Generals to face Dolphins

By TREVOR ZION BAUKNIGHT
Item Sports Writer

Prior to last week’s regular-season finale against Calhoun Academy, Thomas Sumter Academy varsity football head coach Troy Kessinger said his team has already been in playoff mode for a few weeks.

It showed in the Generals’ 34-14 win over Calhoun, but the playoffs actually start Friday when TSA hosts Hilton Head Prep in a SCISA 2A first-round game at General Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Thomas Sumter finished its regular season with a 6-4 record, winning its last two games and three of its last four after dropping three straight midseason. The Generals will be looking to extend their streak of three straight first-round playoff wins.

“More than anything else, our enthusiasm was very good,” said Kessinger of Friday’s win. “The kids were very enthused, and that is so important. That, to me, tells me that we’re kind of in that playoff mode.

“It’s a long season, and we went through a stretch of four games that weren’t losing games, and all of a sudden it’s playoff time,” he added. “We’ve been preaching that for a couple of weeks, and last Friday, they were really peaking, especially as far as enthusiasm goes.”

The Generals didn’t actually win four straight at any point this year, but Kessinger may have felt good enough about his team’s performance in a 49-28 loss to powerful Heathwood Hall in the middle of three wins that he counted it as a positive experience.

TSA has met the Dolphins in the playoffs each of the last three years, losing in 2006 and 2007 but winning 27-19 last year enroute to the 2A state title game, which it lost 28-10 to Northwood.

Kessinger said he thinks last year’s HHP squad may have been a little better than this year’s edition both in terms of the strength of its running game and the size of its line.



Still, the Generals have been able to move the ball, and Kessinger said he’s looking to play a little ball control against the Dolphins.

“It’s a yearly ritual,” Kessinger said of facing the Dolphins again in the 2A playoffs. “Offense is what they’re good at. They spread it out, and they have some good playmakers, and they just try to spread it out and get their guys in open space. They’re good at that, and they’ve been scoring points on a lot of people.

“We hope that we can move the ball on them,” Kessinger added. “All three years we’ve played them, we’ve moved it on the ground, and so hopefully we can mix it up and keep the ball away from them.”

Hilton Head Prep enters Friday’s contest with a 4-6 record having won its last four straight after opening the 2009 campaign with six consecutive losses. The Dolphins defeated First Baptist last week 42-13 in their regular-season finale.

HHP is led by quarterback Matt Layman, a 6-foot, 3-inch tall junior who averages 248.7 yards passing per game. Junior running back Matt Bex averages 53.7 yards rushing per game, as well. Sophomore safety Taylor Place leads the defense with 63 tackles on the season, an average of nine per game.

Michael Fitzgerald leads a potent TSA ground game, which needs only 156 yards to surpass 2,000 for the season. Fitzgerald has nearly half of those, with 930 yards and seven touchdowns on 138 carries. Charles Metcalfe has 428 yards and four scores on 79 carries.

Senior quarterback Blake Stengel has completed 68 of 131 pass attempts for 1,265 yards and 12 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Both wide receiver Harrison Cardone and tight end Ricky Mello have 25 catches on teh season and both average just over 23 yards per reception. Cardone has 594 yards and seven touchdowns and Mello has 574 yards and six TDs.