2019 Season Wrap-Up

BHP vs Greenville

9 seconds to go in the season, the ball is floating in the air and BHP’s season hangs in the balance. With one of the best catches of the year, Greenville’s Mike Sanders hauls in the 37-yard pass with only 2 seconds left in the game which set up the game-winning field goal. And in the blink of an eye, the Bears’ season comes to an end.

BHP entered the game missing many key players on both offense and defense, but as the game played out, the Bears showed fight and excelled at what they do best. BHP came out with multiple running backs and tight ends and was determined to pound the run game and that is what they did. BHP reverted back to a type of play that they have been known for - a dominating run game and outstanding defensive play.

Along with reverting back to that type of play, the game against Greenville lived up to the standard of the past match-ups between these two teams. Of the last 5 games played between these two teams all but one was decided by less than 5 points. This game came with all of the same fireworks. However, BHP could not hold on and a last-second 19-yard field goal ended the season for the Bears.

2019 Season

The Bears end the strange and slightly disappointing season with a record of 7-4. This season was unlike most of the recent past for the Bears. BHP opened the year 6-1, but in the last 4 games they went 1-3. Although BHP was competitive in all of the losses this season, they were not able to win the close games as they have been able to in the past. Even with the playoff win, this season was the worst season under Coach Blackston, based on total wins.

We hesitate to call this season a disappointment because BHP did not lose a game they were “supposed” to win. It might just be because we expected so much more because of the talent on the team. Each of their losses came to a team that was ranked higher in the state. But with that, the way they lost the 4 games was especially disappointing. This is mainly because of the turnover. BHP had 12 of their 19 turnovers and in their 4 losses and only 1 takeaway. BHP beat the teams they were supposed to and were in a position to win the others, but were not able to execute and win them. And that is what is disappointing.

Although the season might be viewed as a somewhat of a disappointment, there were plenty of highlights and bright spots. We loved seeing the Bears excel in the running game that was led by the bell-cow back, RJ Ellis. Along with Ellis, BHP effectively employed two other backs that excelled. The power back Jeremiah Johnson, the speed back Dusty Hester. Along with the rushing attack on offense, the defense had highlights as well. First, the interceptions. BHP forced 16 interceptions and 5 of them were returned for touchdowns. Along with that, this defense kept 5 teams under 100 total rushing yards in a game and only 3 teams rushed for more than 150 yards against BHP.

Season Highlights

There were plenty of top moments, performances, and highlights from this season. We condensed it down to our top 10 highlights from the 2019 season.

1. Coach Blackston becomes the all-time winningest coach at BHP with the win over Palmetto. He ends the year with 91 wins and the highest overall winning percentage by any BHP football coach. His 91 wins account for 24.6% of all BHP wins
2. RJ Ellis’ performance against Walhalla. He rushed 17 times for 354 yards and 4 touchdowns with a 91 yard rushing touchdown. This was the 3rd most rushing yards in a game ever by a BHP running back.
3. Bralyn Oliver’s 97-yard interception return for a touchdown against Palmetto, which slightly outshined his 70-yard interception for a touchdown against Seneca (and not to mention the 90-yard interception for a touchdown against Daniel that was called back due to penalty).
4. Joseph Sloan’s performance against York. He led the Bears with 10 solo tackles (one away from the BHP record), 14 total tackles, an interception for a touchdown and 58 defensive points.
5. Semaj Groves’ performance against Walhalla. He had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, 3 pass breakups, 5 solo tackles, 1 interception, and led the team with 37 defensive points.
6. Logan Milford’s 293 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns against Wren. That performance along with the entire season lets him end the season with the 10th most passing yards for a career all-time in BHP history with 1,386 passing yards.
7. RJ Ellis adds his mark to the record books. He finished the year with the most 200+ rushing yard game for a career, tied for most 300+ rushing yard games for a career, 2nd most rushing yards in a season, and the 2nd most rushing yards in a career.
8. Anthony Bertoni’s season PAT conversions. He converted 57 of 58 PAT attempts, which was the most made PATs in a season and had the highest season and career PAT conversion percentage.
9. Tyler Fields’ performance against Pendleton. He ended the game with 5 receptions for 101 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns.
10. Will Blackston’s performance against Pendleton. He led the team with 2 sacks, 2 hurries, 3 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 43 defensive points.

Season Quick Stats

Offensive Stats

• BHP gained 425.4 total yards per game, 11.6% more than last season.
• This season was the first time BHP gained more than 400 total yards per game since 2015.
• BHP gained 10 or more yards per play twice this season. From 2014-2018 that had only happened 4 times.
• The 2019 season’s 7.35 yards per play is the most in the last 6 seasons.
• Since 2014 seasons there have only 6 games where BHP gained 10 or more yards per play. BHP did that twice this season (10.0 vs Seneca and 11.5 vs Pickens).
• This season’s 289.8 rushing yards per game is the highest mark in the last 6 seasons.
• BHP averaged 4.2 rushing TDs per game, up from 1.7 last year (142.1% increase).
• The 135.5 passing yards per game was the 2nd least in the last 6 seasons (103.9 per game in 2014).
• BHP threw an interception in all but 3 games this season and increased the average interceptions per game by 37.5%.
• BHP’s completion percentage went down by 19.2% from last season.
• BHP gained 67.9% of their first downs by rushing, 22.3% by passing, and 9.8% by penalty this season.
• BHP averaged 8.01 yards per play on 1st down this season.
• The 46 rushing touchdowns is the most in the last 6 seasons.

Defensive Stats

• BHP allowed 281.5 yards per game, 9.4% less than they allowed last season.
• BHP forced 43.8% more turnovers than last season.
• BHP forced 128.6% more interceptions per game over last season and averaged 1.5 interceptions per game this season.
• BHP allowed 122.7 rushing yards per game, 20.8% less than last season.
• BHP only allowed 2.59 yards per rush in the 4th quarter this season.
• BHP allowed 43% of first downs by rushing, 40.2% by passing, and 16.8% by penalty this season.
• BHP allowed 5.3 yards per play on 1st down this season.
• Over the last 2 seasons, BHP has scored 7 defensive TDs with Bralyn Oliver scoring 3 of them.
• 14 different BHP defenders had a takeaway, 10 players with at least 1 interception and 4 with at least 1 fumble recovery.

Team Stats

• The 40.6 points per game are only the 3rd time BHP scored 40 or more points per game in a season (2012 - 41.2 and 2010 - 40.8).
• The 447 total points are the 7th most in a season at BHP.
• BHP averaged 42.7 points per game in the regular season this year, which is the highest average ever in BHP history.
• BHP converted 63 of the 64 attempted PATs this season.
• Under Coach Blackston, BHP has scored 4,276 points (35.3 points per game) and has a points differential of 16.9 points per game, both are the highest of any coach at BHP.
• With the win over York, Coach Blackston now has the most playoff wins at BHP (record 11-10).
• Since 2014 BHP is 25-4 in games they rush for 250 or more yards with 2 of those losses coming this season against Greenville.
• Did you read all of these? You the real MVP!

Hibernation

As we end the season we want to celebrate the great performances by this team and their seniors. The last 4 years BHP has gone 35-12 and won 2 region championships. The 2018 senior class is the only other class under Coach Blackston who has won 2 region championships. We are also excited to see what is to come for the Bears. There will be a lot of positions that need to be filled and we expect players to step into those spots and put BHP back in contention for championships.

Just to look back to our bold prediction post from the beginning of the season. We correctly predicted 5 of the 10 predictions (I believe RJ Ellis would have rushed for over 2,000 yards if BHP’s game against T.L. Hanna was not canceled and we would have gotten 6 correct). I guess next season we need to go bolder.

Now as the season comes to an end we also will put the Bear Tracks post to hibernate as well. However, please explore the site and dive deep into BHP Football history. And, if you have any stats for seasons and games before 2014, reach out to us on social media.

Make sure to check out the 2019 season page for the season’s stats. (2019 Season Page Link)

But before we head to our cave, we want to thank some people.

• The players for their hard work and for representing BHP.
• Coach Blackston and the entire coaching staff. Their hard work and dedication showed and we thank you for that and everything you did to help us out.
• All the Bear fans. Thanks for supporting the team and supporting us both here on the website and in our social media accounts.
• Joel, Allen, and Chandler Kay. Every week in the football season we are sitting side-by-side with these three. We get to talk about both the current year, game, and also BHP history and I enjoyed that each week.
• Our families. If you do not know, my Dad and I do the game stats together each Friday night. We have a great time even when we argue on where the ball is spotted. Along with that, I want to thank my Mom who sends boiled peanuts and texts my Dad to tell him he is being too loud because she can hear him on the radio.
• And last and certainly not least, my wife who takes care of our two sons who are bouncing off the walls most Friday nights as I leave for the football games. She has the toughest job and if it wasn't for her we couldn’t provide any of the stats. Not to mention she edits my posts each week.

Thank you, everyone, and if you have any suggestions for the site or ideas on how to make our content better, please reach out to us on social media. We want to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Make sure to come back next year for BHP Bear coverage, and HOW BOUT THEM BEARS!.