Last season did not get off to the most picturesque start for Charl’Tez Nunnery.

In the first two games against Magee and West Marion, he threw for a combined 14 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. The third game against Brookhaven was slightly better, but not by Nunnery’s standards.

In the Brookhaven game, he threw for 57 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 34 yards and one score. Despite what may look like a less than stellar stat line it was during the Brookhaven game that Nunnery says something clicked for him.

“I think I really finally came alive in the Brookhaven game,” he said. “I  had been losing confidence after those first two games but my teammates kept me  in high spirits and told me I could do it.”

That slight push, that little exhibition of faith in his abilities would prove to be pivotal for Nunnery for the rest of the season. After that pep talk, he exploded onto the scene for the Lawrence County Cougars.

Apart from minor speed bumps against a tough Prentiss defense and a competitive North Pike team, the shifty junior eclipsed the 100-yard mark in total yards every game.
His best game of the season was against Franklin County. In a 30-15 victory, he passed for 171 yards and rushed for 130 with one touchdown.

It was also  during this game that Nunnery says he made the most memorable play of the season.

“It was late in the fourth quarter and we were on the 15-yard line up by a touchdown,” the senior quarterback said.
“We had been running a power read on them the entire game and that time  the defensive end kept running up the field so I kept it.”

The play is far from his biggest run or his longest touchdown pass.  In fact, Nunnery recalls his longest run being a 60-something yard burst against Columbia during the Cougars’ playoff run to the South State championship game.

“I don’t know how I got through the hole,” Nunnery said, “but I got through and I broke. I had so much adrenaline going through me and I wanted to win so bad that I wasn’t even tired.”

Still, the fact that a 15-yard run is his most memorable play adequately encompasses just what Nunnery is about. He isn’t a guy wrapped up in individual statistics or big plays that can fill a highlight reel. He is a young man concerned with doing whatever it takes to make sure his team wins.

He understands game situations and realized that go-ahead  touchdown against Franklin County was about securing a victory for his team.
His primary goals for the season are even team-oriented.

“I want us to get to a state championship and I want to lead our younger players in the right direction toward success,” the senior said.

However, he did have a few specific goals for himself. Nunnery said he would like to pass for 2,000 yards and go the entire season without an interception.  Last year, he only threw two picks in the regular season, so his goals are more than attainable.  His other two came in a defeat at the hands of St. Stanislaus in the South State championship.

As it stands, the senior does not have any offers to play at the next level but he said he plans on getting some.

“I want to play ball at the next level, so if offers don’t come I plan to do whatever it takes to get there,” he said. “I just wanna play.”

Nunnery’s head coach, Jaymie Palmer,  raved about the intangibles the senior signal-caller possesses.

“Charl’Tez is a great young man. He is very dependable, accountable, a great team leader, he is very smart and he can make all the throws. He’s everything you want in a high school quarterback,” Palmer said.

Nunnery added he would like to be viewed as someone who works hard and puts the team in the right position to win.
He also said what he loved most about the game of football is the intensity.

“There’s something about knowing another team is out there trying to take a victory from you,” he said. “Especially when the other team is just as good as you are. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of heart.”

If Nunnery has anything to say about it, the Cougars will be making yet another deep run into the playoffs this season.

The Primetime 23 list is a compilation of the top 23 players in the area relative to their position on the field. The next member of the list will be revealed in Wednesday’s edition.