Dillon County Teams Preparing for Upcoming Football Season

With the first official practices underway and scrimmages beginning this week, high school football fans, players, and coaches are greatly anticipating the upcoming football season.

Expectations are high for the Dillon High School Wildcats and rightly so. The Wildcats have won four state championships in the last six years with the last two back-to-back. They finished last year with a 12-2 season and 5-0 in region play crushing their opponents in the region and the playoffs on their way to their 2A Division I State Championship title, which they earned with a 41-3 win over Fairfield-Central.

Coach Jackie Hayes, who is entering his 30th year in coaching and his 23rd year as a head football coach, said they “have an opportunity to have an outstanding football team this year.” He said the kids are working extremely hard on things such as strength and conditioning. Hayes said hopefully the results of this hard work will turn into wins and hopefully they will have another championship season.

The team has had good summer workouts with nearly 100 students turning out every day. Hayes said the conditioning of the team is “great.”

The Wildcats lost 23 players from last season; however, he still has a seasoned team with 12 returning seniors. Key positions that need to be filled are linebacker, defensive lineman, and wide receiver. Hayes said they should be fine on both sides of the ball; they just need time to develop.

One of the key returning players this season is Quarterback Avery McCall, who has been touted as one of the top players in the country. McCall, a junior, returns with two state championships on his record, in his third season as a starter. Other key returning offensive players are Eri’Reon Hayes, Johnny Allen, Ahmad Hamilton, Harley Mincey, and Poppy Sealey. Key returning players on the defense are Que Bethea, Randall Davis, and Omar McCollum.

Some of the new talent coming to the team coming from the J.V. team and other schools who are expected to be assets are brothers, J.T. and Tre Melton from Chesterfield High School, Jamison Chapman from West Florence High School, A’Ron Patel, Patrick Rowe, Chris Jordan, and Dan Hamilton.

Hayes’ coaching staff remains basically the same bringing back years of experience. Robbie Brown returns as Assistant Head Coach. Gerald Reeves, who coaches the defensive line, Jason Gunter, who coaches the offensive line, bring a combined total of 92 years of coaching experience.

Other members of the coaching staff include Kevin Roller, offensive line; Marty McIntyre, defensive line; Alan McLaurin, wide receivers; Kevin Roberts, offensive line; Lee Page, defensive backs; Zach Hayes, wide receivers; Chris Ray, linebackers; and Jamie Norris, tight ends. Splinter Spivey, the former head coach of Pee Dee Academy, joins the staff as the head J.V. coach.

The Wildcats will play in the Dennis Miller Jamboree of Champions at Marlboro County and will also scrimmage against Hartsville at home on Friday at 6 p.m.

The Wildcats start their season on August 22nd (Week 0) against North Myrtle Beach, a 3A school. They play two other 3A schools, Darlington High School on September 19th and Marlboro County High School on September 26th. They will play county rivals 1A Lake View High School on August 29th and 1A Latta High School on September 5th, before beginning their region games. They round out the regular season with Aynor on October 3rd, Mullins (Homecoming) on October 10th, Marion on October 17th, Loris on October 24th, and Waccamaw on October 31st.

Change has come to the Region 8 1A conference which will impact both Latta and Lake View, who compete in this region. Johnsonville and Hannah-Pamplico are leaving the conference and Hemingway and Carver’s Bay are coming in.

Latta hopes to continue to build on the steady progress that has occurred since bringing in Coach Kelly Williamson, who is entering his fourth year as head coach of the Vikings.
Latta finished the season with a 7-4 record last year and a 4-1 record in region play making the playoffs.

They hope to return for the second straight season to the playoffs. Latta reached the playoffs last year for the first time since 2003.

Summer workouts are reported to be going well with better turnout, good participation, and a great deal of hard work going on in the weight room.

This year’s team, which will blend experienced returning players with young blood coming up from the successful J.V. team, is expected to be more athletic, have more speed, and have broader skills than teams in years past.

Eight offensive and eight defensive players are returning. Latta is expected to have a strong offensive line.

Running the zone read offense, quarterback Kel Williamson, who is in his third year as a starter for Latta, will be returning. Fans may also see Williamson playing at wideout.

There are also big expectations for Davonta Porter, a wide receiver and defensive back, who has an offer from Clemson and interest from other schools. Porter had five interceptions last year and is expected to be a leader on defense.

Other key returning players include Chapman Rogers as center, Colby Lee as a receiver and sometimes quarterback, Trey Page as a wideout, Kartilus McFadden, who averaged 11 yards a carry last season, as a running back, and Jachai Buie as a fullback and linebacker.

Latta will see plenty of pre-season action scrimmaging against South Robeson on August 11 and Marion on August 12 at 6:00 p.m.; playing in the Chesterfield jamboree on August 16 at 9 p.m.; and playing in the Hemingway jamboree on August 22.

Latta begins their season on August 29th with Mullins at home, and they play Dillon (September 5th), Aynor (September 12th), McBee (September 19th), and East Clarendon (September 26th) before starting their region schedule. They begin their region schedule on October 3rd against Hemingway and then play Lake View on October 10th, Creek Bridge on October 17th, Carver’s Bay on October 24th, and Green Sea on October 31st.

Lake View is hoping for a better season this year. The team is led by Coach Darryl King. They finished last year with a 6-7 season and a 3-2 region record. They had a rocky start with four losses to start the season; however, two of the teams they lost to, Fairmont and Socastee, are not on this year’s schedule. As last season progressed, the team improved and played for the Lower State Championship.

Summer workouts have gone well. The team has 15 seniors returning this year bringing experience and leadership to the team. Among the key returning players is Christian McDaniel, a running back.

Fans should expect to see the Lake View team make a return to running the football which will hopefully be key to having a successful season.

Lake View will scrimmage East Clarendon this Friday and will also scrimmage Hannah-Pamplico and South Robeson. The Wild Gators also plan to play at the Mullins jamboree.

They open their season at home on August 22nd against Scott’s Branch. They face Dillon (August 29th), St. John’s (September 12th), Lamar (September 19th), and Aynor (September 26th) before starting their region schedule. They complete their season with region play against Green Sea on October 3rd, Latta on October 10th, Carvers Bay on October 17th, Hemingway on October 24th, and Creek Bridge on October 31st.

Headed by Coach Christian Wolfe, Dillon Christian School has been working hard and hope to have a competitive and successful season.

With a 6-6 season last year and a 1-1 region record, many feel that the talent of the team was not reflected in the numbers.

They have had good summer workouts as well as allowed team practices and have focused on getting bigger, stronger, and faster with work in the weight room and speed work.

Jim Carr will be returning as quarterback. Other returning key players include Matthew Price, who is being looked at by a number of colleges, Luke Price, Thomas Evans, and Ellison Rourke.

The Warriors will scrimmage in Fayetteville on Friday, August 15, and will also scrimmage against Thomas Sumter and Holly Hill.

They open their season on August 29th against Christian Academy. They play Thomas Sumter on September 5th, King’s Academy on September 12th, Williamsburg Academy on September 19th, Robert E. Lee Academy on September 26th, Pee Dee Academy on October 3rd, Trinity Byrnes on October 10th, Christian Academy on October 17th, Florence Christian on October 24th, and Holly Hill Academy on October 31st.

Their region includes Williamsburg Academy and Trinity Byrnes.