One of Rock Hill’s best-ever PeeWee all-star teams having fun pursuing state title

Perry Sutton has been around youth football in Rock Hill for three decades. The current Rock Hill peewee all-stars are the among the five-best teams he’s seen.

The group of 10 and 11-year olds faces Florence in the state championship game Saturday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m., at South Carolina State University.

“Wish we could’ve played it yesterday,” said head coach Tony Priscaro. “We’re just so ready.”

Rock Hill has outscored its four opponents 148-12, only punting once. After three consecutive shutouts, the peewee all-stars pounded Easley 38-12 last week to advance to the championship game. Wide receiver Kobe Davis said that he and his teammates kissed the Upper State championship trophy, and then their mouths dropped when Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis walked up to the group afterward.

“He was talking about if we win, we get to do something with him for one day,” said Kobe Davis. “That was a great honor to meet him.”

Twins Aiden and Andrew Harris are Thomas Davis’ nephews. The twins are a big part of the Rock Hill all-stars’ success, especially on defense where Aiden plays defensive line and Andrew middle linebacker.

“Me and him, we’ve been connected together our whole lives,” Aiden said about his brother, Andrew. “My uncle taught us to always love each other and never cheat football.”

Priscaro said that the team’s offensive skill players have been too fast for the four previous opponents. A’Marian Coleman and Darien Judge are the running backs, both with right around 10 touchdowns in four games, while QB Dailan Duncan picked up Priscaro’s offense -- more complicated than usual for youth football -- almost immediately. Duncan doesn’t say much to anyone, especially newspaper reporters, but he can call his own plays and his intelligence has enhanced the all-stars’ physical speed.

“You’re gonna be hearing about these kids on Friday nights,” said Priscaro.

The coaches picked this team so that players could focus on one side of the ball and not have to play both ways, which is uncommon for youth football. When the offense is on the field, defensive coaches can make adjustments with the defensive players on the sideline, and vice versa. That’s been valuable because the players are intellectually sharp and have picked up offensive and defensive concepts that the coaches are teaching during practice or in-game.

“Their football I.Q. is above average,” said Priscaro, who has coached youth football for 14 years in Rock Hill. “I just can’t believe we got them all on the same team.”

Tamarion Watkins plays fullback and creates the openings for Coleman and Judge, but the offense really hasn’t been needed to do too much. The team’s defense is just as fast and with most of its players focusing on that side of the ball, they’re in better shape than the opposition during the second half.

But while all that tactical stuff is cool, these are 10-year olds and their mindsets aren’t as complicated as older players.

“These are our friends, so just spending time with them and winning games,” has been the best part, said Kobe Davis. “I want to win state so I can get a ring.”

And hang out with Thomas Davis.

Roster: A’Marian Coleman, Anthony Priscaro, Darien Judge, Zack Jackson, Je’Corian Hall, Dailan Duncan, James Davis, Malik Massey, Kobe Davis, Brayden Smith, Mason Carter, Andrew Harris, Aiden Harris, Jadon Elam, Tamarion Watkins, Tyreese Bryce, Kason Canupp, Kobe Neely, Eli Anstey, Bryson Sweat, Cooper Montgomery, Caleb Ayes, B.J. Smith, Keith Moore, Jordan Shannon, Zaiden Carter.

Coaches: Tony Priscaro (head coach), David Bell, Buster Howard, Travis Mayfield, Perry Sutton and Luke Howard.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Clover 60, North Gaston 59

The Clover Blue Eagles edged North Gaston 60-59 in a non-region contest at Clover Thursday night.

The Blue Eagles led 15-10 after one quarter and 32-26 at halftime. They were in front 46-39 after three periods. North Gaston rallied in the final eight minutes and took a 59-58 lead late in the contest.

Andrez Dalton’s layup with 2.6 seconds remaining lifted Clover to the win.

The Blue Eagles are 6-0 on the year.

Great Falls 65, Fairfield Central 48

The Great Falls Red Devils toppled Fairfield Central 65-48 in a non-region game at Fairfield Central Thursday night.

The Red Devils, the top-ranked team in Class A, are 6-0 on the year.

Rock Hill 63, York 44

The Rock Hill Bearcats used a strong second quarter and upended the York Cougars 63-44 in a non-region game at Rock Hill Wednesday night.

The ‘Cats led 17-10 after one period, and they outscored York 18-2 in the second quarter for a 35-12 lead at the break. York outscored Rock Hill 22-7 in the third stanza to cut the deficit to 42-34, but the Bearcats pulled away in the final eight minutes for the win.

M.J. Wildy led Rock Hill with 11 points. Donoven Brown and Antonio Barber followed with 10 points each. Jevon Long paced York with a game-high 16 points.

Rock Hill is 6-2 on the year. York has yet to win in six games.

Fort Mill 81, Chester 45

The 10th-ranked Fort Mill Yellow Jackets routed the Chester Cyclones 81-45 in a non-region game at Chester Wednesday night.

The Yellow Jackets opened a 25-6 lead after one quarter. They were front 44-19 when halftime rolled around. Both teams scored 17 points in the third quarter before Fort Mill outscored Chester 20-9 in the final stanza.

Jacobi Wright led the Jackets with 40 points. Keyan Mims and Carson Morton each chipped in nine points to the one-sided victory. Leon Goldsborough led Chester with 10 points. Juwan Hall and Raquewen Bailey added nine each for the Cyclones.

Fort Mill is 6-1 thus far, while Chester is 1-4.

Northwestern 74, Lancaster 55

The Northwestern Trojans toppled the Lancaster Bruins 74-55 in a non-region contest at Northwestern Wednesday night.

Mason Grigg led the Trojans with 24 points. Zay Martin added 17 points, while Ashton Parker chipped in 17. Northwestern improved to 8-1 on the year. Lancaster fell to 1-4.

Parkwood 66, Indian Land 65

Parkwood edged the Indian Land Warriors 66-65 in a non-region game at Indian Land Wednesday night. The Warriors are 0-5 on the year.

Eau Claire 47, Lewisville 39

Eau Claire defeated the Lewisville Lions 47-39 in a non-region game at Eau Claire Tuesday night. The Lions are 2-5 overall on the year.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Gaston Day 57, Clover 50

Gaston Day topped the Clover Blue Eagles 57-50 in a non-region game at Clover Thursday night.

Aylesha Wade led the Blue Eagles with 22 points. Taylor Thomas added 12 points to the Clover offensive effort. Clover is 6-2 overall on the year.

Rock Hill 34, York 27

The Rock Hill Bearcats took a 10-2 lead after one period and went on to defeat the York Cougars 34-27 in a non-region game at Rock Hill Wednesday night.

Rock Hill built the lead to 18-9 at halftime and 26-12 when the third quarter was over. The Cougars mounted a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter as they outscored Rock Hill 15-8. The Bearcats are 5-2 on the year, while York is 1-6.

Fort Mill 65, Chester 32

The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets blistered the Chester Cyclones 65-32 in a non-region game at Chester Wednesday night.

Calli Wells led the way with 13 points. Abby Snearly and Izzy Giarrizzi added eight and seven points respectively to aid the win. Fort Mill is 6-2 overall, while the Cyclones fall to 1-7.

Northwestern 59, Lancaster 57 (OT)

The Northwestern Trojans edged the Lancaster Bruins 59-57 in overtime in a non-region game at Northwestern Wednesday night. The Trojans are now 3-3 on the season. Lancaster is 0-5 overall.

Parkwood 40, Indian Land 21

Parkwood defeated the Indian Land Warriors 40-21 in a non-region game at Parkwood Wednesday night. The Warriors are 0-8 on the year.

WRESTLING

Clover 48, York 27

The Clover Blue Eagles defeated the York Cougars 48-27 in a non-region match at York Thursday night.

The Blue Eagles won eight of the fourteen weight classes in claiming the victory.

Nation Ford goes 2-1

The Nation Ford Falcons won a pair of non-region matches while losing one non-region event in a quad meet at Nation Ford Wednesday night.

The Falcons defeated seventh-ranked Lexington 40-36 and toppled Dorman 46-24. They dropped a close 34-30 decision to 10th ranked Lugoff-Elgin. The outstanding performance raised the Falcons overall record to 5-1 on the year.

This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 10:35 AM.