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The Barnwell Warhorses and the Blackville-Hilda Hawks opened the 2024 high school football season Thursday, August 22 in front of a packed house in Blackville.
The highly anticipated battle between two of the state’s best teams, who happen to be in the same county and are just down the road from each other, ensured a standing-room-only crowd. The Warhorses came away with an impressive 24-7 victory in front thousands of Barnwell County fans.
Thursday night games are usually not full houses for football games, but this was guaranteed to be the place to be last Thursday after both teams made deep playoff runs last season, both were ranked in the top five in the state coming into the contest, and they played a tough game last year that Blackville-Hilda won by two points. Did I mention that both teams also had star players commit to play for the University of South Carolina of the SEC? Blackville-Hilda running back Jaquel Holman has committed to play football for the Gamecocks and Barnwell quarterback Cam Austin has committed to the Gamecocks to play baseball.
The first quarter ended with neither team putting together a scoring drive. The second quarter was also a good defensive showing for the Hawks and the Horses, until Barnwell’s Lane Evans kicked a 41-yard field goal to give Barnwell a 3-0 lead. Cam Austin completed a long pass to JaQuan Peeples. Then Austin kept the ball for a rushing touchdown and Evans added the extra point to give Barnwell a 10-0 lead.
The third quarter scoring started when Blackville’s athletic quarterback, Samari Williams, connected with wide receiver Messiah McFadden for a nice 26-yard touchdown. Blackville-Hilda had cut the score to 7-10, but that would be as close as they would get. The Barnwell defense played a great game against the very explosive and athletic Hawks squad.
Barnwell would remain on the ground for most of the second half. Cam Austin scored two more rushing touchdowns to give the Warhorses a 24-7 win over a very talented Hawks team. Barnwell running back Nehemiah Brown was the real workhorse for Barnwell. Brown carried the ball twenty-two times and collected 88 tough yards when the Horses needed them most.
“I am really proud of the way Nehemiah Brown ran the ball against Blackville Hilda. I was also proud of the way that Logan Sturkie, Jordan Peeples and Lex Thomas played. We've asked those guys to do some different things and that has made us a better football team and might've lowered some of their stats,” said Barnwell head coach Brian Smith.
Anyone who watched that game could not help but notice that Lex Thomas, Logan Sturkie, and Jordan Peeples were everywhere on defense. Sturkie had two sacks. The three seniors and sophomore Damajhai Devoe combined for a whopping 41 tackles between them and each of those players recorded 10 or more tackles. This was not a two, three, or even a four-man show. Nineteen different Warhorses recorded a tackle on the night. It was a true team effort.
When asked about his team’s performance, Coach Smith said, “We played a great game defensively. I thought our defensive staff had a great plan. The kids executed well. Lex Thomas had 11 tackles. Logan Sturkie had 10. It was just a great night for everybody on that side of the ball. Our kicking game was solid. Lane Evans had another good night. Offensively, we had a good night. I thought we ran the ball really well.”
However, Coach Smith said they need to eliminate penalties. “We had way too many last night. We've got to learn in the heat of the battle, when to walk away from our opponents. We had way too many holding calls and unsportsmanlike penalties. It is always good to open the season with a win. It is always great to beat a team in county. Blackville was a good bunch and they are going to have some success this year. I am glad we caught them early.”
Blackville-Hilda head coach Kevin Jones was asked about the game and the upcoming game against Edisto. “Obviously you never want to lose a rivalry game, but our kids played hard. We didn't always play smart, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Barnwell ran a variety of blitz packages that caused some confusion with our blocking assignments. That being said, you have to give Barnwell a ton of credit. They are a talented team that was schematically sound in what they did. I am sure they are going to have an outstanding season. We can't let that loss linger or it could jeopardize our chances against an improving Edisto team this Friday. We had some really good plays on both sides of the ball and I was really proud of my quarterback, Samari Williams, who was under duress all night and he kept battling. We will work this week to fix the assignment issues we had and try and build some momentum moving forward. We still have the ability to have a special season, and it starts with practice this week,” said Coach Jones.
Both teams played deep into the playoffs last year and are looking to do the same this season. If they can stay healthy and stick together, both should have a great year ahead.
Barnwell will host another in-county rival when Williston-Elko comes to town this Thursday, August 29 for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Blackville-Hilda will look to bounce back when Edisto comes to town for a football Friday night showdown, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 30.
Good luck to both the Warhorses and the Hawks for a great 2024 season!
