First-Half MVPs: Pee Dee & Grand Strand

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As teams around the Grand Strand and Pee Dee prepare for their first region games, a little midseason hardware seems appropriate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Six players have made their mark, and their teams are where they are right now because of them. Four seniors, a junior and a sophomore have been weekly highlight reels spurring their respective squads to exceed expectations for a variety of reasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are our midseason MVPs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DEFENSIVE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='208334' first='Kelvin' last='Hunter'] LB, West Florence </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hunter has been a disruptive force for the Knights. In back-to-back weeks against Socastee and Dreher, for instance, he piled up seven total tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and a sack. Then, last week against Byrnes, he put up a bunch more tackles and blocked a kick that helped West Florence pull out a momentous non-region victory. The Knights have all sorts of playmakers around Hunter. That fact that he continues to stand out means that much more.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='336149' first='Mike' last='Gillard'] LB, Myrtle Beach</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gillard didn't play as a sophomore and then stormed onto the field last fall as a junior, when he put up 36.5 total tackles mostly as a safety. This season, Gillard was forced to move up to fill a need a linebacker and has started to show some serious long-term potential. He's already eclipsed last years's tackle total while putting up seven tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, a sack and a defensive score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Javon Johnson</strong> DL, Loris</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a freshman last fall, Johnson was good, really good - especially for his age. This season, the  5-foot-10, 240-pound sophomore is even better. In helping the Lions to a 5-0 start, Johnson (pictured) has put up some numbers that are anything but empty. There have been 11 tackles for loss, 25.5 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles. He is proving that you don't need to be 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds to muscle up in the trenches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OFFENSIVE</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='295367' first='Gabe' last='Cusack']</strong> QB, Marion</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We liked Cusack as a sophomore, when his run-first approach wold have led him to a 1,000-yard rushing season had the year not been crippled by game cancellations. We like him even better now that he's opened up the other part of the position. In a year's time, Cusack has developed into one of the more efficient passer in the Pee Dee while playing decent opponents. The junior has more than doubled his passing numbers from his freshman and sophomore seasons combined, and the Swamp Foxes are a threat as long as he's behind center.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ty Martin</strong> RB, Dillon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior didn't exactly come out of nowhere, as he got plenty of meaningful snaps behind Nemo Squire a year ago and even had a 100-yard game mixed in during the year. Still, we weren't sure exactly what we were going to see form Martin this fall until the Wildcats cranked up the machine. Martin turned out to be a huge part of it. He's already topped 1000 yards on the ground and is averaging a double-digit yards-per-carry mark heading into region play. Sustaining the figure won't be easy with some of the defenses in Region VII-3A, but Martin is going to flirt with it just the same.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='146356' first='LaNorris' last='Sellers'] QB, South Florence&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not only did Sellers return from a major injury that sidelined him for more than half of last season. Not only the the Bruins senior lead his team to a 5-0 start while throwing for 774 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushing for another 453 yards and seven scores. Not only did the senior reach the midway point with no picks and just one fumble in all those touches. Sellers is jumping on opponents so hard early that South Florence games are often over before they hit halftime. The Syracuse commitment has to be considered one of the top 10 or so candidates in the state for Mr. Football honors, and if he puts up those same kind of numbers and wins in region play, we'll see him with the other finalists come December.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->