Six of South Pointe’s potential four-time state champs are well known; what about the seventh?

If South Pointe beats Hartsville in the 4A football state championship Saturday, seven Stallions could finish their high school football careers with four state championships in four years.

You’ve heard of six of them:

▪ Scott Robinson Jr., the team’s leading receiver and maybe the most reliable set of hands on the team, committed to play at South Carolina State.

▪ Jamari Currence, one of the smartest and most prepared players on the team, is committed to FCS powerhouse James Madison and will graduate high school early to enroll mid-year.

▪ Steven Gilmore Jr., electric in the open field and headed to an FBS college football program next year.

▪ Eli Adams, a pass-rushing monster and possessor of an elite motor, bound for Virginia Tech.

▪ B.T. Potter: arguably the best place-kicker in South Carolina high school football history, headed to Clemson.

▪ Derion Kendrick: seriously, do we need to say anything else about D.K., the Clemson wide receiver commitment that has wowed area crowds the last four years?

But what about the seventh member of the group?

The name James McKinney likely only rings a bell if you’re kin to him or teach or coach at South Pointe.

McKinney was called up to the varsity team as a freshman in 2014 when the Stallions were about to win their first of three straight state championships.

Kendrick and Potter already started as freshmen in 2014, but McKinney and the other four were late season call-ups. They filled out South Pointe’s scout team, running the opposing team’s offense or defense so that the first and second team players could get an idea of what they would see.

It was brutal work for 13 and 14-year olds. McKinney played wing in Hartsville’s offense and was lead blocker through the hole. Ty Barber and DeMon Davis, two bruising senior linebackers, met McKinney at the line of scrimmage repeatedly that week.

“I didn’t even care. I was helping out and we were getting a ring.” McKinney said.

South Pointe held off Hartsville 21-7 to win the championship. McKinney danced on the field at Williams-Brice with his teammates as if he’d scored the winning touchdown.

“I was surprised when they moved me up. I was little,” he said on Wednesday. “Then we won the championship and I was like, ‘dang, I just won my first ring.’ Then we got another one and another one.”

It seemed like McKinney had a bright future on the gridiron for South Pointe, a rise that would coincide with a Stallions program about to rocket-launch into national prominence.

“He took a bunch of pounding through the playoffs but he can absolutely fly,” said South Pointe coach Strait Herron. “We were thinking there were gonna be bigger things for him and he’d get bigger, but of course that never panned out.”

Always dancing

As South Pointe football took off, the other six got college scholarship offers, won awards, piled up touchdowns, interceptions and sacks.

“It’s crazy because we all started off little, barely getting any playing time. Now all of them got offers and going off to college,” said McKinney. “It’s great seeing all your friends being successful.”

But McKinney’s football career never got going. He didn’t grow like the others did, wasn’t in the weight room as often. There were several times he nearly quit playing. It’s not something he dwells on.

“I just let it pass me. I’m not gonna let anything stress me. I just look past it,” he said.

That’s as glum as you’ll see James McKinney. He flashes a million dollar grin often, a hint of his fun-loving personality. If there is one thing to know about James McKinney and his role in the South Pointe football program, it’s this: he loves to dance.

“I don’t even know what I be doing sometimes,” he said. “Whatever song comes on I dance to it. I get it from my momma. When a song come on she starts dancing. It makes me happy so I do it.”

If Melissa Harris passed one gene to her son, it’s a wiggle that resides in their muscles and bones and is activated any time music plays. Harris would be the first one to dance at family gatherings and her son would soon join her. Family members watched and said “yeah, y’all are mother and son.”

The dancing doesn’t stop at football practice, to the occasional annoyance of coaches. McKinney is on kickoff team with running backs coach Robert Beckler.

“He’s out there breaking down a move before we actually kick off,” said Beckler, laughing. “And I’m like, ‘hey man, how about paying attention to the kicker and what we’re fixing to do?’ But he’s always dancing.”

McKinney doesn’t get much playing time. He’s carried the ball 21 times this season, scoring two touchdowns in mop-up duty. But his dancing is representative of South Pointe’s confident vibe. He and Robinson Jr. usually lead the team in a pregame mosh pit to get everyone fired up.

“For the Greer game we just started punching...” McKinney moved his arm back and forth like he was starting a lawn mower. “... and we tried to make it a dance. I don’t know what we was doing.”

South Pointe’s dancing often peeves opposing fans, who don’t appreciate the Stallions’ confident displays.

“They’re just mad,” said McKinney. “But we take that and we keep it going and we keep winning.

“It represents who we are. We dance to let you know ‘we’re not playing with y’all, but we’re gonna have fun too.”

Patient with the process

For McKinney and the other six, a win Saturday would cap historic high school football careers. But the other six have more games to play.

“I think Saturday will be my last organized football game,” McKinney said. “I don’t like thinking about it. It makes me feel weird.”

Instead, he thinks about the future, about running track. He finally made the school’s record board last year in the 400-meter hurdles and hopes to compete for a state title this coming spring.

He thinks about college and majoring in sports management or business. He’d like to run his dad’s heating and air conditioning business, or learn how to DJ from his step-dad. He’s working harder in school this year because of those goals.

But for one last week, he’ll focus on football.

Even though McKinney has seniority in the group, he volunteered to work with the scout team this week to replicate the uncommon Hartsville offense for a third time. He knew the young scout team would need some help.

South Pointe has 83 players on its playoff roster. Maybe 20 will play college football. That leaves 63 players, some of whom will be playing organized football for the final time on Saturday. Like McKinney.

“If your answer is to play college football or get a scholarship or get something out of it, you’re playing for the wrong reason,” said Herron. “I’ve heard horror stories about teams that fell apart the day after the Shrine Bowl picks were made. They picked these two and there are three others that get left out and those three become a complete distraction. Our guys aren’t like that. They understand we have a lot of talented players and they have a goal, a high school goal, of winning another state championship. Not being selfish is a big part of the team.”

Beckler said he wants to make sure McKinney gets in the game Saturday if the situation allows.

“Because of what he’s done here,” said Beckler. “He’s been patient with the process, he’s helped us on special teams and scout team-wise.”

If South Pointe can pull off a fourth straight win at Williams-Brice Saturday, you know what McKinney will be doing afterward. On the field, in the locker room, on the bus and probably back at home with his mom.

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Six of South Pointe’s potential four-time state champs are well known; what about the seventh?."