Evans, Ninety Six Passing Attack Thrash Ware Shoals

As we come down the home stretch of the 2026 regular season, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/subscribe/">now is the perfect time to get in the game</a>. You can subscribe to Prep RedZone South Carolina today - and enjoy 40% off while you're at it. Simply use the offer code Guerin40 for significant savings on an annual membership. You'll gain access to all the content from our deeply embedded team of scouts across the Palmetto State, as well as our rankings and player evaluations.   WARE SHOALS | [player_tooltip player_id='1819327' first='Jacob' last='Evans'] didn't get to throw a ton during his sophomore year. The offensive scheme at the time often turned him into a game manager when he was on the field.   Kiss those days goodbye.   Now a junior, the Ninety Six quarterback chalked up his first career 300-yard passing game en route to a 63-0 win at Ware Shoals on Friday night. He had six touchdowns (five passing, one rushing), 315 passing yards and spread the ball around to several receivers to overwhelm the Hornets defense and move the Wildcats to 3-0 in region play.    “I feel like a whole lot more of a quarterback,” Evans (pictured) said. “We go from last year where we're mainly running the ball to this year being able to sling it around, honestly, it feels better. Anybody on the field can get the ball. We can score with anyone I can get the ball to. Of course we had change. But we knew we had people who could get out in space and can score."   If you're asking yourself what's changed in such a short amount of time, clearly a new head coach in Austin Sargent who wants to throw more had something to do with that. So, too, did the addition of freshman receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1651024' first='Camrhyn' last='Mathis'] - a 5-foot-11, 160-pound receiver who had 167 yards and a touchdown Friday night and will likely eclipse 700 receiving yards on the year with his next reception.   Clearly, he is having about as good of a rookie campaign as anyone could have hoped for.   He kept that up Friday, hauling in six catches for 167 yards and his 11th touchdown of the year. At this point, it seems to be a matter of when, not if, he'll hit 1,000 receiving yards this fall.   But he's not alone on the outside.   Fellow receivers Kobi Quarles (two receptions, 43 yards, two touchdowns), Eli Schoolfield (two for 18 and a touchdown), Parker Suttley (two for 28), [player_tooltip player_id='1818999' first='Dalton' last='Williams'] (one for 18), [player_tooltip player_id='1819317' first='Mason' last='Ellis'] (one for 12) Blaine Dodson (one for 11 yards, touchdown) and Noah McDonald (one for six yards) all had receptions before most of the starters exited the game during a second-half running clock.   The newfangled passing attack has the Wildcats on the verge of flirting with 300 points scored on the season for the first time since 2023, when Ninety Six won eight games.    At the heart of it is Evans.   “He's got a cannon for an arm. There's really not a part of the field he can't touch with the football. That's huge,” Sargent said. “We realized we had something special during spring ball. When we teach something once, he's got it. Sometimes, that would be him throwing a pick. But we'd correct it and he won't make that throw again. He's smart. He does a lot pre-snap. That's something we weren't sure he was going to be able to do after last year.”   The Wildcats are certainly looking like a different bunch. And while the October 30 showdown with perennial powerhouse Abbeville will determine a ton in terms of a region title and playoff seeding, Evans knows something special is brewing with this offense.    “We know what [the Abbeville game] could be,” Evans said. “But we're trying to take it step-by-step.”    Mathis came into Friday's game on a serious hot streak. To the tune of three straight 100-yard performances, and eight touchdowns. He entered the night with 513 yards and 10 touchdowns - so we knew he could ball a little bit.    Seeing him in person gave us an even better indication of what type of playmaker the Wildcats have in him for the next three years (after the rest of this one. Mathis is a clean route runner and has no trouble dicing up zone coverage or losing defenders who run in man-to-man.   Ninety Six also uses him in jet sweeps and full end-arounds, something that's going to add some wrinkles into his film for opposing coordinators the rest of the way. But the high point is what he does as a receiver, and the impact of that on this offense is lightning in a bottle.    Other Ninety Six Standouts   Kai Graham K, 2030 - While all the offense is a welcome sight for the Wildcats, Graham's extra points and kickoffs shouldn't be ignored, either. After starting the year as an offensive lineman on the C-Team, the left-footed Graham was nine-of-nine on extra points against the Hornets. He also did well with his kickoff placements and even created a successful onside kick when he drilled an up man with the ball during the opening half.    [player_tooltip player_id='1820470' first='Markevius' last='Jones'] LB, 2028, [player_tooltip player_id='1824652' first='Ali' last='Baker'] DL, 2028 and Parker Suttley LB, 2027   In terms of setting a defensive tone, look no further than these three defensive starters for Ninety Six. On Ware Shoals' second offensive snap of the night, Suttley sniffed out a quarterback keeper and made a stop for a five-yard loss. On the Hornets' second series, Baker and Jones went back-to-back on tackles for loss that forced another three-and-out. Then, when Ware Shoals got the ball back for a third time, Baker's sack put the Hornets behind the sticks again.    Ware Shoals Standouts   Elijah Keller OL/DL, 2028 - Keller's size makes him a natural to play on both lines for the Hornets. And while he's filling a lot of holes left by graduations and some transfers, Keller as an edge rusher can be effective, and it's why Ninety Six ran away from him and chipped him throughout the game. Keller didn't add to his five tackles for loss from earlier in the season, but his tenacity was evident and he's not done making plays yet.     Hasting is already one of the team's most impactful defensive players - he came into Friday's game with 10 tackles for loss. He was held in check against the Wildcats, but much like Keller, it was more of a product of being overwhelmed by numbers.   One thing we did notice that Hasting is tough as nails. In the first half, he made a tackle and got caught up in a scrum. He was helped off the field and looked to be in considerable pain.   Knowing Ware Shoals' already small roster had been impacted by injuries, he returned two series later to resume his spot at offensive guard. Hasting has the size and strength to impact a lot of games, even if he's not always getting a lot of attention.

As we come down the home stretch of the 2026 regular season, now is the perfect time to get in the game. You can subscribe to Prep RedZone South Carolina today - and enjoy 40% off while you're at it. Simply use the offer code Guerin40 for significant savings on an annual membership. You'll gain access to all the content from our deeply embedded team of scouts across the Palmetto State, as well as our rankings and player evaluations.

WARE SHOALS | Jacob Evans Jacob Evans 5'11" | 190 lbs | QB Ninety Six | 2028 SC didn't get to throw a ton during his sophomore year. The offensive scheme at the time often turned him into a game manager when he was on the field.

Kiss those days goodbye.

Now a junior, the Ninety Six quarterback chalked up his first career 300-yard passing game en route to a 63-0 win at Ware Shoals on Friday night. He had six touchdowns (five passing, one rushing), 315 passing yards and spread the ball around to several receivers to overwhelm the Hornets defense and move the Wildcats to 3-0 in region play.

“I feel like a whole lot more of a quarterback,” Evans (pictured) said. “We go from last year where we're mainly running the ball to this year being able to sling it around, honestly, it feels better. Anybody on the field can get the ball. We can score with anyone I can get the ball to. Of course we had change. But we knew we had people who could get out in space and can score."

If you're asking yourself what's changed in such a short amount of time, clearly a new head coach in Austin Sargent who wants to throw more had something to do with that. So, too, did the addition of freshman receiver Camrhyn Mathis Camrhyn Mathis 5'11" | 160 lbs | WR Ninety Six | 2030 SC - a 5-foot-11, 160-pound receiver who had 167 yards and a touchdown Friday night and will likely eclipse 700 receiving yards on the year with his next reception.

Clearly, he is having about as good of a rookie campaign as anyone could have hoped for.

He kept that up Friday, hauling in six catches for 167 yards and his 11th touchdown of the year. At this point, it seems to be a matter of when, not if, he'll hit 1,000 receiving yards this fall.

But he's not alone on the outside.

Fellow receivers Kobi Quarles (two receptions, 43 yards, two touchdowns), Eli Schoolfield (two for 18 and a touchdown), Parker Suttley (two for 28), Dalton Williams Dalton Williams 5'9" Ninety Six | 2029 SC (one for 18), Mason Ellis Mason Ellis 5'10" | 175 lbs | LB Ninety Six | 2029 State SC (one for 12) Blaine Dodson (one for 11 yards, touchdown) and Noah McDonald (one for six yards) all had receptions before most of the starters exited the game during a second-half running clock.

The newfangled passing attack has the Wildcats on the verge of flirting with 300 points scored on the season for the first time since 2023, when Ninety Six won eight games.

At the heart of it is Evans.

“He's got a cannon for an arm. There's really not a part of the field he can't touch with the football. That's huge,” Sargent said. “We realized we had something special during spring ball. When we teach something once, he's got it. Sometimes, that would be him throwing a pick. But we'd correct it and he won't make that throw again. He's smart. He does a lot pre-snap. That's something we weren't sure he was going to be able to do after last year.”

The Wildcats are certainly looking like a different bunch. And while the October 30 showdown with perennial powerhouse Abbeville will determine a ton in terms of a region title and playoff seeding, Evans knows something special is brewing with this offense.

“We know what [the Abbeville game] could be,” Evans said. “But we're trying to take it step-by-step.”

Camrhyn Mathis

HEIGHT 5'11"

WEIGHT 160

POS WR

CLASS 2030

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Camrhyn Mathis

State: South Carolina

School: Ninety Six

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Highlights

Other Ninety Six Standouts

Kai Graham K, 2030 - While all the offense is a welcome sight for the Wildcats, Graham's extra points and kickoffs shouldn't be ignored, either. After starting the year as an offensive lineman on the C-Team, the left-footed Graham was nine-of-nine on extra points against the Hornets. He also did well with his kickoff placements and even created a successful onside kick when he drilled an up man with the ball during the opening half.

Markevius Jones Markevius Jones Ninety Six | 2027 SC LB, 2028, Ali Baker Ali Baker 5'11" Ninety Six | 2028 SC DL, 2028 and Parker Suttley LB, 2027

In terms of setting a defensive tone, look no further than these three defensive starters for Ninety Six. On Ware Shoals' second offensive snap of the night, Suttley sniffed out a quarterback keeper and made a stop for a five-yard loss. On the Hornets' second series, Baker and Jones went back-to-back on tackles for loss that forced another three-and-out. Then, when Ware Shoals got the ball back for a third time, Baker's sack put the Hornets behind the sticks again.

Ware Shoals Standouts

Elijah Keller OL/DL, 2028 - Keller's size makes him a natural to play on both lines for the Hornets. And while he's filling a lot of holes left by graduations and some transfers, Keller as an edge rusher can be effective, and it's why Ninety Six ran away from him and chipped him throughout the game. Keller didn't add to his five tackles for loss from earlier in the season, but his tenacity was evident and he's not done making plays yet.