The Herald releases its 2019 All-Area football teams and honorable mentions
The Herald’s 2019 All-Area Offensive Player of the Year won’t soon be forgotten in Clover High School football lore.
For one, Jaylin Lane, Clover’s top wide receiver, was good. Astonishingly good.
His numbers alone put him in a class of his own in South Carolina high school football: 76 receptions for 1,579 yards and 28 touchdowns in 13 games played. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Middle Tennessee State commit was a deep threat, sure — teams often pressed him with a corner and dropped a safety in coverage on his side to mitigate this part of his game — but he was also deceptively hard to tackle when he’d catch a short slant or an under route.
Beside his talent, Lane will be remembered for what his team accomplished. This season, Clover won its first region championship since 2006 and put together its first undefeated regular season in program history. It came up three points short in the third round of the 5A state playoffs — a back-and-forth offensive showcase where Lane notched 15 catches for 279 yards and four touchdowns.
But mostly, Lane’s name will echo around Clover for the foreseeable future because his father, Brian, is the school’s head football coach; Coach Lane just finished his third year at the Blue Eagle helm and, alongside his son, is The Herald’s 2019 All-Area Coach of the Year.
Alex English of Rock Hill High School is The Herald’s 2019 All-Area Defensive Player of the Year. The linebacker and leader of his team’s defense notched 95 tackles and 17 tackles for loss in his senior regular season. His legacy as a Bearcat won’t soon be forgotten, either — and that’s not just because he’s also a key component of Rock Hill’s wrestling team.
Offensive Player of the Year: Jaylin Lane, Clover
Defensive Player of the Year: Alex English, Rock Hill
Coach of the Year: Brian Lane, Clover
Below is a full listing of 2019 All-Area teams. Statistics were provided by the schools.
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB Gabe Carroll, Clover: Carroll was the other end of the Carroll-to-Lane connection. The senior, originally from York Comprehensive High School, completed 202-of-296 passes for 3,407 yards and 49 touchdowns. He was also voted the Tri-County Coaches Association’s 5A, 4A offensive player of the year earlier this season.
RB Nathan Mahaffey, Nation Ford: Mahaffey, Nation Ford’s sole Shrine Bowl selection, seemed to touch the ball every play. As a junior, Mahaffey set a rushing yardage record. In 2019, he broke it, rushing for 1,635 yards and 12 touchdowns on 273 carries.
RB Stan Mills, Chester: Mills, a senior, was an all-region selection and ran for 1,300 yards and 15 total touchdowns this season. He also played a bit of quarterback when sophomore Zan Dunham was out with an injury toward the end of region play this season.
OL Will Boggs, York: Earlier this month, Will Boggs was named the Overall All-State Lineman of the Year. Yes — the best lineman in all of South Carolina. As a senior, Boggs was a Shrine Bowl and All-Region selection after grading out at 88 percent with 41 knockdowns this past season.
OL Ernie Greenwood, South Pointe: South Pointe’s Ernie Greenwood started every game in his junior season and was voted the Tri-County Coaches Association 5A, 4A offensive lineman of the year. He graded out at 93 percent and notched 38 knockdowns and 27 pancake blocks in the 2019 regular season.
OL Carson Murray, Rock Hill: Murray, a 6-0, 250-pound senior center, averaged 91 percent with 46 knockdowns in the 2019 regular season.
TE Robbie Ouzts, Rock Hill: The 6-4, 239-pound tight end furnished a reliable set of hands for Rock Hill this season. Ouzts, a junior, caught 30 passes for 382 yards this season and already has several Division I offers, including from Duke, East Carolina and UNC-Charlotte.
WR Jaylin Lane, Clover.
WR O’Mega Blake, South Pointe: Blake can catch anything — including alley-oops, which he’s doing a lot this offseason. In the regular season, the junior made 38 catches for 800 yards and eight touchdowns; he also ran for 353 yards and 6 touchdowns and went 21-33 passing for 223 yards.
WR Ger-Cari Caldwell, Northwestern: In his senior season, the Shrine Bowl selection notched 51 receptions for 744 yards and six touchdowns. Caldwell has offers from East Carolina, Baylor and South Carolina — his “dream school.”
ATH Demetric Hardin, Lewisville: Hardin ran 147 times for 1,242 yards and 15 touchdowns; he passed for 953 yards and seven touchdowns; made five catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns; and even, in eight kickoff returns, recorded 273 yards and three touchdowns in his senior regular season. Hardin earned Shrine Bowl and All-State selections.
K/P Quinn Castner, Nation Ford: Steady-legged Castner, an All-Region selection, finished his senior season tied for second in the nation and first in South Carolina in field goal makes. He went 13-for-14 kicking field goals on the season, with a long of 42 yards.
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
DL JQ Guinn, Clover: The senior transfer from York notched 27 total tackles and 13 tackles for loss in Clover’s historic season. Guinn was selected for the North-South All-Star game, made the All-State team and won several Tri-County Coaches Association defensive lineman of the week awards.
DL Thomas Rainey, Rock Hill: Rainey won the Tri-County Coaches Association defensive player of the year after notching 76 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in the regular season.
DL Rontarius Aldridge, South Pointe: Aldridge was an All-State and Shrine Bowl selection and was a leader on the South Pointe defensive line. In his senior regular season, he had 56 total tackles, seven sacks and seven tackles for loss despite being double- and triple-teamed at times.
DL Quay Evans, Chester: Evans finished his senior regular season with 48 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and four sacks. He earned region 4-3A defensive player of the year, Upper State 3A defensive lineman of the year and played in the Shrine Bowl. He signed to UCONN earlier this month.
LB Hayden Johnson, Clover: Johnson led the team with 77 solo tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. The senior earned All-State honors and made the North-South All-Star game.
LB Alex English, Rock Hill.
LB Choncey Massey, South Pointe: Massey earned the Tri-County Coaches Association’s defensive player of the year award earlier this season, and he notched two interceptions and more than 112 tackles.
DB Petey Tuipulotu, Nation Ford: Tuipulotu, who’s headed to BYU in the fall, led the team in total tackles (66) and interceptions (4). He also added seven tackles for loss. On the offensive side, recorded 832 yards receiving.
DB Tylik Edwards, Rock Hill: Edwards was a Shrine Bowler for his play at cornerback — he caught two interceptions in his team’s close rivalry win over Northwestern in the last game of the regular season — but he could change any game as a returner: He notched 655 all-purpose return yards and three return touchdowns as a senior.
DB AJ Jefferson, Indian Land: Jefferson made 41 tackles, seven interceptions and 18 pass breakups in his senior season. He’s headed to West Point in the fall.
DB DJ Adams, Great Falls: DJ Adams earned All-State at wide receiver and defensive back. Like Hardin, Adams could play anywhere: On offense, he notched 32 receptions for 480 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 305 yards and four touchdowns. On defense, he made 37 tackles and five tackles for loss.
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB Zan Dunham, Chester: Dunham made the All-Region team and accumulated 1,760 total yards and 20 touchdowns in his sophomore season.
RB David Hall, Clover: Although Clover threw the ball all over the field, Hall got his: The senior running back rushed for 676 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season.
RB Quay Chambers, South Pointe: Head coach DeVonte Holloman once said this about his starting running back: “It seems like the more he touches the ball, the harder he runs.” Chambers, a bruising back, ran like that all season and recorded 588 yards and four touchdowns in his senior campaign.
OL James Hyland, Fort Mill: The senior offensive lineman finished his season with a 90 percent grade with three knockdowns. He was also an All-Region selection.
OL Eli Mackey, Andrew Jackson: Mackey averaged a 91 percent grade with 12 knockdowns and six pancake blocks. The senior was named the Tri-County Coaches Association 3A, 2A, 1A offensive lineman of the year and won the weekly award several times.
OL Ashton Shannon, York: Shannon was an All-State, North-South All-Star game and an All-Region selection, and he was also a valuable counterpart to the aforementioned Will Boggs. The offensive line paved the way for over 1,800 rushing yards this season.
TE Khalil Ellis, York: Ellis made the Shrine Bowl and was an All-Region selection, playing both sides of the ball.
WR Deaviaun Qwiy, Indian Land: Qwiy caught 67 passes for 976 yards and six touchdowns. He was also a threat in special teams situations, with six touchdowns on kick and punt returns.
WR Jerrick Foster, Nation Ford: Foster, a sophomore with tremendous upside, finished third in rushing (behind Mahaffey and Montrel Goodson) and second in receiving (behind Tuipulotu) on his team, accumulating a total of 569 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns.
WR Zacch Davis, Clover: Davis balanced out Clover’s receiving corps nicely — and was talented enough to command attention even with Jaylin Lane on the other side of the field. Davis notched 28 catches on his senior season for 557 yards and four touchdowns.
ATH Quinten Jackson, Catawba Ridge: Jackson started on both sides of the ball this season and had 41 receptions for 635 yards and seven touchdowns as a receiver in his team’s inaugural season. The sophomore also added 22 tackles, three interceptions, a fumble recovery, three defensive touchdowns and two blocked field goals as a defensive back.
K/P Ayden McCarter, Catawba Ridge: McCarter kicked 45 punts for 1,415 yards (seven inside the 20 yard line) and was 3-for-5 on field goals with a long of 34.
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DL Asa Johnson, Catawba Ridge: Sophomore Asa Johnson notched 73 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks and even blocked a punt which he returned for a touchdown. The team captain was a four-time Tri-County Coaches Association defensive lineman of the week and was the 3A, 2A, 1A defensive lineman of the year.
DL Immanuel Bush, Lancaster. Bush, a 6-1, 250-pound defender, is a 2020 Marshall commit and wreaked havoc in opposing backfields all season.
DL J’Quan Carter, Nation Ford: Carter finished with 62 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and he led his team with seven sacks.
LB Will Lowman, Catawba Ridge: Lowman was voted Tri-County Coaches Association defensive player of the year after putting together an impressive sophomore season: 103 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles.
LB Will Burton, Lancaster. Burton made 56 tackles, seven tackles for loss and had four pass breakups this season. He played both sides of the ball and has drawn a lot of interest from local colleges.
LB Octaveon Minter, Chester: They call him “Tank.” The all-region linebacker had 90 tackles, five sacks and 12 tackles for loss in his junior season.
LB Dumkele Idehen, Indian Land: Idehen — at 6-0, 215 pounds — made 64 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and six sacks in his sophomore season. Expect a breakout junior season next fall.
DB Ly’Terrence Mills, Chester: Mills did a little bit of everything for Chester this season. He racked up more than 1,000 all-purpose yards, and on the defensive side, notched 50 tackles and three interceptions. The senior was an All-Region and North-South All-Star game selection.
DB Ty Elder, Andrew Jackson: Elder, a senior safety, recorded 61 total tackles and two interceptions — and helped lead Andrew Jackson to five straight shutouts to begin the year.
DB Anthony Izzard, Andrew Jackson: Izzard compiled 97 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks and a team-leading five interceptions in his senior season.
DB Key’shard McCroey, Northwestern: McCroey notched 91 tackles, four pass breakups, one interception, seven tackles for loss and one recovered fumble en route to his All-Region selection at the end of his junior season.
HONORABLE MENTION
Jackson Roberson, Rock Hill, QB
JaRel Hill, Chester, WR/RB
Juelz Hood, Lancaster, RB
Weber Moore, Legion Collegiate, DB/RB
Dontae Johnson, South Pointe, LB
Zion Robbins, Clover, WR
Will Lowman, Catawba Ridge, LB
Zawon Brown, Northwestern, DL
Derrick McCrorey, Northwestern, DB
Chas DeBruhl, Andrew Jackson, QB
Keyaan Abdul-Rahim, Legion Collegiate, LB
Colby Clayton, York, QB
Alfred Williams, South Pointe, OL
Ethan Dutton, Rock Hill, K
Brody Tesimale, Catawba Ridge, LB
Gavin Blackmon, Andrew Jackson, DB
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 1:49 PM.
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