Hanahan topples Lake Marion 56-0
On Friday, Hanahan running back Quincy Mitchell tallied 225 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Hanahan to a 56-0 victory at Lake Marion.
Mitchell rushed for 125 yards and scored two TDs on the ground to push his season totals to more than 1,400 yards rushing. He has totaled 20 TDs.
On Monday, Mitchell was able to celebrate his successful regular season. He was selected to play in the Touchstone Energy North-South All-Star Football Game, which will be contested Dec. 9 at Doug Shaw Stadium in Myrtle Beach.
“That’s great for him,” Hanahan coach Charlie Patterson said of Mitchell, who was selected to play for the South squad. “I’m excited for him. He deserves the credit. It’s also a credit to our offensive line and coaching staff for getting him the ball and creating things on offense.”
Mitchell is arguably the top sprinter in the state heading into the 2018 track and field season. He won the 100- and 200-dashes and took silver in the 400-meter dash last May to lead the Hawks to their third state title in the last four years.
Over the summer, Patterson said Mitchell finally became a true running back, not just a sprinter with great speed who happened to play running back.
Patterson said Mitchell is getting attention in track and field. Football programs also seem to be interested. Patterson said University of South Carolina Coach Bobby Bentley has been in contact about Mitchell, as well as Virginia Tech. Two years ago, the Hokies signed Hawk star Samuel Denmark, who excelled in football and track and field.
The Hawks concluded the regular season with the lopsided victory over Lake Marion. The Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak and own a 4-6 record, including 2-2 in Region 7-AAA, which is good for third place. Lake Marion is 0-9, 0-3.
“Lake Marion has 17 players on the roster,” Patterson said. “We did what we needed to do to win. I wouldn’t say we played great. It’s just that Lake Marion is not that good. We scored a lot of points, but still have a lot of work to do.”
Quarterback Jake Ward also had a big game for the Hawks with three touchdown passes against the Gators.
The Hawks are off this weekend, and it appears the Hawks will travel to Bluffton in the first round of the playoffs, which begin next week. Bluffton is in second place in Region 8-AAA. The Bobcats are 5-3, including 2-1 in league play.
Patterson said the off week will allow the Hawks to heal from the bumps and bruises of the regular season and to focus on themselves.
“We didn’t do a whole lot physically on Monday,” Patterson said. “This gives us some time to get healthy and fix things that are wrong. We will face a test. Winning a playoff game on the road always is difficult, and playing a team like Bluffton makes it that much more difficult. It’s going to be a challenge.”