2025 Preview: Belton-Honea Path Bears

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An Upper State championship, a 13-2 record, and the chance to play for a state title are hallmarks of a fantastic season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's true at Belton-Honea Path as well. But for the Bears, it also means that it's time to try to do it again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"At BHP, we want to be a successful, first-class program," Blackston said. "We feel like the best is yet to come, even with the year we had last year. All those seniors are gone and we've got a new group in here, and we told our kids last week it's not gonna just happen. We have a target on our chest, and we've got to go out there and be who we are."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who the Bears are begins up front, with a veteran core who are crucial on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We've got three players who will be in their fourth year starting for us," Blackston said. "Our left guard <strong>Keagan Mosher</strong>, right guard <strong>Keylan Dixon</strong>, and his twin brother at defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1592470' first='Kylan' last='Dixon']. Those guys have done a phenomenal job for us."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's not the only wealth of experience for the Bears, as they've also got six players who will be starting for a third season. That includes QB [player_tooltip player_id='283891' first='Noah' last='Thomas'], who returns from a campaign that included 1,800 yards passing and 24 touchdowns and more than 400 on the ground. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Everything's got the opportunity to go through him," Blackston said. "Through track, Noah's got his speed around 4.5 all spring and summer. I look for his legs to be able to help us some, but we're gonna allow him to showcase his arm talent this year as well. He's an outstanding leader and an outstanding person, and if people want to play 13 people in the box, we're going to let him use his arm."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thomas is excited for the opportunity to continue to lead the Bears. He knows he won't do it alone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It's a team thing," Thomas said. "We run the ball a lot, but we have wide receivers like Tajeh, <strong>Evan Gaines</strong>,<strong> Jayden Jones</strong>, fast guys who are extremely athletic who can beat guys over the top and make plays. It's hard to play us, because you can't put a bunch of people in the box, but you can't spread out, either. And all of that is because the line is amazing. It's just hard to defend us. I think that either way, we're going to move the ball and we're going to find a way to score. We all love to compete, and we want to get better. It's a great atmosphere to be a part of."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1372151' first='Jakyri' last='Anderson']</strong> LB/WR, 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In his three years as a starter, Anderson has been a monster for the Bears. Last season, he racked up 56 tackles with nine for loss. He had four sacks, five hurries, picked off a pair of passes and caused a fumble. This year he'll look to add some offensive duties to his arsenal as the Bears find new weapons on that side of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ty Rainey</strong> DE, 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another long-time starter for the Bears, Rainey causes havoc from his DE position. He made 36 stops last season, with four for loss, five sacks, and six hurries. He's big, fast, and flies to the ball, and his presence allows the Bears' lights-out linebackers to run around and make plenty of plays behind him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283891' first='Noah' last='Thomas']</strong> QB, 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As Blackston said, Thomas is used to shouldering his portion of the offensive load, and now he'll take on an even bigger role. He's got plenty of arm talent, and he's a true dual-threat guy, fast and athletic enough to make you pay with his legs. With the Bears adjusting to life without Marquise Henderson, Thomas' importance can't be overstated. He seems more than ready to take on the challenge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779428' first='Tajeh' last='Watson-Martin'] </strong>DB/WR, 2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As an unheralded freshman, teams tried to pick on the Bears' new corner. The result was seven interceptions. Last year, hardly anyone threw at him at all. So, he made his mark on offense, with 45 catches for 900 yards and 13 touchdowns. He's also a standout in the return game, and one of the best players on any field where he finds himself.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19446071/66e75e0e96342c2aab530a7e' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6862db0a19dd9"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BIGGEST LOSSES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marquise Henderson</strong> RB/DB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Henderson basically re-wrote the BHP record books for running backs, and was one of the top backs in the state. He never seemed more than an inch of daylight away from a touchdown, and he changed the way teams had to prepare and scheme for the Bears.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tye Kelly</strong> LB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bears had a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball, but Kelly was the heartbeat. With 76 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, five sacks, and three forced fumbles, Kelly's a guy who is going to be hard to replace.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UP-AND-COMING POTENTIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nick Sargent</strong> TE/QB, 2028</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blackston is high on Sargent's potential, looking forward to seeing what his athletic TE can do in the Bears' offense, while giving Thomas another target and providing another body at the point of attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639798' first='MJ' last='Earl']</strong> RB, 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earl rushed for more than 550 yards and eight touchdowns last year while serving as Henderson's primary backup, with the second-most carries on the team. It's his show now, and he'll look to make his mark on BHP's offense while offering an explosive element behind the Bears' veteran, talented offensive line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1591196"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6862db0a1b684"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Blackston calls Riddle an old-school football player who does it the right way, paying him one of the highest compliments a coach can give a player: "he's a dude."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Riddle started more than half the Bears' games as a sophomore, including the state title game, and while his contributions don't jump off the stat sheet, they DO jump off the film. He'll be crucial to BHP's success again this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->