On Campus: Blythewood Bengals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blythewood kicked off the 2025 season by hosting a four-team scrimmage on Thursday evening that included Dutch Fork, North Augusta and Catawba Ridge. The Bengals team that trotted out on the field looked considerably different than what was thought to be the case less than two months ago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Returning players deciding not to play and others opting to transfer left Blythewood with a new look situation. But according to standout offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172352' first='Reed' last='Paolucci'],</strong> the players have taken things in stride and are looking forward to the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We're connecting more and more and that's going to help us down the road,” the junior said. “We've had some guys sadly leaving and some other things have happened, but it's brought us closer together. We're going to work together through these troubles and be ready to roll.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coach James Martin must find a way to replace over 2,300 passing yards and 28 touchdowns in short order. Right now, it's turned into a two-person race between <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1426578' first='James' last='Veasey'] </strong>and <strong>Jordan</strong> <strong>Greaves </strong>for the top spot. As recently as the beginning of July, they would have been fighting for the backup position but now one of them will be the starter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paolucci tinkered with playing center, a spot he said coaches from Duke and South Carolina were interested in seeing him play, but will likely settle into the left guard position. He's the only returning starter up from but he's versatile and can play where needed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tyler Hoshauer will likely play center with <strong>Todd Cole</strong> at the other guard. Expect <strong>Julian Pinkney </strong>and <strong>Javeon Hubbard</strong> to be in play at the tackle position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top two pass-catchers transferred out but <strong>Chance Johnson</strong> and <strong>Ben Hendrix</strong> returned. Noah Nelson will also have plenty of opportunities. The Bengals still will be using a spread offense and want to throw the ball around the field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1540721' first='Landyn' last='Strong']</strong> and <strong>Braden Marye</strong> (a transfer from Ben Lippen that went over 1,000 yards last year) will be the top two running backs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, the Bengals will retool behind a linebacker group that includes <strong>Dillon Hutcherson</strong>, <strong>Johnny Young</strong> and <strong>Ryan Hall</strong> in a 3-4 or 3-5 scheme. The most intriguing prospect in this might be Hall, who is making the transition from being a wide receiver and running back last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>James Willis</strong> shined on the defensive front as did <strong>Tyler Johnson</strong> at nose guard. <strong>Christian Sanders</strong>, who is big and physical, will plug into the third spot along the front. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The secondary will have <strong>Marlon Glover</strong> and <strong>Robert Rowe</strong> at corners with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1403282' first='Amari' last='Fisher']</strong> at safety. Fisher is a transfer from Lower Richland. All three played well against a couple of pass-happy attacks during the scrimmage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Martin knows there is still a lot of work to be done before the season opener but he felt like the scrimmage against three high caliber teams will only help.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It was exactly what you would expect from a first scrimmage after a lot of rain – sloppy. It's okay but it's not,” Martin said. “It allows us to see where we are right now and that's why we're doing scrimmages the way we're doing them against three great teams. WE need to see where we're lacking. Now we have to go correct it.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Newcomer Spotlight</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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":1777266,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Tay'Shawn Johnson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"170","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2410","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Blythewood","_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68965a3ff183c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Johnson is going to be counted on heavily in the receiving game. He's 5-foot-8, 170 pounds and has great twitch, which is going to allow him to find open creases. He has a 35-inch vertical and 72.25-inch wingspan so that will help him go up and get the ball at the peak. He's reached over 20 MPH in a vest and that speed will also help. The Bengals are going to want to fling it around so Johnson could be inline for a huge season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/23562024/67d468bafb766e0b8bbd970f' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68965a3ff1a4b"} /--> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tay'Shawn Johnson</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->