Who are the best players you saw this year?

[IndianFan09]

I saw the following teams this year
Gaffney, Clinton, Union County, Byrnes, Riverside, Wade Hampton, Spartanburg, Northwestern, Boiling Springs

so I have a fairly limited sample size.

That said the best players I saw(in no particular order)

Hyleck Foster. This kid is the real deal and he really is a joy to watch.

Shaq Davidson- All heart, great on and off the field. Most impressive thing about this kid from my point of view is that he often stays after the game to talk with fans, etc.

Tavien Feaster, Not enough people are giving this kid credit. I realize it's easy to beat up on Spartanburg but Feaster is legit and I'm legitimately scared of what he'll do in the next two years(first player I've been scared of since Lattimore)

Daniel Thompson. He may very well be the second best quarterback in Region 2. He is really good and if he played for Byrnes or Gaffney, he'd be the talk of PFT every week. Great instincts and he seems to play with a lot of heart.

Tre-shaun Sanderlin(Boiling Springs)- This kids is fast. He's definitely the second best running back I've seen all year.

Mason Rudolph(Northwestern)- absolutely great QB. If you play Zone on him prepare to be picked apart.

Shuler Bentley(Byrnes)- I'm not trying to make anyone mad(this is NOT a Gaffney-byrnes Cage match thread) but I think he's the fourth best QB I've seen all year(Rudolph, Thompson, Davidson, Bentley). I believe his football IQ is high, but some of his success is system based. Still a great player and I believe he'll do great at the college level.

These are my Eye-Test all-stars if you will. I'd love to hear who yours are. Please realize that unless the team is gaffney, I've only seen one game from each team and that I'm not trying to bash players but to point out which players I thought truly were great this year.

[GHS4EVER]

well i dont guess you made it to Mauldin Dre Massey is something to watch as well..kid is just unbelievable...

[IndianFan09]

No I didn't make it to Mauldin. I've heard he is the truth!

[Rebel-Fan-74]

A totally unbiased post there....

Dre Massey is heads and shoulders the most naturally talented and gifted athlete I saw all season (twice).

There is no way I put Shaq as high if we are grading him as a QB... as a WR or on athletic ability YES but not as a QB. I think he will be a contributor as a WR immediately at Carolina. Hyleck is a solid performer and if he is a lot like Shuler, size is what makes a lot of the bigger programs wonder...

If Shuler were 6' 4" tall, he would be a Top Ten QB on a lot of the major recruiting sites. Most coaches want either a dual threat or the 6' 4" pocket passer. Shuler can run, but not as a "THREAT". Shuler can stand In the pocket, at this level, but at the next level, he may be considered too short.

I think the WR core at Byrnes has been outstanding and because they are all so interchangeable, no one has stood out every week. One week it was this guy leading the stats and then next week, it was another guy.

I'm very impressed with Isaiah Hill, thought he matured a lot between last season and this season and looking forward to a great season for him next year.

I was at Boiling Springs last night, two great WR's and Thompson didn't look like a junior for most of last night... couple of sacks that shouldn't have happened, but other than that, he was looking good. He made some throws that me wonder, is that Daniel or Dylan out there?

There were others along the way, and I'm looking forward to a few more in these next weeks.

[IndianFan09]

I tried to be unbiased, I promise.

I really wanted to put some Rebel receivers in there but it does seem like y'all distribute the ball a lot so it's hard for one to really standout.

On Shaq, I agree that he's not an amazing traditional qb but it's unfair to not say that he's not one of the best players in the state(which I know is not what you're saying).

On Shuler, I believe he's easily one of the most polarizing players in HS football in awhile. Most of the reasons for this are(as you pointed out) out of his control. He's short, people don't like his daddy, he's supposedly the product of a system. That said when I step back from the reasons to dislike him I still think he's somewhere between a really great quarterback and the best quarterback in the state. I believe he'd be successful at any 4A school in the Upstate. How successful is up for debate.

[Rebel-Fan-74]

On Shaq, I agree that he's not an amazing traditional qb but it's unfair to not say that he's not one of the best players in the state(which I know is not what you're saying).

I'm sorry, you lost me there.... too many "not" there for me

[IndianFan09]

My lack of sleep lately is showing.

Shaq is a good player.

[Rebel-Fan-74]

My lack of sleep lately is showing.

Shaq is a good player.

To which I whole heartedly agreed. I just think it is a shame he had to play at QB instead of the natural position, WR. With his speed and size and mobility, he would have been amazing out on the end of the line.... No team could have lined up in man to man on him!

[EHSMeanGreen]

I was at Boiling Springs last night, two great WR's and Thompson didn't look like a junior for most of last night... couple of sacks that shouldn't have happened, but other than that, he was looking good. He made some throws that me wonder, is that Daniel or Dylan out there?

Was there a Defensive stop in the entire game?
I've watched a lot of High School Football over the years.
I've never seen an 83-70 game. HOLY COW!
I've seen 80-30 type games before but never 83-70!

Were the Defenses just taking chances praying for a turnover.
The number of missed tackles must be mind boggling!

Honest question because I don't get to watch Region 2, does ANYBODY play any defense
or are the offenses just that GOOD!

I would think the key to playing some of these teams would be to slow the pace down and make each possession more pressure packed instead of the fast pace style that these teams are accustomed to?

Far cry from a Seneca vs. Carolina 3A game that I saw years ago that only had 3 possessions in the 1st Half.
Three - 8 minutes drives for TD. Score was 14-7 at the Half.

[IndianFan09]

For Gaffney at least I know the number of broken and missed tackles is ridiculously high. It's sad because I believe we have good personnel we just have not executed well.