The North-South All-Star rosters were released Wednesday afternoon and Walt Wilson wants you to know one thing -- picking the team wasn’t easy.

“It was real tough,” Wilson said. “There were a lot of good, quality kids out there.”

The Calhoun County head coach will serve as an assistant under Jerry Brown, the Berkeley High School head coach who will also serve as the head coach of the South squad in the All-Star game, which is scheduled to be held in Myrtle Beach Dec. 13 at Doug Shaw Stadium.

“Coach Brown ... he’s a veteran of it,” Wilson said. “So, he kind of had a system and that is, you pick kids that fit the system you are running. You know, there were some good kids left out, but they just didn’t fit the system.

“You rate all the kids,” Wilson added. “You know how many you are taking, and you can’t take them all. For instance, I’m coaching the receivers, first of all, you look for receivers that can catch the ball and run good routes. But, you are also looking for receivers that can block. That cut some kids off. There were great athletes that you could throw the ball and they could go get it. But, we looked at what you do when you are not getting the ball ... and that took some kids away. When they didn’t get the ball they didn’t contribute.”

Wilson’s own region, Region 5-A, was well-represented on the South squad. Calhoun County quarterback David Sims, Edisto’s Kamrie Connell, Bamberg-Ehrhardt’s Jeffery Salley and Denmark-Olar’s Treaver Workman were all selected to the team.

“I basically really feel our region, 5-A, is one of the best 1-A divisions in the state,” Wilson said. “You have kids that -- the population of the school may classify them as 1-A -- but they are players that can compete and do well on the 3- and-4-A level.

“I really like (Workman),” he continued. “He showed me the night we played them. He showed me. I went home that night, and I told my wife that I had to get that kid. And, then (Salley) ... aw, man, he is the man. The thing about it is, you get to see a kid firsthand and there are some things you can’t see on film. (Connell) is a great kid. He is everything to Edisto. He is a kid that deserves to be in the All-Star game. All three of those kids, I was going to fight to the end for them.”

Wilson said his player, Sims, was likely squeezed out of the Shrine Bowl because of the style of play in that game. This year’s Shrine Bowl team figures to run a spread offense, and Sims would have likely been selected as a tailback or quarterback. He will play quarterback in the North-South game.

“I really feel that David is a kid that, if he wasn’t at a 1-A school, he would be in the Shrine Bowl,” Wilson said. “This kid here is a kid that will go on and compete on the next level. He is going to represent well.”

Woodland’s Marquise Carson will join the 5-A players on the South squad. Williston-Elko tailback Josh Epps will play on the North team.

North-South rosters

NORTH

Lance Richardson, db, Ware Shoals; Josh McKie, qb, Mauldin; Cedric Proctor, qb, Chesnee; Akeem Johnson, qb, Chesterfield; Tra-Vez Bush, lb, Strom Thurmond; Carlos McCoy, wr, A.C. Flora; Byron Best, db, Greenwood; Daventron Cromer, db, Laurens; Taylor Sowell, db, Dorman; Riyahd Richardson, db, Byrnes.

Troy Sanders, db, Chester; Josh Epps, rb, Williston-Elko; Isaiah Johnson, rb, Lewisville; Jurante Hood, rb, Rock Hill; Travis Rivers, rb, Pageland Central; Hakeem Adams, lb, Northwestern; Josh Lynn, de, Great Falls; Channing Kennedy, db, Abbeville; Makendrik Thomspon, wr, Fairfield Central; Dawon Thompson, lb, Lancaster.

Charles Holmes, wr, South Pointe; Monszar Allen, dl, Pageland Central; Lorenzo Boyles, lb, Columbia; Jacob Ashley, ol, Belton-Honea Path; Wynton Botchway, lb, Daniel; Jarrell Miller, lb, Northwestern; Myron Nesbitt, ol, Easley; Austin Sargent, dl, Ninety-Six; Tristan Bellamy, ol, Strom Thurmond; Michael Brocklehurst, dl, Belton-Honea Path.

Clarence Jones, dl, Westside; Jamie Cheatwood, ol, Boiling Springs; Jamie Dunaway, ol, Byrnes; Tymeco Gregory, ol, Greer; Malcolm Boyd, ol, Dorman; Gran King, ol, Spring Valley; Sheldon Long, dl, Broome; Travis Burnside, wr, Laurens; Quintin Payton, wr, T.L. Hanna; Emirson Hughes, wr, Gaffney.

Devonte Holloman, db, South Pointe; Chandler Catanzaro, k, Christ Church; John Michaels, lb, Gaffney; Chris Taylor, te, J.L. Mann.

Head coach: Wayne Green, Belton-Honea Path. Assistants: Karl Andreas, Dorman; Robin Bacon, A.C. Flora; Quay Farr, Spring Valley; Tom Owens, Gaffney; Mike Wells, Buford; Steve Williams, Belton-Honea Path.

———

SOUTH

Travis Fredimon, wr, Sumter; Galen Bennett, qb, Fort Dorchester; Nathan Dorton, wr, Irmo; David Sims, qb, Calhoun County; Kamrie Connell, db, Edisto; Damien Dixon, db, Hartsville; Ahmad Aiken, db, Hilton Head; Tyewan Johnson, rb, North Augusta; Tyreek Townsend, rb, Marlboro County; Jessie Scott, db, Midland Valley.

Cardell Lincoln, db, Hanahan; Randy Moulds, db, Creestwood; Kory Brown, db, Berkeley; Anthony Corden, rb, Lexington; Kinard Gadsden-Gilliard, lb, Georgetown; Dylan Zimmerman, k, Summerville; Harrison Oxendine, lb, Richland Northeast; Brett Johnson, lb, North Augusta; L’Twane Thompson, lb, Dillon; Quinn McLendon, lb, Sumter.

Chris Outten, lb, Camden; Keyatta Gary, lb, Cheraw; Derek Kelly, c, Dutch Fork; Kenneth Westberry, dl, Irmo; Paul Thompson, dl, Lake View; Jeffery Salley, dl, Bamberg-Ehrhardt; Mathew Hainey, c, Crestwood; Tray Nichols, dl, Beaufort; Matt Smith, dl, Myrtle Beach; Erskine Johnson, g, Conway.

Ja’Quavius McClain, og, Lamar; Rick Cantey, og, Manning; Brett Hughes, og, Colleton County; Sydney Sarmiento, dl, West Florence; Storm Moore, ot, Timberland; John Coleman, ot, West Florence; Cedric Chisolm, ot, West Ashley; Tyler McDonald, wr, Stratford; Treaver Workman, wr, Denmark-Olar; Trel Hamilton, wr, Fort Dorchester.

Marquise Carson, wr, Woodland; John Gadson, wr, Stall; Gary Smith, te, Aiken; Aldrick Fordham, te, Timberland.

Head coach: Jerry Brown, Berkeley. Assistants: David Bundrick, Irmo; Ken Cribb, Stall; Nevile Files, West Florence; Johnny White, Cheraw; Walt Wilson, Calhoun County; Tony Cox, Berkeley.

n T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached 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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