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Favion Kirkwood and Brayden Hurst play different sports at Johnson High School, but the standout athletes took similar routes as they battled through injuries to reach their goals of playing at the college level.
Kirkwood is a star basketball player who missed a stretch of his senior year with a bad ankle, but closed out strong to earn a ride to play at Gulf Coast State College, a junior college program in Panama City, Florida. Hurst sustained a knee injury as a quarterback in football that has kept him off the baseball diamond this season. Nonetheless, he is headed to play at East Georgia State College, the junior college team in Swainsboro.
Kirkwood was a key player on the Atom Smasher squad that reached the Class 3A state finals his junior year, as he earned All-Greater Savannah first-team honors. As a senior, he was a leader on an Atom Smasher squad that missed out on the playoffs. But he came back after missing seven games and has a stellar senior season. Kirkwood was named the Region 3-3A Co-Player of the Year with Calvary Day's Kuol Deng. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Kirkwood said his close relationship with GCSU coach Lane Below was a big factor in his decision. Below was an assistant at Chipola, where he worked with former Johnson star Antonio Baker and former Groves standout Jerald Colonel.
"I think coach Below can help me develop into the best version of myself and reach my goal of playing at the next level," said Kirkwood, who maintains a 3.2 GPA and plans to get a degree in kinesiology. "Playing at Johnson was a great experience. The injuries helped me learn to deal with adversity and coach (Chuck) Campbell was always on me and that helped me become tougher mentally."
Campbell said Kirkwood embraced his role as a team leader this season.
"One of the games I remember most was last year at the end of a game with Calvary," Campbell said. "We were down by two and everyone thought the ball would be going to Josh (Quarterman), but I drew up a play for Josh to drive and kick it out to Favion. They closed out on him and he drove to the basket and missed the layup. We lost, but he told me 'Next time, I get that opportunity — I'll make that shot."
Campbell was the Atom Smasher baseball coach during Hurst's freshman season, when the team reached the state playoffs for the first time in 20 years with Hurst playing a big role. Campbell has had the baseball from that game on display in his office since then, until Thursday when he tossed it to Hurst on the Johnson auditorium stage to keep as a momentum.
Hurst became the first Johnson baseball player to ever sign to play in college, Atom Smasher athletic director Brandon Lindsey said. A pitcher and first baseman, Hurst is set to pitch in college. He was also the starting quarterback for the Johnson football team, and sustained a knee injury in practice that has sidelined him through the baseball season so far.
"East Georgia still gave me the chance to play there even after I got hurt," said Hurst, who wants to major in biology and eventually become a doctor. "I've known (EGSC) Coach (Jason) Mock since I was eight years old and he runs a great program, so it was a perfect fit. I think getting hurt helped me learn to handle adversity and become a better leader and person."
A pair of Woodville-Tompkins flag football players signed to play at the college level on Wednesday in a ceremony on campus.
Shayne Cooper-Riley signed to play at Emmanuel College and Jahnarriah Massey will play at Brewton-Parker.
Cooper-Riley was a three-year starter for the Wolverines and pulled 30 flags this year and 78 in her career.
Massey was a two-year starter and led the team this year with 38 catches for 478 yards and eight touchdowns, with two interceptions on defense.
Richmond Hill senior Santonio Rio signed with the Clayton State University track and field team last week.
Rio is a standout sprinter whose best event is the 400 meters. As a junior, he ran a personal best time of 47.37 and broke the 50 second mark five times. His 47.37 mark was the 15th best time, across all classifications, in Georgia last year.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Johnson athletes Favion Kirkwood and Brayden Hurst sign with colleges
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Kirkwood is a star basketball player who missed a stretch of his senior year with a bad ankle, but closed out strong to earn a ride to play at Gulf Coast State College, a junior college program in Panama City, Florida. Hurst sustained a knee injury as a quarterback in football that has kept him off the baseball diamond this season. Nonetheless, he is headed to play at East Georgia State College, the junior college team in Swainsboro.
Kirkwood was a key player on the Atom Smasher squad that reached the Class 3A state finals his junior year, as he earned All-Greater Savannah first-team honors. As a senior, he was a leader on an Atom Smasher squad that missed out on the playoffs. But he came back after missing seven games and has a stellar senior season. Kirkwood was named the Region 3-3A Co-Player of the Year with Calvary Day's Kuol Deng. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Kirkwood said his close relationship with GCSU coach Lane Below was a big factor in his decision. Below was an assistant at Chipola, where he worked with former Johnson star Antonio Baker and former Groves standout Jerald Colonel.
"I think coach Below can help me develop into the best version of myself and reach my goal of playing at the next level," said Kirkwood, who maintains a 3.2 GPA and plans to get a degree in kinesiology. "Playing at Johnson was a great experience. The injuries helped me learn to deal with adversity and coach (Chuck) Campbell was always on me and that helped me become tougher mentally."
Campbell said Kirkwood embraced his role as a team leader this season.
"One of the games I remember most was last year at the end of a game with Calvary," Campbell said. "We were down by two and everyone thought the ball would be going to Josh (Quarterman), but I drew up a play for Josh to drive and kick it out to Favion. They closed out on him and he drove to the basket and missed the layup. We lost, but he told me 'Next time, I get that opportunity — I'll make that shot."
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Campbell was the Atom Smasher baseball coach during Hurst's freshman season, when the team reached the state playoffs for the first time in 20 years with Hurst playing a big role. Campbell has had the baseball from that game on display in his office since then, until Thursday when he tossed it to Hurst on the Johnson auditorium stage to keep as a momentum.
Hurst became the first Johnson baseball player to ever sign to play in college, Atom Smasher athletic director Brandon Lindsey said. A pitcher and first baseman, Hurst is set to pitch in college. He was also the starting quarterback for the Johnson football team, and sustained a knee injury in practice that has sidelined him through the baseball season so far.
"East Georgia still gave me the chance to play there even after I got hurt," said Hurst, who wants to major in biology and eventually become a doctor. "I've known (EGSC) Coach (Jason) Mock since I was eight years old and he runs a great program, so it was a perfect fit. I think getting hurt helped me learn to handle adversity and become a better leader and person."
Woodville-Tompkins flag football players sign
A pair of Woodville-Tompkins flag football players signed to play at the college level on Wednesday in a ceremony on campus.
Shayne Cooper-Riley signed to play at Emmanuel College and Jahnarriah Massey will play at Brewton-Parker.
Cooper-Riley was a three-year starter for the Wolverines and pulled 30 flags this year and 78 in her career.
Massey was a two-year starter and led the team this year with 38 catches for 478 yards and eight touchdowns, with two interceptions on defense.
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Richmond Hill track and field athlete signs
Richmond Hill senior Santonio Rio signed with the Clayton State University track and field team last week.
Rio is a standout sprinter whose best event is the 400 meters. As a junior, he ran a personal best time of 47.37 and broke the 50 second mark five times. His 47.37 mark was the 15th best time, across all classifications, in Georgia last year.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Johnson athletes Favion Kirkwood and Brayden Hurst sign with colleges
Continue reading...
