What We Saw: Midland Valley Hosts 4-Team Scrimmage

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GRANITEVILLE</strong> | Mother Nature turned off the electricity at just the right time Thursday night, and after a brief delay it was time for all four teams to flip on the power switch at a preseason scrimmage at Midland Valley.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Barnwell, Colleton County and Lake Marion made the trip to L.L. Willis Stadium, only to be left waiting around alongside their hosts for an extra half hour for thunderstorms to pass through the area. That led to some sluggish starts to the four-team round-robin, with simultaneous matchups happening from 40 yards and in, before ultimately a lot of familiar faces took control.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fewer faces are more familiar for Midland Valley than [player_tooltip player_id='1615063' first='Preston' last='Smith'] at running back, and it was only fitting for the junior to get the first carry of the first matchup against Barnwell. He played a key role in all three matchups of the evening, and he got to flex his muscle on defense later on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith also was the first to get into the end zone, cashing in after three consecutive carries in the second matchup against Lake Marion after the Mustangs and Barnwell wrapped up 20 scoreless minutes. Midland Valley cycled through a variety of linemen and skill position players, but the constant was Smith at the running back position. It didn't take anything flashy for his first score, but he set up the score with tough runs right through the heart of the Lake Marion defense, weaving between would-be tacklers and bouncing off of others before finding the end zone from just beyond 10 yards out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of familiar faces, Midland Valley quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='644030' first='Xavier' last='Geter'] got in on the scoring against Lake Marion with a long rushing touchdown after a passing play broke down. The Mustangs looked for another touchdown on the final play, but Geter's deep ball intended for [player_tooltip player_id='1010338' first='Cameron' last='Gleaton'] sailed just long.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While that one fell incomplete, the next long connection they attempted on the first drive against Colleton County was a successful one for a touchdown. That could have been more than enough scoring considering the way Midland Valley's defense was rushing from sideline to sideline to get 11 hats to the football, but Colleton County had an answer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Technically, the Cougars had two answers, with Thursday's format being the only reason they didn't get two touchdowns out of the deal. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1824942' first='Galil' last='Frazier'] stepped in front of a short pass and had nothing but artificial turf in front of him for what surely would have been a pick-six had Barnwell and Lake Marion not been playing on the other side of the 50.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 40-yard line stopped Frazier on that play, but there was no stopping running back [player_tooltip player_id='2092993' first='Christian' last='Brown'] on a touchdown run around the right side late in the matchup. Midland Valley went hurry-up to try for a closing score, but [player_tooltip player_id='2082707' first='Jakell' last='Jenkins'] was there to intercept a tipped ball to bring the festivities to a close.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jax Mead got in some good reps at quarterback for Barnwell, and he looked comfortable rolling out and making some short throws on the run. And some of those short throws turned into longer gains thanks to perimeter blocking by [player_tooltip player_id='1825109' first='Caiden' last='Roland'] at wide receiver. [player_tooltip player_id='1822357' first='Torye' last='Pickens'] is going to have a do-everything kind of season this year for the Warhorses, and he showed some glimpses of that Thursday by making an impact all over the field, from tackles for loss on defense and some strong running on offense - and the format of the scrimmage was the only reason he didn't make big plays on special teams, too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Colleton County's defensive line thrived throughout the night, and in most cases the Cougars got the ball back to the offense fairly quickly for backs like Trevy Manigo to follow behind Billy Grant on the right side of the offensive line, and for receivers like [player_tooltip player_id='1699393' first='Justus' last='Jamison']-Owens to show off some quick footwork after catching quick passes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1817981' first='Dante' last='Wright Jr'] showed off some nice touch throwing the deep ball when Lake Marion had the ball, which is something that could be a big weapon for the Gators if defenses spend too much time trying to keep [player_tooltip player_id='2106780' first='Daylen' last='Ferguson'] from doing too much damage running the football - of course, they'll still have to worry about Ferguson being on the receiving end of some of those long passes, as he has the speed to track down any throw Wright can send downfield. [player_tooltip player_id='1817968' first='Bryceton' last='Vogt'] is another Class of 2029 prospect for Lake Marion who can hurt teams in a variety of ways, and [player_tooltip player_id='1824126' first='Caden' last='Keller'] is a force up front on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->