Newberry County football teams receive their late season grades

NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. — The high school football regular season is almost over and it has been one to remember for Bulldogs’ fans so far. Not so much for the other three area high schools, but Whitmire and Mid-Carolina are still in the playoff hunt despite their roller coaster season. Unfortunately, the Eagles of Newberry Academy are staring a winless season in the face with only one more regular season game left.

All of that brings us to the late season report. The Observer sports’ staff would usually release this at the midway point of the season, but we decided to do it this week since three of the four teams are on a bye week. So here it is, the not so mid-season but late season report.

Newberry High School

Grade: A+

The Bulldogs are currently 8-0 and will have several players receive some big time recognition with postseason awards at the conclusion of this season. Starting senior quarterback Kenton Caldwell have lead the hottest offense in all of 3A with 2,381 yards of total offense and 34 total touchdowns. They are averaging 42 points per game and has scored 40 points or more in six of their eight games this season.

Newberry Academy

Grade: D+

Now, we couldn’t give the Eagles a passing grade but this team have fought all season despite their 0-7 record. They fell just short in both of their games against Wardlaw Academy, but the Eagles’ defense had their best two games of the season against them. Ironically, the Eagles’ offense had two of their best scoring games against the toughest opponent on their schedule, Richard Winn Academy.

Newberry Academy will likely miss the playoffs this season but senior starting running back and linebacker Thomas McLean will leave a lasting legacy behind. He will end his high school career with probably a little over 3,000 career rushing yards, 300 plus total tackles and will go down as one of the toughest players in the school’s history. He is also in the running for the Newberry Observer’s Iron Man award and Defensive Player of the Year. His leadership and being a great teammate is unmatched.

Whitmire

Grade: C-

The Wolverines team that started 2-0 seems like a memory from far away but that was this season. Unfortunately, the last five weeks of the season has been rough for Whitmire. Their defense has gave up 40.3 points per game since week four of the season. They only allowed 7.6 points per game to opposing offenses in the first three weeks of the season.

Their offense haven’t been much help top their defense either this season. They have only averaged 13.2 points per game and scored the most points in a game this season in their week one win against Branchville. So, how could they get a passing grade many would ask? Well its simple, the injury bug has taken its toll on the Wolverines this season. Starting quarterback Kaden Malpass has been in and out of the lineup this year after suffering a high ankle sprain against the Rebels in week three. They have also had a lot of key skill position players in and out of the lineup as well and they are a very young team.

Whitmire will take their lumps this season, but they will be a team to look out for in the near future after their young players grow up a bit. Remember, people were saying the same thing about the Bulldogs a few years ago and now they are one of the best teams in all of 3A. So, my message to Wolverines’ fans would be to trust the process.

Mid-Carolina

Grade: B-

It seems like the Rebels go through the same thing each and every year. They start off the season 0-2 and have the worst loss of the season and then begin to play a better brand of football. They have won three of their last six games and had a chance to pull off a huge upset against Batesburg-Leesville.

They are now 1-1 in region 3-AA and are tied for second place with Chester, who currently is in first place in the region, on their schedule after the bye week and conclude the season at Eau Claire. The Rebels could shake things up and possibly win the region if they could finished the season with wins against both of those region opponents.