Recruit Roundup: Jones helps pitch shutout in opener

Is it really that time of year again?

Northwestern has 15 Class of 2018 commitments expected to sign on the dotted line come February or, in most cases, December. But before they do, they have their senior seasons left to be played. And so we kick off our first Recruit Roundup for this class, currently ranked 45th in the nation.

It's a telling fact that Northwestern, like most other programs, is filling its plate so early. Fewer prospects than ever are hedging their bets by announcing that they'll “wait to take some of their official vists” before making a verbal declaration. It's a long time since head coach Pat Fitzgerald (Class of 1993) and his contemporaries, most of whom didn’t even get any offers until after they'd played their last down at the high school level.

The high schools aren't losing any speed, either. In several cases the players will face 10-game and even 11-game regular seasons. They're also traveling further and further afield to beef up their schedules. Greg Newsome's vaunted IMG Academy will play its first four games in three different states and the District of Columbia before playing a game within its home state of Florida. Then it's back on the road to play their last three games in yet three more states. For those keeping count, that's 10 games in six different states (if you include DC) and in three different time zones.

So it’s no surprise that two Wildcat pledges were in action this weekend, already playing their first game of the season. Here are capsules of how they did.

Linebacker Khalid Jones was credited with only one tackle, but his Byrnes (S.C.) Duncan Rebels were doing it all on offense, winning 51-0 over Myrtle Beach.

Byrnes sophomore running back Rahjai Harris ended back-to-back drives with touchdown runs of 43 and 38 yards, respectively, and the Rebels led 20-0 just 37 seconds into the second quarter. The Rebels finished with a 451-189 advantage in total yards and had no turnovers, while forcing Myrtle Beach into four. A total of 10 different Rebels caught passes. Harris rushed for 139 yards on just eight carries.

It was a bitter pill for the Myrtle Beach squad, and on several different levels. Last season the Myrtle Beach Seahawks had run up a 9-0 record before being bounced out of the Class AAAA playoffs under head coach Reggie Shaw. Shaw then accepted a new job in the off-season – as head coach of, you guessed it, Byrnes.

Still, new coach Mickey Wilson didn’t make any excuses for his team. “We didn’t play well tonight. We didn’t execute well. We didn’t take care of the football well,” he said. “We played a great football team tonight. My hat’s off to Byrnes.”

Up next for Byrnes is a Friday night matchup with Greer (1-0).

Defensive end commit Andrew Leota and Asheville (N.C.) began the season with a thud, dropping a 33-8 decision to Franklin.

After falling behind by a score, Asheville went on a 10-play, 91-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard TD run by QB Dana Campbell. The Cougars then took an 8-7 lead on the successful two-point conversion. But the edge proved to be short-lived as Asheville did not score again and Franklin reeled off 26 unanswered points to coast to the win.

Stats were not available for Asheville, but Andrew Moore threw for 142 yards and one touchdown and Grant Stiles ran for 121 yards and two more scores for the Panthers. Franklin’s lopsided win was all the more impressive because senior Brock Kloeppel, who ran for more than 2,000 yards last season, was suspended for the first two games of the season for undisclosed reasons by head coach Josh Brooks and did not play.

Asheville will look to make amends when they travel to Tennessee to take on Knoxville Webb (0-0).