North-South All-Stars: Midlands quarterbacks recognized as elite

It’s been a good year for quarterbacks in the Midlands, and four of them will be showcasing their skills in Saturday’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl.

Chapin’s Logan Bailey and Dreher’s Avery Armstrong are playing for the North squad, while Airport’s Josh Tucker and Swansea’s Chance Walker are on the South squad.

Bailey had a record-breaking season for the Eagles, who finished 11-2. He threw for 3,029 yards and rushed for 1,265 more with 66 touchdowns and was a finalist for the Mr. Football award.

“It’s been a great experience,” Bailey said Friday. “I’ve made a lot of new friendships with players all over the state. The coaches and staff have been great on and off the field, taking us around and helping us have the best experience possible.”

Bailey suffered an ankle injury early in the week and won’t be 100 percent, but plans on playing in the game. He’ll have a chance to throw to his top target Evan Estridge, who also was selected for the game.

Armstrong also got hurt this week when he injured his hamstring Wednesday. The Furman commit is doubtful to play in the game after a big senior season in which he had 2,229 total yards and 23 touchdowns.

“It’s disappointing I couldn’t give everything I got for these guys, but I really enjoyed the time I had with them and the coaches,” Armstrong said.

Both Tucker and Walker were late replacements for the game because some players are in this weekend’s state championship games. While Tucker and Walker played quarterback this season, both will play receiver in the all-star game.

Tucker began the season at receiver but was moved to quarterback when Brett Burnett tore his ACL. He finished with 2,496 total yards and 23 touchdowns and was named Region 5-3A Offensive Player of the Year.

“It’s been pretty easy, kind of comes natural,” Tucker said of moving back to receiver.

Walker moved over to quarterback this year for Swansea after playing running back and receiver previously in high school. He finished with 2,067 yards and 23 touchdowns this year despite missing some time with injuries.

“I haven’t played in a while since we didn’t make the playoffs so I had to shake some rust off,” Walker said. “I know a lot of people would have killed to be here, and some people should be here so I thank God for giving me the opportunity. I really have enjoyed being able to play with great athletes around the state.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 9:24 PM.