Simmons has Burke riding an eight-game winning streak

Burke standout Del'Javon Simmons is all-state in basketball and is the reigning Region 6-AA football player of the year.

Ask coach Earl Brown what his star player's best sport is, and he'll respond with a somewhat surprising answer.

"Baseball," said Brown, who also coaches basketball and serves as the athletic director at Burke. "He is one heck of a baseball player. But if you're looking at football and basketball, it's football"

Simmons' sport at the next level will be football, and his skills will be on display today when the Bulldogs host Wade Hampton at 7:30 p.m. in a Class AA playoff game at Stoney Field. Burke enters the game with an 8-2 record, while Wade Hampton is 3-7.

"There's so much he does on the football field," Brown said of his quarterback/safety. "He can run. He can throw. He is excellent on defense and can kick the ball. There's just so many ways he can beat you."

The Bulldogs, with Simmons at the helm, are averaging 42.3 points per game, and will face a defense that allows 33 points per game. The Bulldogs enter the game with eight-game winning streak.

But it has not been an easy road to the playoffs for the Bulldogs. Last year's coach, Jon Rose, took an administrative job at North Charleston High School and Simmons decided before the season started to transfer to a prep school in Florida. However, Simmons changed his mind in less than a week and returned home.

The Bulldogs dropped a 20-16 decision to St. John's in the season opener with Sidney Sanders at quarterback. The Bulldogs self-destructed in Week 2 as a poor performance in the third quarter cost them a 49-20 loss to North Charleston. Since then, it's been smooth sailing, as the Bulldogs have averaged nearly seven touchdowns a game during their streak.

"I think the kids have been getting a little better after that rough start," Brown said. "They've bought into what we've been stressing, and that's being able to run the football. They realize we just can't be wide open all the time and just shoot it down the field."

Sanders is back at his natural position as a wide receiver and owns some impressive numbers. The running game is powered by Michael Heyward and Branden Bell.

Despite having only 26 players on the roster, Burke wrapped up its first region championship since 1968, and the Bulldogs are poised for a deep playoff run.

"I don't worry about our numbers," Brown said. "I just worry about injuries. I tell the guys only 11 can play at a time, and we've been playing this way so long that they don't know how to play any other way."

Simmons will play in the North-South game after the playoffs conclude, and then basketball. The North-South week could help Simmons' star shine even brighter.

"I just talked to a couple coaches who are from the Midwest, and they will be at the North-South game," Brown said. "So, it will be an important week for him."

And tonight begins a month that could conclude with the ultimate goal: a state championship.