ST. MATTHEWS -- Last time Calhoun County and Bamberg-Ehrhardt locked horns in a high school football game it wasn't even close.

David Sims took the headlines, rushing for 101 yards and passing for 212 back on that first Friday night in October as the Saints rolled to a decisive 36-9 Region 5-A record. But, as impressive as Sims' night was, it was Saints' star wideout Alshon Jeffery, a Southern Cal commit, who became the "X-Factor." Get in a third-and-long, toss a screen over to Alshon and watch him bully the corner and safety or just throw it up and watch him go get it. When the numbers were crunched, the Under Armour All-American's stats, seven catches for 169 yards, were impressive in their own right.

"Alshon is the most unselfish player I know," Saints' head coach Walt Wilson said. "But, when it's money time ... he puts up numbers when it is money time. I'm going to tell you something, right now, he is on a different level. He will sit back and let his teammates shine until his family needs him. When his family needs him, he is there."

Bamberg-Ehrhardt's a team that Jeffery has been sizing up for a while. He has the game against the Red Raiders under his belt, and back on Aug. 22, he, his brother Shamier, and big Calhoun County left tackle Eric Mack loaded up and took the trip from St. Matthews to Bamberg to watch the Red Raiders' Week Zero 7-0 win over Edisto. Tonight, when the top-ranked Saints (11-0) host Bamberg-Ehrhardt (8-4) at 7:30, Jeffery knows his family is going to need him.

"I am expecting a great game," Jeffery said. "There is no next year for some of the seniors. We have worked hard in practice, and we are going to come out and play our best game from here on out."

It's not hard to see where Jeffery gets that mindset from. Ask Wilson if he thinks things are going to be tougher against the Red Raiders this time around and he is emphatic.

"I feel like it's going to be a war!" Wilson said. "I really feel like it's going to be a war. The first game doesn't mean anything. The bottom line is ... it is do or die now. The loser packs up the stuff. The first game ... it was good for the time, but coach (Kevin) Crosby will have (B-E) ready. It's going to be a war, and that is what we have been getting ready for."

Then again, all Jeffery needs to keep his eyes on the prize is his little brother. Shamier, also a star wide receiver for the Saints, has taken to sporting his Calhoun County basketball title ring around the football locker room. For the football players who were not part of last season's hoops team, the younger Jeffery has not been shying away from explaining what it took to get the prize.

"He's been wearing his state championship basketball ring around this week," the elder Jeffery said. "He's been telling everyone, 'This is what it's about. Now, we need to get us a state championship football ring'."

On the quest to fulfill that goal, Alshon Jeffery has been a team-first player. As quietly as an All-American can, Jeffery, a Shrine Bowl selection, has piled up 30 receptions for 693 yards and 12 touchdowns on offense and 30 tackles and three interceptions on defense. "He is a man playing among boys," Wilson said. "I watch him sometimes in practice, and I should be used to it ... but, you see him do things and you go ... 'Ummm, ah!'" he said. "In practice, when he catches the ball he catches it with authority. A lot of receivers can catch the ball, but he can catch the ball! Alshon is on a different level. This cat here ... I watch college teams warm up and sometimes I am amazed that their hands are so soft that you don't hear the ball hit. He's the same way. He's a special kid. He doesn't have to be in the limelight.

"He doesn't have to be in the limelight for teams to know he is on the field."

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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