amara</strong> returning as juniors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Phillip Simmons Iron Horses</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head coach Eric Bendig also used the Showcase as an opportunity to work on his team depth. This is especially true at quarterback where junior <strong>Hayes Goodard</strong> and sophomore <strong>Maurico Curry</strong> are in competition for the starting nod. Regardless of the outcome, the explosive Curry will see significant action on both sides of the football. He can open up the field at wide receiver and showed his coverage skills with an interception in the endzone. The Iron Horses also had young players in action on the offensive line with starters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639793' first='Jayquan' last='Shephard']</strong> and <strong>Jayden Camp</strong> out with injuries. Along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1824241' first='Yosi' last='Mallett']</strong> and Hollifield at tight end, Phillip Simmons has a formidable front on offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Stratford Knights</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head coach Dennie McDaniel focused Wednesday's Showcase on his younger players. <strong>Carlton Furby</strong> oversaw the quarterback duties and found success on quick passes to wide receiver <strong>London Brown</strong>. Out of the backfield, running back <strong>Malachi Breland</strong> has had a productive spring running behind the likes of offensive linemen <strong>Ben Jordan, TJ Bryant</strong>, guard <strong>Greg Campbell</strong>, and <strong>Antonio Gantt</strong>. At 6-foot-3 and 270 pounds, the rising senior Gantt provides a physical presence at tackle. On defense, outside linebacker <strong>Cameron Gibbs</strong> has been a big surprise, according to McDaniel, after gaining 20 pounds of muscle in the off-season. The other outside linebacker <strong>Amir McKnight</strong> is poised to have a senior year that could see him garner high interest in post-season All-Star games. Rising sophomore defensive ends Davis and <strong>Landon Simmons</strong> can potentially provide an imposing presence at their positions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->