It’s Monday evening, and I still haven’t posted a Five Things I Think I Know from Week 3 of the high school football season.
What the heck, you might be asking.
It’s seriously not that I didn’t learn anything from Friday night, when the dreaded lightning delay brought havoc to the high school football schedule. It’s simply that life has been coming at me fast.
As frequent readers know, my wife spent the past 10 days in France for work (she came home last night, thank goodness), and I’ve been busy with my duties at USCB in addition to herding children all weekend.
I finally had time to catch my breath and come up with Five Things I Think I Know, so here they are:
1. Kyleik Middleton is the man. Back on the first day of fall practice, I wrote that one of the biggest questions facing area teams was who would run the ball for Beaufort High. Well, we have our answer. Middleton has racked up 432 yards and five touchdowns through three games, including 275 and two scores in Friday’s win over Bluffton.
2. Tyreke Young is a monster. The Hilton Head Island HS defensive end was a one-man wrecking crew in Friday’s 24-3 win over Battery Creek with 6 1/2 sacks, six quarterback hurries, two pass break-ups, and a tackle for loss. Those are solid numbers for a full season.
3. John Paul II might be the most improved team in the state at any level. The Golden Warriors were outscored 135-33 though their first three games last season en route to an 0-10 campaign. This year? They’re 2-1 against the same three opponents and have been outscored just 66-80.
4. But if it’s not JP2, it might be May River. The Sharks were outscored 165-23 in their first three games in 2016 – lopsided losses to Hanahan, Bluffton, and Whale Branch. They’re 1-2 against those same teams in 2017 while being outscored 57-50.
5. Football is a frightening game. This is not breaking news, given the prevalence of concussions and what we’ve seen with former players and CTE in recent years, but it hit home Friday night when Bluffton High School star Jermaine Patterson left the field at Beaufort High on a stretcher and was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital after having his helmet ripped off on a tackle. Thankfully Patterson is OK, though he has a mighty sore neck, but it was yet another chilling reminder of the violent nature of the sport.
‘Till Friday,
JJ