The Fighting Scots had seven players named to the SAC All Conference team on Monday. Here, the team prepares to run out of the tunnel prior to their matchup with the Marlboro County Bulldogs back in September.
File Photo
LAURINBURG —The Sandhills Athletic Conference (SAC) released their 2024 All Conference Football Team roster as well as the offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year and coach of the year awards on Monday morning with the Fighting Scots having seven representatives on the All-Conference roster. Scotland’s seven players that earned a spot on the team were Isaiah Locklear, Quatavius Everette, Dajuan Gibson, Tyjurian White, Ji’San McPhatter, Cameron Cole and Keyshaun McQueen.
Locklear was the lone offensive linemen named to the squad for the Scots out of 10 players from the conference. Listed at 6’3” and 300 pounds, Locklear also earned a spot on the team in 2023 along with a spot on the HighSchoolOT All-State Team as a third team selection.
Everette and Gibson took up two of the six spots for the wide receiver position on the roster. The pair were Scotland’s two leading receivers this season with Gibson hauling in 43 receptions for 863 yards and eight touchdowns while Everette caught 35 passes for 554 yards and five touchdowns. Gibson set career highs in all three areas with his numbers.
White meanwhile gave the Scots a serious threat on the ground while helping ease the loss of the graduated Zay Jones. He earned one of four spots on the roster reserved for running backs by leading Scotland rushers with 1,168 yards on 145 carries, good for a spectacular 8.1 yards per carry average while finding the endzone 10 times. White had five games of at least 100 rushing yards during his first year on the varsity squad.
McPhatter, Scotland’s starting quarterback, took one of two spots on the team along with Brandon Saunders of Hoke County. He threw for 1,752 yards and 15 touchdowns against five interceptions with a completion percentage of 58.8% and a QB rating of 105.7 while also adding 13 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Cole was named to the team as the conference’s one and only kicker. Cole connected on all 38 of his extra point attempts and seven of eight field goal chances, including a game winner as time expired from 37 yards out in the second round of the state playoffs against Terry Sanford. His 59 points scored were fourth on the team behind McPhatter, White and Gibson.
McQueen was the lone Scots player named to the team on the defensive side of the ball, taking one of seven spots held for defensive backs. He was a tackling machine for Scotland, finishing second on the team in tackles with 83, third on the team in tackles for loss with 10 and also added three sacks on the season.
All Scotland representatives are seniors except for White, who wrapped up his junior season. The Scots were able to make it to the third round of the 3A NCHSAA state playoffs for the second consecutive year by defeating conference rival Union Pines and Terry Sanford before losing to top seeded Havelock on Friday night.
All statistics are from MaxPreps and accurate as of the Terry Sanford playoff game. Statistics were not entered from their battle with Havelock as of this writing.