Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
The Barnwell Warhorses are 2024 Barnwell County Champions!
Barnwell defeated Blackville-Hilda on Thursday, August 22, by a score of 24-7. The following Thursday, August 29, the Horses shut out the Williston-Elko Blue Devils 41-0. By beating the other two in-county teams, Barnwell and the Warhorse fans can claim bragging rights for the area for 2024 football season. It may not be an official championship, but the Barnwell County football fans treat it as such.
Barnwell and Williston-Elko started the seasons with big first week victories. Barnwell got revenge over an early season loss to Blackville from the year before, while Williston-Elko celebrated the end to a lengthy losing streak in which the Devils were winless for the whole 2023 season. The big wins set up what many fans thought might be a close contest. Apparently, Barnwell did not have that same belief, cruising to a 41-0 win.
Barnwell established a good running game and a complementary passing game early on and added a solid special teams effort that allowed Barnwell to score 41 unanswered points. Nehemiah Brown scored two rushing touchdowns for the Horses and Cam Austin ran for another. Case Davis scored his first touchdown for the Horses on a 4-yard run. Austin also connected with Logan Sturkie for a highlight reel touchdown catch.
Most of the Barnwell starters spent a majority of the second half watching from the sidelines, with a running clock. Williston-Elko made a few big plays, but Barnwell was always able to stop the Blue Devils and preserve the shutout for the defense. That defensive effort was led by linebacker Lex Thomas, who was all over the defensive field. Ja’Quan Peeples had a good night punt returning for Barnwell and took one of those for a long touchdown. Lane Evans added four extra points and did a good job on kickoffs.
Barnwell head coach Brian Smith was asked about his team’s performance and said, “It was another great week for our football team. I am very proud to get the win over a much-improved Williston-Elko ball club. I was proud of the way our defense played. They have been tested for a couple of weeks now and continue to answer the bell each time. I was disappointed in the number of turnovers we had, our lack of protection in the passing game and the kicking game, and the number of penalties that we got last night. If we want to be an elite ball club, then we have to solve those issues and solve them fast. Nehemiah Brown ran hard and had two touchdowns. I am very proud of his performance. William Robinson continues to excel offensively and defensively. Logan Sturkie and Kahzeer Wesley had long receptions. It really helped us offensively. Tony Cherry was our leader upfront for the Horses.”
Barnwell is a top 5 team in AA football, but Bamberg-Ehrhardt is also a top 5 team in the single A ranks. Barnwell will have another big challenge coming to them when the Red Raiders come to Mac Wier Stadium this Friday, September 6 for a clash of two undefeated powerhouses.
Barnwell and Bamberg-Ehrhardt have met many times. There have been years when one team was clearly better than the other, but for the most part, these contests have been classic high school battles between two of the state’s best football programs. 2024 looks like another one of those classic games. Barnwell has outscored their opponents by a 65-7 margin, while Bamberg-Ehrhardt has outscored their opponents by a combined 55-10 score. Both the Warhorses and Red Devils are coming off shutout wins. Both are highly ranked and are expected to make big playoff runs. This should turn out to be a great game.
Come out and support your Warhorses in a football Friday night classic clash. Kickoff is set for 7:30. Let’s pack the Mac!
