Cheraw Braves back in business

Heading into the season, there was a rumor circulating around Pee Dee football circles that Cheraw football was down.

With the loss of standouts like Travis Small, Kenyatta Gary and Montrell Evans, there was nothing to prove the rumors untrue.

Those rumors seemed to be validated in the early going, as the Braves dropped their first three games. But Cheraw has rallied in a huge way against the naysayers, winning its last five games — and are on pace to win a sixth consecutive region championship.

The Braves look for a sixth straight victory tonight when Marion rolls into Meiklejohn Stadium in the Braves’ home finale.

“I heard a lot of talk that Cheraw was down since we lost (Small, Evans and Gary),” said Braves coach Johnny White, whose squad is 5-3 overall and 3-0 in Region 8-2A. “But our goals and expectations haven’t changed.”

White added the road gets tougher for his team, starting tonight against a Marion team with a chip on its shoulder.

“Our focus the whole year is to win the region again. The kids know what they’re playing for,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to get there.

“We have a lot of respect for their running backs and their defense, but they’re standing in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Rough start

Even with a relatively inexperienced team, Cheraw’s early season schedule was anything but easy. The Braves opened their season with a heartbreaking loss to Lamar on the game’s final play.

Blowout losses to Marlboro County and Chesterfield followed, and fans started expecting the worst.

“Cheraw’s first three losses didn’t indicate anything,” Marion coach Bryan Carfley said. “Those first three losses were to teams that could be playing for state championships later on.”

“We play a tough schedule for a reason, and that’s to get ready for region play,” White said. “Lamar beat us. Marlboro beat us, and Chesterfield just whipped us.

“It hurt our pride, and we wanted to get better.”

Turning point

The Braves seemed destined for a fourth straight loss when they fell behind 14 points in the first half to rival Central.

Cheraw rallied, however, to pull out a 21-14 win against the Class 2A state runners-up — and the team hasn’t tasted defeat since, outscoring its opponents by an average of 34-11.

“Against Central, we didn’t start very well. We were awful,” White said. “All of a sudden, the team must’ve gotten fed up.

“A light bulb must have gone off, and we’ve been playing well since.”

Returning to what works

During the win streak, Cheraw has resurrected the formula that won the Braves two state title in three years — power football.

Despite losing Small and Evans, a trio of backs have filled the void. Quarterback Chad Wilkes leads the Braves in rushing with 646 yards and eight touchdowns.

“The guys we’re relying on now are used to winning,” White said. “Chad was our backup quarterback last year and played mostly defense for us.”

“When you get six, seven and eight yards every time you hand off the ball, you can afford to be consevative on offense,” Carfley said. “(The Braves’) run offense is as good as any short passing game.”

Sammy Merriman and Darrell Hawkins have combined for 1,053 yards and 12 scores. In last week’s 40-7 rout of Aynor, Wilkes and Merriman combined for 198 yards rushing and three TDs.

“They reload every year. They’re well-coached and they play hard,” Carfley said of the Braves. “They’re going to line it up and ram it down our throats. There’s nothing fancy about what they do.”

“(All three backs) are very capable. All of those guys have led us in rushing at least twice this season,” White said. “We try to ride the hot hand when we can.
“I felt we had some good players, and they were discouraged at how we started the season. These kids hate losing.”

White has also gone to a two-quarterback system to give defenses different looks. Wilkes and Malcolm Hunter have paired for 415 yards through the air with seven TDs and five interceptions.

Said White. “Chad’s got more speed, and he’s a great runner. We’ve hit more big passing plays with Malcolm, but both have done a great job for us.”

The other side of the ball

Defensively, the Braves live on forcing turnovers. The unit has forced 15, including three, in its win over Aynor.

Demetrius Miller and J’Kwan Toney are tied for the team lead in interceptions with three. Toney has also recovered a pair of fumbles, and Xavier Taylor returned a loose ball 28 yards to the end zone against the Blue Jackets.

“We’ve done a good job forcing turnovers, and we need to do more,” White said. “We’ve got some guys that do a great job, but they haven’t gotten on the stat sheet.

“It’s a total team effort.”

Carfley said his Swamp Foxes have to do something against the Braves’ defense they were unable to do against Dillon — run the football. Marion rushed for just 28 yards in last Friday’s 34-12 defeat to the Wildcats, and will face another tough defense tonight.

“We’re going to have to be able to run it effectively to set up the pass,” said Carfley, whose team also suffered six sacks and two lost fumbles in the loss. “We have to be able to make (Cheraw’s) linebackers pay for blitzing.

“If they put nine in the box, we have to be able to throw it.”