Midlands players shine on defense as 2018 Shrine Bowl makes a little bit of history

Swansea linebacker Greg Williams described his senior season as a “roller coaster ride.”

But the Clemson commit finished strong, including in his final game Saturday in the Shrine Bowl. Williams, one of South Carolina’s team captains, had a sack on North Carolina’s first possession and finished the game with five tackles in the 10-10 tie at Wofford’s Gibbs Stadium. It was the game’s fifth tie and the first since 1948.

“I think I played good, was excited to get a sack, especially on TV,” Williams said. “I’m just ready to go up to the next level and play.”

Williams will come closer to playing college football Wednesday when he signs his National Letter of Intent.

Williams went through a coaching change at Swansea at the beginning of the year when Greg Wright was let go. He contemplated transferring or sitting out his senior year but ended up playing for the Tigers, who advanced to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

“It was a roller coaster ride. We went up and down,” Williams said. “And at the end, we might have lost a lot of games but they were close games and we improved.”

Williams said he enjoyed the all-star week and getting to know different players from the state, including South Carolina commit Zacch Pickens. The highlight happened Thursday when the players paid a visit to the Shriner’s Hospital and visited the children.

“Seeing those kids and realizing why I’m out here,” Williams said. “It was for a good cause.”

Williams was one of eight Midlands players picked for the 82^nd annual game with six coming on the defensive side. Dutch Fork safety Hugh Ryan turned in one of his best games of the season and led the S.C. squad with nine tackles, three solo, a sack and 1 ½ for loss.

“Playing with the best guys in the state was really fun,” Ryan said. “We knew that (secondary) was probably the best position group on our team. [Fort Dorchester] coach [Steve] Laprad got us ready. We knew what we were doing and did a good job.”

Westwood defensive back and South Carolina commit Cam Smith left the game late in the third quarter with a shoulder injury after making a tackle. Smith finished with five tackles and played mostly at safety instead of his normal position of cornerback. He is expected to play both cornerback and safety for the Gamecocks.

How Midlands players fared in Shrine Bowl

Dallaz Corbitt, DE, Gray Collegiate – Had one tackle, ½ for loss

Jalyn Dunbar, OL, Ridge View – Played offensive line

Jalen Geiger, DB, Spring Valley – Had four tackles, two solo

Hugh Ryan, DB, Dutch Fork – Led South Carolina with nine tackles, one sack, 1 ½ tackles for loss

Cam Smith, DB, Westwood – Had five tackles, three solo, before leaving game with injury

Kameren Stewart, OL, Dutch Fork – Played offensive line

Greg Williams, LB, Swansea – Had five tackles, 3 solo, 1 ½ for loss

Anthony Wilson, DB, Spring Valley – Had six tackles, three solo

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

SC – Jefferson 45 pass from Beville (Hayes kick), 5:19

Second quarter

NC – Knight 61 run (Chmil kick), 10:39

NC – Chmil 19 FG, 0:48

Fourth quarter

SC – Hayes 25 FG, 2:05

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: NC: Knight 24-151, Howell 4-10, Mauney 5-8, Bonner-Steward 6-6. SC: Pickens 7-37, Jackson 14-36, Meredith 3-12, Ford 2-10, Chisholm 1-7, Beville 2-6.

Passing: NC: Howell 6-13-0 40, Bonner-Steward 4-6-0 76, Brewington 3-4-0 31. SC: Beville 9-16-0 114, Meredith 4-8-0 7

Receiving: NC: Groulx 7-60, Simmons 3-23, Brown 2-61, Brayboy 1-3. SC: Jefferson 4-65, Ford 3-15, Chisholm 2-25, Earle 1-11, Toney 1-7, Jackson 1-3.

This story was originally published December 15, 2018 at 6:16 PM.