Fighting Hawks start new era under Jones

Aug. 14—Year one of the Kevin Jones era at Blackville-Hilda includes a short schedule but no shortage of talent across the roster for the Fighting Hawks.

They'll look to climb back to the top of Region 3-A, which they last won in 2020 under Brandon Isaac, and they'll do it by relying on a healthy mix of seniors, juniors and sophomores.

"The biggest thing I'm pleased with is our attitudes have been outstanding, and our discipline in the program has really picked up," said Jones. "As a coach, that's one of the first things of the foundation that we really believed in when we started this, and I think they've done a good job with that."

Jones said his roster is a good size for a Class A school, and he said his players had a really good summer as far as attendance in the weight room, during conditioning and at scrimmages and 7 on 7s.

They'll play this season without one of their top playmakers, as KJ Sabb was lost for the year due to injury, but Jones said his team will have to embrace a next-man-up mentality.

Among his top seniors are Omarion Kinard, a speedy athlete who can play safety or in the slot; Wilbur Johnson, a former offensive and defensive lineman who this year will play defensive end and linebacker plus running back; linemen Keondre Davis and Omari Jenkins; outside receiver Omarion Simmons; and Joseph Simmons, a cornerback who can also play safety and catch passes on offense.

Leading the juniors is slot receiver Tamari Daniels, a player Jones said is probably the fastest on campus and has accounted for a majority of their touchdowns in the first few scrimmages. Linebacker/guard Stevie Jones plays bigger than his size, and Jamarien Priester brings height, hands and leaping ability to his outside receiver position.

Sophomore Samari Williams will run the offense at quarterback after taking over that job halfway through last season. The offense will look to make defenses run sideline-to-sideline and give them a lot to look at before making them miss.

"Samari is a high football IQ kid, and he's a high IQ kid in the classroom," Jones said of his quarterback. "He is an exceptional runner. We do a lot of stuff that involves him having to make some reads with some options and some inside zones, and he's really good with the reads."

Other key sophomores include linemen Isaiah Greggs and Timothy Beard, both of whom are looking to translate strong work off the field into on-field success.

Defensively, the Fighting Hawks will run mostly out of a 4-2-5 but will also run a lot of five-man fronts because the play a lot of run-heavy teams. They have more depth up front than at linebacker, so they'll need their inexperienced linebackers to play their responsibilities and their gaps so opponents don't take advantage of over-pursuit.

The Fighting Hawks play just nine games this season, as a previously-scheduled 10th against Estill was scrapped after realignment. They play powerhouses Barnwell and Bamberg-Ehrhardt, with Allendale-Fairfax in between, before beginning the Region 3-A gauntlet.

It's a tall task, but Jones said his players are approaching the season with plenty of enthusiasm.

"It's a town and a school and a community that loves the game," he said. "These kids grow up watching these past Blackville-Hilda teams that have been successful, and they want to be a part of that."