Daquan Bowers is excited and with good reason.

Tonight, Bowers -- who was named the Gatorade South Carolina High School Football Player of the Year nearly a week ago -- will travel with his father, Dennis Bowers, to Myrtle Beach where he will attend a banquet as one of eight finalists for the prestigious South Carolina "Mr. Football" award. He earned the invite after finishing this past season with 97 tackles, 33 for loss and 10 sacks on defense. On offense, he rushed for 1,215 yards and 19 touchdowns on 132 carries. He also caught six passes for 72 yards and two scores.

"It's always an honor to win an award," Bowers said. "Being name the player of the year by Gatorade was a big honor.

"I am very excited (about the Mr. Football award)," he continued. "There are a lot of great guys that are nominated. AJ Green, Dalton Freeman, those are all big-name guys. I'm just happy to be nominated with those guys. Maybe I can bring it back to Bamberg."

If Bowers does come back with the award, he will carry the distinction of being the unanimously selected best high school football player in the state with him to the Shrine Bowl on Dec. 15 and on to the ESPNU All-American game in Orlando, Fla on Jan. 5. From there, it's on to an early graduation -- he's maintained a 3.1 GPA -- and a scheduled Jan. 8 enrollment at Clemson.

"This is my last month of high school football," Bowers said. "It's going to be busy and exciting."

Freeman, a Shrine Bowl selection, is up for the award after being selected as the Region 4-AA Lineman of the Year for Pelion this year. On offense, the 6-6, 265 pound, highly-recruited senior, recorded 64 knockdown blocks and 33 pancakes with an average grade of 92 percent for the year. On the defensive line, he led the team in tackles with 81, 16 of which were for a loss and six sacks.

The "Mr. Football" award is presented as part of the SCADA Regions Bank North-South All-Star Football Awards Ceremony. "Mr. Football" is chosen from seniors who are nominated by their coach, demonstrate acceptable academic performance and good character. A teacher or administrator from each school must also recommend the candidates for the award. Joining Bowers, Freeman and Summerville's Green as finalists are Myrtle Beach's Bruce Taylor, Blythewood's Richard Mounce, Whitmire's Michael Ruff, Byrnes' Everett Dawkins and Chester's Eugene McCaskill. Last year's "Mr. Football" award winner was current South Carolina State quarterback Malcolm Long.

Also, the 2007 North-South Game Queen will be named at tonight's banquet. Edisto's Alexandra Heaton and Pelion's Madeline Simmons are among the 10 finalists for that honor.

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be contacted via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.

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