BY  JAY BENNETT

The 2010 football campaign will be one of change for Coach Johnny White and the Cheraw Braves, as they move from Region 8AA in the Lower State to Region 4AA

in the Upper State.  The Braves had started several playoff rivalries in the past decade with some Lower State teams and those are something Coach White will miss.  “The Lower State playoffs in Class AA has some very, very tough teams in it and we enjoyed making those trips.  The teams in the Upper State will all be new to us, but we’ll get ready to play wherever they send us,” Coach White stated.

This will be Coach White’s 11^th season at the helm and the Braves have posted a 100-35 overall mark, including 70-16 the past six campaigns.  Cheraw has also advanced to the third round of the Class AA playoffs in each of the past eight seasons, the only teams in the state to have accomplished that feat.

“This group is very, very young and we are a work in progress right now”,
Coach White said.  “We have had so many injuries in the preseason that we still are not sure where to play some people.  We had about twelve players that did not dress out in either of the jamborees this past weekend, but we are hoping to get some of them back before we face Dillon on Friday night,” Coach White added..

“Our goal was to start 22 different people and have no one going both ways, but that may be impossible right now.  The heat and fatigue has been our worst enemy in the past, so we are trying to correct that,” Coach White stated.  “We are still making way too many mistakes in the scrimmages, but it’s not because the kids are not working hard.  We only have about six seniors that will see a lot of playing time this year, so I look for us to get better as the season goes along,” Coach White added.

The offense will have a completely different look this season, as the entire offensive line is gone and so is Chad Wilkes.  Malcolm Hunter was slated to step in and

take Wilkes’ place under center, but he suffered a torn ACL in the team’s first scrimmage and he is lost for the season.  That injury has changed a lot of Coach White’s plans on offense and now, the quarterback job is between Austin Nolan, Storm Jacobs, and Darius Little.  Little is a converted halfback and will mainly run the show out of the spread formation.  “Darius is one of the fastest kids on the team and we want to use him at both halfback and quarterback.  He’s only had a couple of days of practice at quarterback, but he looked pretty good in McBee on Saturday night,” Coach White said.

“The offensive line is completely rebuilt and it could take some time for the new group to start jelling.  We have given some kids a chance to perform in the preseason, but now, it’s time to start solidifying some spots this week,” Coach White stated.  “The center position looks to be either Kavon Butler or Austin Tucker , while Butler, Shawn Johnson, Trey Norton, or Kris McCoy will man the two guard slots.  Joseph McFarlin and Jacqavious Cole are leading the way at tackle, but Kameron Chapman and Mikal Cue will see plenty of action there.  Brad Bradley and Franklin Wilson are holding down the tight end positions right now, but there are plenty of other candidates that could see some playing time,” Coach White added.

“The halfback spots are also wide open and it will depend on where we are on the field as to who we put in there”, Coach White said.  “We’ve got Darius Little, Xavier Taylor, Durrell Hawkins, Justin Chapman, and Tierell Smith back there and we are still hoping to get Quentin Lewis cleared to play.  We are hoping to be able to change these guys in and out and keep a fresh back in there most of the time,” Coach White added.

“The wide receiver spots could be a strong suit for us, but right now it is decimated with injuries.  Gerald Ewing and Brandon Taylor are two guys we are counting on for big things, but both of them are on the shelf with injuries.  Demetrius Miller can also make some big plays for us, as can Tyre Byrd, Demetrius Holiday, and Austin Nolan,” Coach White stated.

“The defensive unit will also have a lot of new faces on the field this year and the match ups in the jamborees were not good ones for us,” Coach White said.  “We had to face Manning and Anson County, both option teams, and that’s the most option football we will see the entire season.  We did not change our basic defensive scheme for those teams and that’s why they broke some big plays on us,” Coach White added.

“This group seems to be getting better every day and we all hope that continues.

The defensive line will be made up of Joseph McFarlin, David Durant, Shawn Johnson,

Franklin Wilson, and Kris McCoy, while Durrell Hawkins, Forrest Privette, and Xavier Taylor will man the linebacker spots.  Brad Bradley, Kedarian Drake, Tyre Byrd, and Kiante Wingate are all battling for the spur position, while Demetrius Holiday, Demetrius Miller, and Gerald Ewing will alternate at free safety.  The two cornerback slots will be filled by Demetrius Miller, John Cooks, Justin Chapman, and Kedarian Drake,” Coach White said.

“Once again, there are hardly any seniors on the field, so look for this group to also improve as the season goes along,” Coach White stated.

“It looks like the punting chores will be manned by either Brad Bradley or Darius Little, while James Davis appears to be the man that will handle the PAT’s and kickoffs.

The return game could be very explosive, as Demetrius Miller and Gerald Ewing should fill those spots,” Coach White said.

The preseason slate is probably the toughest in the state, as it features two State Champions and only one home game.  First up is a trip to Dillon, the two-time defending Class AA champs, as Coach Jackie Hayes will be searching for his 200^th coaching victory.  Next is Marlboro County, a Lower State finalist the past two seasons in Class AAA.  The Bulldogs return almost everyone on defense and this will be another tough test for the young Braves.

The three-time defending Class A State Champions, Chesterfield, will be Cheraw’s opponent in the third week, as Seth Truesdale will lead the vaunted Rams’ offensive unit.  Marion is Cheraw’s fourth opponent and the Swamp Foxes return plenty of offensive firepower, led by Justin Gause and their entire offensive line.  After a week off, the Braves will then travel to Hartsville to face the Red Foxes in a renewal of the friendly rivalry that stopped about a decade ago because of the Class AAAA points system.  The Foxes will drop down to Class AAA this year and Coach Jeff Calabrese will field an extremely young team, just like the Braves.

Central has lost to Dillon in the last two State Championship games and Coach Joey Mangum wants another shot at the title.  The Eagles appear to be the team to beat once again in the Upper State and the Braves will host the Eagles in the season finale, probably with the region title on the line.

“I know that Central will be very good again this year and we will have our work cut out against them.  Our games are always hard hitting affairs and very clean.  When they are over, we always shake hands and we have a lot of respect for their program,” Coach White stated.  “We haven’t played Buford, Andrew Jackson, or Lee Central for

the past few seasons and we have never played Indian Land, so this will region schedule will be something new for us,” Coach White added.

“This group has not progressed like I hoped they would, but the injuries have really hampered that.  We do not have the two or three superstars that we have had in the past, but this group is really working hard.  Once again, this is a very, very young team and we are throwing some kids in the fire.  I am still very confident that we can play better than what we have shown and that needs to start this Friday night in Dillon,” Coach White stated.