High school notes: Jerry Howard and Gage Moloney pick up ECU offers

Northwestern football coach Kyle Richardson said last fall that junior quarterback Gage Moloney was a bit behind in the recruiting calendar after playing his first two years of high school ball at James Island.

The Trojans are certainly closer to well-trodden recruiting paths and interest in Moloney has mushroomed after an excellent junior season in which he completed nearly 75 percent of his passes for 3,969 yards and 47 touchdowns, while leading Northwestern to its fifth state title.

Appalachian State offered Moloney a scholarship shortly after the Trojans’ title game triumph, followed by Mercer and Colorado State in the last week.

East Carolina extended the 6-foot-2 lefty an offer on Friday, arguably his highest profile scholarship opportunity yet. Expect interest in Moloney to continue to grow as he hits the camp circuit over the summer and recruiters beat down Richardson’s office door wanting to talk to star defensive end Logan Rudolph.

Moloney’s junior year highlights:

Moloney isn’t the only Trojan benefiting from a standout 11th grade season and residual interest from Rudolph. Running back Jerry Howard also added an East Carolina offer to his growing list that now includes Gardner-Webb, Western Carolina and Appalachian State.

The 200-pound-plus junior back scored 25 touchdowns last fall, while rushing for 1,570 yards on 199 carries. He also caught 39 passes and showed decent open-field speed, which has no doubt caught the eye of college recruiters who already were aware of his power.

Check out Howard’s junior year highlights:

Brown commits to Limestone

South Pointe wide receiver Quay Brown announced his commitment to play football at Limestone on Twitter Thursday. Brown caught touchdown passes in both of the Stallions’ 3A state title victories the last two seasons and in 2015 became the school’s first 1,000-yard receiver in a single season.

Region 3-4A boys’ basketball awards announced

Quise Robbins was named the Region 3-4A boys’ basketball player of the year this week. The Clover standout was joined by Fort Mill’s Dwayne Hartsoe (coach of the year) and Nation Ford freshman Zeb Graham (newcomer of the year) were the other honorees.

Quise Robbins, Clover; Aaron Milner, Clover; Tanner Mitchell, Fort Mill; A.J. Foti, Fort Mill; Brandon Joseph, Fort Mill; Kobe Rogers, Gaffney; Cameron Holmes, Nation Ford; Ben Tuipulotu, Nation Ford; Myliek Durham, Northwestern; Gianni Gonzalez, Northwestern; Japree Perry, Rock Hill; Andrew Barber, Rock Hill.

Newcomer of the year: Zeb Graham, Nation Ford

Coach of the year: Dwayne Hartsoe, Fort Mill

Player of the year: Quise Robbins, Clover

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 12:29 PM with the headline "High school notes: Jerry Howard and Gage Moloney pick up ECU offers."