It’s always tough to lose your starting quarterback, no matter what level of football you’re playing.
But try losing two.
That’s what the Hemingway Tigers have dealt with the past few weeks. Starter Denzell Wedgeworth broke his leg in the preseason, prompting the Tigers to turn to Tashan Fredrick.
But Fredrick separated his shoulder against Kingstree on Aug. 29, forcing coach Ken Cribb to put junior varsity quarterback Justin Pressley under center.
“We’ve had to go back to basics in a lot of areas,” Cribb said. “Justin was supposed to be our JV quarterback, but he’s stepped up and done a pretty good job. He’s learning on the run, like a lot of our young players.”
Quarterback isn’t the only position the Tigers have felt the injury bug bite. Hemingway was missing nine starters from their game against St. James last week, Cribb said.
The list includes more than few key players, including Quintin Brown, Cecil Julius and James Flowers.
“It’s almost been like starting the season over with a JV team,” Cribb said. “But I can’t ask the kids we have to play any harder. They’ve done everything we’ve asked.”
Despite the youth and inexperience, the Tigers have not suffered too much in the loss column. Hemingway is 2-1 with the only loss coming in the final minutes against St. James last week.
“We had something like 100 yards in penalties and five turnovers,” Cribb said. “You’re not going to be able to beat too many teams with those kind of numbers.”
Defensive mindset
Through the first few weeks of the season, two Pee Dee teams have been near perfect on defense.
Dillon has allowed 13 points in three games with one shutout while Carvers Bay has allowed 12 points in three games with one shutout as well.
The Wildcats have forced 12 turnovers and collected eight sacks while the Bears have forced 14 turnovers and registered six sacks.
Players of the week
Wilson’s Richard Cue threw for 237 and three touchdowns and rushed for two more in a 52-26 win against South Florence to earn offensive player of the week.
Hemingway’s Antonio Mitchum had 10 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery returned 48 yards in the Tigers’ 28-27 loss to St. James to earn defensive player of the week.
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