For the first time since 2018, the Eau Claire Shamrocks have won four games after knocking off Ridgeland Academy, Bethune-Bowman, Williston Elko, and Ridge Spring Monetta.
“We’re just resilient,” Eau Claire head coach DeMarcus Simons said. “We’re playing fast on defense. We just need to make sure we continue to play on offense because the defense is flying around.”
For a program that came into the season with only one win in the previous six years, the 4-2 mark has changed the attitude in the locker room.
“The mood around here is tremendous,” Simons said. “We know that Eau Claire hasn’t been like this in a long time. The morale is really high. The kids are actually believing they can compete. It’s a great feeling around the building.”
One spark for the Shamrocks has been at quarterback. Josh Smith began the year as Eau Claire’s starting quarterback. However, when he suffered an injury against Bethune Bowman, it left a hole in the Shamrocks’ offense. Simons decided to put the team’s best athlete, Jahcory Sumpter, as the signal caller and has seen positive results.
Through six games, Sumpter has completed 23-of-49 passes for 504 yards and five touchdowns. He’s made a bigger impact on the ground leading Eau Claire with 740 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 carries. Early in the season he saw time at wide receiver where he caught three passes for 53 yards and one touchdown.
Eau Claire’s main focus on offense has been the ground game. Adin Davis-Young is the team’s second leading rusher with 253 yards and one touchdown on 35 carries.
The Shamrocks are averaging 248.7 rushing yards per game.
“Our focus since March has been to be the most physical team, and the kids have stepped up,” Simons said. “We’ve been the most aggressive team in each game we’ve played so far. That’s what we do. We’re just going to run the ball at you. We throw the ball because we want to, not because we have to.”
When the Shamrocks have thrown the ball, they’ve averaged 110.8 yards per game. Laquarius Summers leads the team with 18 receptions for 501 yards and four touchdowns. Davis-Young has one catch for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Eau Claire has averaged 359.5 total yards and 22.3 points per game.
The offense hasn’t been required to do too much because the Eau Claire defense has been stifling. Through six games, the Shamrocks have given up an average of 13.7 points per game. Prior to Pelion scoring 48 in the Panthers 18-point win last week, Eau Claire was allowing an average of less than seven points per game, including two shutouts.
While Sumpter and Davis-Young have played big roles on the Shamrocks’ defense, there have been other key players. Tavaras Seibles and Kevin Williams Jr. co-lead the team with five sacks. Seibles also has 49 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Williams Jr. has 29 tackles and one fumble recovery. B.J. Ashford leads the team with 65 tackles.
Eau Claire faces a tough part of its schedule with upcoming games against Chester and Fairfield Central. The Shamrocks close out with Columbia and Mid-Carolina.
“My goal is to find a way to get into the tournament,” Simons said. “I don’t know how we are going to get there. I don’t have the answers to that. I think we will have a chance to get in if we continue to play the style we’ve been playing with, and that is resilient and not giving up.”
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