IT’S FOOTBALL TIME AGAIN!  The Strom Thurmond Rebels will host the Blue Devils of Williston Elko this Friday night in Johnston, to open their 2011 Campaign. 

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how the top teams in 1A would matchup with one to the top teams in 2A, Friday night will be your ticket to see it live. The Rebels return a slew of talent from a 10-3 team that lost out to eventual state champ Central in the 3rd round of the Class AA Playoffs last season and are ranked as high as #2 in the 2A preseason polls.  Throughout the preseason, Strom blistered every opponent they faced in scrimmages and jamborees, including a 17-0 forking of the Clinton Red Devils last Friday night.  “The biggest positive for our team coming into this season is the number of returning offensive starters plus the number of three year starters on both sides of the ball.  We have a good number of kids with game experience under their belts.”  Lee Sawyer. Raleigh Yeldell (senior) will start his third season as the Rebels quarterback.  He is a dual threat out of Thurmond’s spread offense, making opposing defenses scheme for his running and passing abilities.  Last season Yeldell rushed for nearly 900 yards (averaging 7 yards per carry) and completed 111 out of 183 passes for 1,434 yards.  Yeldell accounted for a combined 16 touchdowns thru the air and on the ground.  The Rebels will have a three headed monster in the backfield with runningbacks Malcom Watkins and Darrius Hammond complimenting Yeldell.    Hammond (junior) averaged 8 yards per carry last season as he amassed 1,027 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.  He caught another touchdown and averaged 11.5 yards per reception.  Darrius also averaged 29 yards per kick return and had 5 returns for touchdowns in 2010.  Power running back Malcom Watkins (senior) hit the weight room extremely hard in the off season and is now chiseled and ready to pound out yards on opposing defenses.  Last season Watkins scored 7 touchdowns, averaged 6 yards per carry and accounted for 542 yards with most of those yards coming after initial contact.  Through the air senior Marquez Mathis will be the go-to receiver as he looks to improve upon his 16 yards per catch and two touchdowns from a season ago.  Also, seniors Shaq Dobbs, Trevante Robinson and Lavon Coleman will give Yeldell more options down the field. A good offensive line is key to every team’s scoring success.  Three year starting center Chris Herrin has looked great in preseason scrimmages as he has gotten the ball off perfectly to Yeldell and held his blocks after the snap.  Junior Montell Webb will be starting his third season plus rising senior Luke Mclure returns for the Rebels.  Rising juniors Salathian Simpkins, Jeremy Yonce and Steven Hernandez all saw substantial playing time in 2010.  O-Line coach, former ST and USC standout, Tank Coleman has done an outstanding job getting this group prepared for the 2011 run.   The strength of second year Offensive Coordinator Antwuan Hillary’s attack depends heavily on the offensive line being strong.  In Hillary’s first season as coordinator, he led the Rebels to being the 5th highest scoring offense in Strom Thurmond history as they averaged 32.6 points per game. “I’d say the defensive line would be our greatest concern as of now.  We lost three very good football players across the line to graduation, but the new guys are good and getting better with each practice.”  Lee Sawyer.  Defensively, Strom Thurmond will line up in the 3-5-3 package.  The Rebels graduated all three defensive linemen from a season ago but will bring back 6 starters from a defense that only allowed 10 points per game in 2010.  Senior Nick Clark (State Champion wrestler) will lead the Blue Steel defense from the middle linebacker position and look to improve upon his team high 120 tackles from last season.  Junior linebacker Jeremy Johnson will be looking to outdo the 109 tackles he had last year while Cullen Rhoden (senior), Aaron Cook (junior), Demetrius Leysath (junior) and Jauveer Hammond (sophomore) will also return for the defense.  Jauveer is the smallest player in stature on the team, but plays as big as anyone.  He grabbed 5 interceptions in the preseason and has shown he can be just as physical as anyone on the field.  Cullen Rhoden returns for his third season at punter/linebacker.  Rhoden averaged 34 yards per punt, but more importantly allowed minimal return yardage in 2010 with great angle punting.  Junior Trent Miller connected on 56 of 59 extra points and was 5 for 5 on field goals last season.  This season Miller’s leg is even stronger as he has the capability to reach the end zone on kickoffs.  Williston-Elko made it to the state title game for a third consecutive season in 2010 coming up just two points short  as they lost to Scotts Branch 34-32.  They finished last season with a 12-2 record and averaged 51 points per game on offense.  Last year the Blue Devils scored 80 points in one game and 60 or more points in five games.  Williston’s bread and butter is power football from the wishbone.  The wishbone is a hard offense to stop when teams run it well and Williston can pound it with the best of them; eating 3, 4 and 5 yards a chunk, rocking teams to sleep, before ripping off a big play.  And with a runningback like Kendrick Salley in the backfield, their Wishbone is lethal.  Salley (verbally committed to USC and  recruited by colleges from across the country) rushed for a whopping 2,189 yards, 39 touchdowns and averaged 11 yards per carry in 2010.  The numbers he has put up the last two seasons are mind-boggling; over 4000 rushing yards, 68 touchdowns and averages 10 yards every time he totes the rock.  Most of these yards were gained in the first half of many games, due to Salley sitting out the second half when Williston had so many large leads. Complimenting the run game, Williston has Rokeem Williams at wide receiver.  Williams (verbally committed to Miami Ohio) averaged 24 yards per catch, racking up 830 yards and 7 touchdowns receiving last season.  One of his greatest attributes is his size and leaping ability.  He is a great basketball player and has the ability to leap over defenders for jump balls.   Defensively, Williston only allowed 12 points per game last season. 

The Blue Devil defense had four shutouts to compliment their high scoring offense in 2010.  The Devils bring back their defensive anchor in starting defensive tackle Jeremiah Jenkins.

“We have some good skill guys back (Salley/Williams) but will lack experience in many areas after taking a hit to graduation.  The positive for our team is many underclassmen saw substantial playing time last season when we had big leads.  With the talent we had going both ways, I’d say we lost 9 starters on each side of the ball from 2010.  But there is some good talent coming up to fill in those gaps.  It will be tough going for us early, but if my guys grow up quickly we will be alright as the season progresses.  A key to this team is staying healthy and finding a leader at quarterback.  Tamryn Garrick was a great quarterback for us last season, but we are missing his leadership on the field the most right now.  ”  Dwayne Garrick.  Williston is 28-2 in the regular season and 38-4 overall with one state title since 2008.    Coaches Corner:“Not a doubt that we will play the best team of our season on Friday night.  Strom Thurmond will make a run at the AA state title this season.  But when we get off the bus up there, we are showing up to win.  Not saying we will, but we are coming to play.  If we don’t win, it will not ruin our season but instead will be a great measuring stick and show us our weaknesses.  Thurmond has a lot of big time players and they are very well coached.  The Williston community, my coaching staff and team are all very excited about this game and we all look forward to getting up there and playing some football.  If we play great football and limit our mistakes, we will have a chance to make this a good game. ”— Dwayne Garrick “Knowing how many starters they lost and just how good those players were would make you tend to think Williston would be down coming into the season.  But, I am very impressed with the team they have this year after seeing them on film.  They don’t have much of a drop off, compared to last year’s team.  There is talent and speed all over the field for them, especially with Salley and Williams.  Last season, Salley as a junior, rushed for 135 yards on us.  Williams is an excellent football player too and both of those kids can take it the distance anytime they touch the ball.  They are legitimate division one football players and are hard to stop.” – Lee Sawyer  Keys to Victory:“Must execute and throw the ball well and have a good mix of run and pass.  This will keep the defense from stacking the box and keying on our run game.” –  Dwayne Garrick“Have to limit their big plays.  Our defense we cannot take bad angles and must make good tackles, because they have some guys that can take it to the house.  We need to keep them backed up and force them to punt.  As with any game, the team that wins the turnover battle usually has the best shot at winning the game.  Turnovers could be huge in a game like this.”— Lee Sawyer

By the Numbers (2010):
Offensively:  ST 33 ppg  WE 51 ppg
Defensively: ST 10 ppg  WE 12 ppg 

Last Game:
Thurmond 30 Pageland Central 35
Williston 32 Scotts Branch 34
 
Previous Meeting: ST 7 WE 0 

Players to Watch:Williston-ElkoKendrick Salley #3 (RB) 2189 yards, 39 touchdowns and averaged 11 yards per carry in 2010.Rokeem Williams #80 (WR) 830 yards, 7 touchdowns and averaged 24 yards per catch in 2010.Anthony Culberson Jeremiah Jenkins—defense tackle and anchor of the defensive line. Strom ThurmondRaleigh Yeldell (QB) starting his 3rd season under center with ability to beat opponents with his arm or legs. Hykeem Brooks (DB) standout defensive player will probably matchup with the best wide outs on the field  Darius Hammond (RB/KR) electrifying playmaker when the ball is in his hands. Cullen Rhoden (LB/P) has the ability to flip fields on opponents with his leg and a very good linebacker. Chris Herrin (C) anchoring the oline in his 3rd season as a starter.  The offense starts with him getting the ball back to Yeldell accurately.  Montell Webb (OL) strongest player on the team and will be needed to open holes for the Rebel ground attack. Jauveer Hammond (DB) the little big man that plays as hard as anyone and is one of the top football players on the field.  Malcom Watkins (RB) a bruising power runner with the ability to gain many yards after contact. Demetrius Leysath (DB) makes opposing players pay if they get into the secondary. Aaron Cook (LB) physical, quick to the ball and a great tackler.Matchup:  Blue Steel 3-5-3  vs Blue Devils Wishbone.  Thurmond speed (Darrius Hammond) vs Williston speed (Kendrick Salley).  Nick Clark and Kendrick Salley attempting to imposed their will on each other, while Hykeem Brooks and Rokeem Williams battle on an island.  This will be a chess match with each team looking for a mismatch and scoring opportunity.