Beaufort Eagles are in the football state championship game again. How they got there
With the offense needing a spark early in the season, Beaufort Coach Bryce Lybrand thought it was time to make a change.
Moving Kacy Fields from receiver to running back turned out to be a pivotal one and is a part of why the Eagles are playing in their second state championship. Beaufort plays Powdersville on Thursday in the Class 3A championship game at Benedict College in Columbia.
Beaufort was off to a 2-1 start with two games coming against Class 5A schools. The offense scored just 36 points in the first three games so Lybrand thought about making the switch to put Fields, who was the team’s top receiver last season with more than 700 yards, to become the team’s feature running back in place of Caleb Ulmer.
Fields got a taste of it in the third game against Goose Creek, getting nine carries for 70 yards. The following week against May River, Fields carried it 29 times for 162 yards and two touchdowns. He followed it up with a 340-yard, five touchdown performance against Bluffton.
For the season, Fields has 2,011 yards, 29 touchdowns and was picked for the Touchstone Energy Bowl next month.
“We weren’t moving the ball a whole lot and we needed a spark,” Lybrand told The Island Packet this week. “Kacy has been big for us and helped our offense kick into another gear. And Caleb handled it awesome and has come in some really big moments, had some runs when we really needed it.”
Beaufort found its rhythm on offense and finished the season with 12 straight victories to return to its second straight state title game under Lybrand, who was a candidate for AC Flora opening in the offseason. But he withdrew his name from consideration, opting to continue to build the Eagles’ program and go for history.
Beaufort has never won a state title since the school opened in 1970. The Beaufort Tidal Waves won two state titles (1933, 1945) before segregation.
“It wasn’t the right time or wasn’t the right place. I really loved this group coming back and I wanted to come back, win a state championship with this group,” Lybrand said.
“We want to win a state championship here. Something that hasn’t been done at Beaufort High and hasn’t been done at the Lowcountry in a long, long time. We don’t talk about it a whole lot but the support we have had especially last week has been phenomenal. We had a really big crowd at Dillon and need a great crowd at Benedict to show up.”
The game begins at 7 p.m. and will be carried on Sinclair Broadcasting stations across South Carolina. It will also be live streamed on www.nfhsnetwork.com. A subscription ($10) is required.
This Year’s Top Eagles
▪ QB Samari Bonds: Has put up 1,577 total yards and 16 total touchdowns this season.
▪ RB Kacy Fields: Last year’s leading receiver has rushed for 2,011 yards and 29 touchdowns.
▪ WR/DB Colton Phares: Appalachian State commit leads team with 19 catches for 349 yards and four touchdowns. He also has rushed for 400 yards, four scores. On defense, he has 64 tackles, eight for loss, eight pass break-ups and four interceptions.
▪ DL Jack Sumner: Has 50 tackles, 11 for loss, a team-high 6 ½ sacks and eight quarterback pressures.
▪ LB Quion Rivers: Recorded 61 tackles, eight for loss, two sacks and six quarterback pressures.
▪ LB Will Codding: Has 51 tackles, 11 for loss, four sacks and two quarterback hurries.
▪ DB Jamar Knight: Has 30 tackles, five pass break-ups and two interceptions.
▪ DB Dom Camacho: Has 18 tackles, two pass breakups and three interceptions.
The Eagles 2022 Season
▪ Aug. 26: Fort Dorchester 21, Beaufort 6: The Eagles started the season with a loss to Class 5A Fort Dorchester. Patriots QB Zolten Osborne threw for a touchdown and ran for one. Caleb Ulmer had Beaufort’s lone TD and Samar Bonds threw for 183 yards.
▪ Sept. 2: Beaufort 24, Hilton Head Island 7: Beaufort scored all its touchdowns in the first quarter. Beaufort scored on its first play of the game as Colton Phares ran it in from 59 yards out. Samari Bonds threw a TD pass to Kacy Fields and Caleb Ulmer added a TD.
▪ Sept. 9: Beaufort 6, Goose Creek 0: Colton Phares hit a pair of field goals as Beaufort shut out Class 5A Goose Creek.
▪ Sept. 16: Beaufort 13, May River 7: Beaufort scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat May River. The Eagles trailed 7-0 before Kacy Fields scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to tie it at 7-7. Fields scored his second touchdown, a 1-yard run with 9:38 left. Fields ran it 29 times for 162 yards.
▪ Sept. 23: Beaufort 55, Bluffton 23: Kacy Fields rushed for 341 yards and five touchdowns to help the Eagles to a victory over Bluffton. Quarterback Samarii Bonds was 10-of-15 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Colton Phares caught five passes for 116 yards and two scores.
▪ Sept. 28, Beaufort 34, Philip Simmons 14: Kacy Fields carried it 26 times for 271 yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles rolled to a region victory. Quarterback Samari Bonds was 7-of-9 passing for 101 yards and he also rushed for 33 yards and a TD. The game was moved to Wednesday night because of Hurricane Ian.
▪ Oct. 8: Beaufort 37, Battery Creek 7: Kacy Fields ran for two TDs and the Eagles also scored on defense and special teams. Colton Phares returned a punt for a TD in the first half to make it 13-7. Dom Camacho made it 27-7 by returning an interception for a score.. Will Keyserling recovered a fumble in the end zone for the other Beaufort TD.
▪ Oct. 20: Beaufort 48, North Charleston 8: Kacy Fields rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns for Beaufort. Quarterback Samari Bonds threw TD passes to Thomas Purdy and McLeod Reichel and also ran in a score. Houston Wilson also had a rushing TD.
▪ Oct. 28: Beaufort 49, Hanahan 14: Beaufort clinched a region championship with a win over Hanahan. Kacy Fields rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Samari Bonds rushed for two touchdowns. Colton Phares had a 69-yard rushing touchdown and also returned a punt for a score.
▪ Nov. 4: Beaufort 52, Orangeburg-Wilkinson 0: The Eagles opened the playoffs with a shutout of O-W. Quarterback Samari Bonds was 7-of-11 passing for 110 yards, three touchdowns and also rushed for 59 yards. Running back Kacy Fields carried it 20 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
▪ Nov. 11: Beaufort 45, Crestwood 42: Beaufort rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat Crestwood in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs. Beaufort trailed 28-10 with nine minutes left in the third quarter before scoring three times in an eight-minute span to take a 31-28 lead. Kacy Fields, Caleb Ulmer and Samari Bonds had TD runs during that span. Zach Talbert picked off a pass to set up Bonds’ go-ahead score. Fields rushed for 161 yards and three touchdowns.
▪ Nov. 18: Beaufort 31, Gilbert 21: Colton Phares had the go-ahead kickoff return for a touchdown and picked off a pass late in the game as Beaufort defeated Gilbert. The Indianst led 21-17 on Jaden Allen-Hendrix’s 6-yard TD run with 11:24 left. But Phares took the ensuing kickoff back 89 yards for a touchdown. Gilbert got the ball back with four minutes left but its drive ended as Phares picked off a pass with 2:25 left. Running back Kacy Fields added a TD run to make it 31-21 with 2:09 to go. Fields finished with 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
▪ Nov. 25: Beaufort 30, Dillon 21: The Eagles earned their second straight trip to the state championship with a road win at Dillon. It was Dillon’s first home playoff loss since 2011. Beaufort running back Kacy Fields rushed for 159 yards and three second-half touchdowns in the game. Two of Fields’ touchdowns came in the third quarter as the Eagles led 21-14. Dillon tied the game on Ty Martin’s run with 2:08 left in the third quarter but the Eagles took the lead on a safety in the fourth quarter. Beaufort extended the lead on Fields’ 2-yard run with 6:20 left. Beaufort’s defense came up with two interceptions on Dillon’s next two drives, including Don Camacho’s inside the 20-yard line.
This story was originally published November 30, 2022 at 9:05 AM.
