Christ Church (1-0) at Abbeville (1-0)
This will be, without question, the most watched game in Class A this week. After a sloppy 36-14 win over Lee Central last week, Christ Church extended its state-record winning streak to 55 games. As outspoken as I've been about the issue of private schools competing in the public school league (here and here would be examples) to have not lost a game since 2011 is certainly impressive...even when you have some built-in advantages over many of your counterparts. Anyway, a lot of people have had this game circled since last year as the possible end of the run. Last season, Christ Church beat Abbeville 28-21, making it the closest game of the year for the Cavaliers. The next closest was a 15-point triumph over St. Joe's and no other contest was even close. In face, last year's win over the Panthers was among the closest games for Christ Church during its streak. In the upperstate finals in 2013, the Cavaliers rallied late to beat a very good Lamar team 17-14. In the state title game the next week, they beat Carver's Bay by seven points. They had a seven-point win over Carolina in 2012, a seven-pointer over St. Joe's in 2011 and a three-point victory over Williston-Elko in the playoffs that year. One trend you notice is that their games do tend to get closer late in the playoffs and when they play up in class. I think that means their current level of dominance is not going to be present when they move up to AA next season. We'll see I guess. As for this game, I keep reading and hearing that Abbeville "is back." The Panthers have had a very unusual, for them, stretch of back-to-back losing seasons. Part of that is because they play a growed-up man's out-of-region schedule, usually, but they also just haven't been as good as we're accustomed to them being. Even a down Abbeville team pushed Christ Church to the brink last year. The Panthers had a very Panthers-like 28-6 victory over Silver Bluff last Friday with three runners going over 85 yards...tonight might be the night. Lamar (1-0) at Hartsville (1-0) I find this game interesting too. I don't expect Lamar to win against a very good AAA team that has a huge size advantage up front. I just wonder if Lamar, which has excellent skill-position people, can score enough to keep it interesting. They did just that back in 2012, falling 62-38 and they actually beat a not-very-good-at-the-time Hartsville squad in 2010. The last two contests haven't been close but again, kudos to the Silver Foxes for playing a beastly out-of-region slate. They whooped Mullins 69-14 last week, running for over 500 yards. Trey Ceasar had 207 on the ground in that one. Hartsville got an impressive 52-13 victory over Pageland Central in the opener. Calhoun Falls Charter (1-0) vs. Whitmire The Flashes won perhaps the state's most entertaining game last week, 56-49 over Dixie behind 154 yards and three touchdowns from running back Johnathan Postell. The team has less than 20 players on the roster, hasn't won more than one game in a season since 2012 and has lost some very lopsided contests in recent years...so good for them. Whitmire's had a drink of that water too, posting a 40-plus game losing streak recently. Behind new coach Charlie Jenkins (no relation...that I'm aware of) the team broke that losing streak last year with a 42-8 pasting of Calhoun Falls Charter on the way to a 5-6 playoff season that fell into the "pleasant surprise" category. Dixie (0-1) vs. Crescent (1-0) Dixie was on the short end of the aforementioned 56-49 loss to Calhoun Falls last week. On the good side they had over 400 yards of offense and were effective running and passing the rock. On the bad side they gave up over 400 yards of offense and were equally gashed by the run and pass. Ouchy...that knife cuts both ways. On the other end of the excitement scale, Crescent, a AA team, beat Liberty 6-3 in overtime last week. McCormick (0-1) at Southside Christian (0-1) McCormick lost to Lincoln County of Georgia 41-6 last week. Southside Christian dropped their opener to Traveler's Rest 21-14. Ware Shoals (0-1) at Ninety-Six (1-0) Ware Shoals had a rough opener, dropping a 41-6 decision to Southside. Ninety-Six may have ruptured the giblets of St. Joe's with a 48-3 kicking. Jaylin Carter had 183 yards and three touchdowns on the ground of Ninety-Six. St. Joe's (0-1) vs. Peculiar Generation Lions (0-1) St. Joe's lost the just-mentioned opener to Ninety-Six. I have no idea what the Peculiar Generation Lions are, but they lost to Thomas Jefferson 27-6 last week. Doesn't say much for them...he's one guy and seriously, how old is that dude now? Wait...I've re-read last week's slate and it was Thomas Jefferson Academy. I think this may be one of those teams made up of home-schooled kids and students that go to a private school that doesn't field football. I'm in favor of kids playing sports and I've never heard a negative thing about this outfit. Some veer a tad toward hinky, though. There's one fairly well-known one that has recently taken to picking up players kicked off their public high school team for behavior issues. They also had a player on their roster last year who had been listed as a senior on his public high school's team the year before. Never heard of fifth-year seniors in high school before. Did he redshirt or something? Am I getting off topic? C.A. Johnson (0-1) at Eau Claire (0-1) C.A. Johnson lost to North Central 24-13 last week. I'll probably see the Hornets twice this year...they've actually been OK the last few seasons after years of struggle. Generally, offensively, they've spread it WAY out, done a little read-option stuff with a shifty, quick back and had an athletic quarterback given to fits of running fast. When they've thrown it, they've thrown it deep. They've had a good run of athletes, winning a state basketball title two years ago. No idea if that holds now, so I may have wasted five entire lines with useless prattle. Eau Claire lost to Keenan 51-0 last week and hasn't won a contest since beating C.A. Johnson in the second game of 2012. Their schedule is not an easy one, so this might be their only real shot at a W in 2015. Great Falls (0-1) at Gray Collegiate (0-1) Great Falls lost to Blacksburg 38-6 last week. The Red Devils actually hung in there against the bigger (in terms of size and number of players) Wildcats in the first half, when it was only 14-6. Their numbers have dropped in the last few years (enrollment is in the low 200s) so they don't have a lot of depth and that took a blow when starting quarterback Pierece Funderburk was hurt in a jamboree. I don't know much about Gray this year other than they lost to Gilbert 24-14 last week. Great Falls won two close games over Gray last year and has them on the schedule this season twice too. Lewisville (0-1) at Blacksburg (1-0) Lewisville lost to Chester 45-15 last week. They will be at a severe disadvantage this week as they'll be minus nine players EIGHT OF WHOM START ON DEFENSE. The team had a minor scrap with Chester and several players came on the field...a couple of steps on the field, didn't participate in the fight, but SCHSL rules state that if you come on the field during a fight, you participated in said fight, will be ejected in that game and suspended in the next. The team has some dynamic offensive skill talent in receivers James Peeler and Mike Hill and quarterback Trey Keels...but then there's the not having their defense thing. On top of the suspension, Lewisville is without highly touted defensive tackle Josh Belk, who was injured in the pre-season and will likely miss another few games. Scouting report on Blacksburg is as follows...DANG THEY BIG! McBee (1-0) at Chesterfield (1-0) This should be a good one. McBee is coming off a 38-20 win over AAA Lakewood. Lakewood handed McBee its only regular-season loss last year. The Panthers have 16 starters back from last year's team that averaged over 50 points a contest. Chesterfield beat Cheraw 38-14 to open the season. McBee broke a 10-game losing streak to the Rams with last year's 34-18 win. Blackville-Hilda at Barnwell The opener for both teams. Barnwell has won four straight in the series, including last year's 42-14. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (1-0) vs. Cross The two-time defending Division II-A champs had a tight one last week, but picked up a 28-21 win over Denmark-Olar. HKT beat Cross 34-22 last year. North vs. Branchville The opener for each. Branchville won this match-up 36-22 last year. Interesting note, both of these schools have less than 200 students. Ridge Spring-Monetta vs. Saluda This is the season-starter for both. I saw RSM in the pre-season. For the most part, they went double-tight, fullhouse backfield and pounded it. They throw it juuuussssst well enough to keep you honest. Really big, physical team that's had a few nice playoff runs in recent years. Can't help you much with Saluda, other than they've won 10 straight in this regional rivalry. Wagener-Salley at Bethune-Bowman Wagener-Salley and their darkened-by kudzu-end-zone were the subject of one of my first BLAWGS. Bout all I got on this one. Williston-Elko (0-1) vs. Silver Bluff (0-1) Williston got knocked around by Bamberg-Ehrhardt 46-16 last week. Silver Bluff hung in there, but lost to Abbeville 28-7. Williston won this one last year 7-6. Allendale-Fairfax (1-0) vs. Wade Hampton (1-0) Allendale blew out Baptist Hill 52-0. Wade Hampton (not the one in Greenville, the one in Hampton) routed Bethune-Bowman 47-0. This one was 38-nam Allendale-Fairfax in 2014. Denmark-Olar (0-1) at Calhoun County Denmark gave HKT a good game last week but hasn't done well against Calhoun County lately...if by "hasn't done well" you mean "scored 20 combined points the last six times they've played." Estill vs. Battery Creek (0-1) Estill beat the Dolphins 24-18 last year. Battery Creek dropped a 56-16 decision to Bluffton last Friday. Ridgeland/Hardeeville at New Hampstead Opener for each team, which is all I have to say that is relevant or true about this match-up. Props to Ridgeland/Hardeeville for going with the slash instead of the ever-present hyphen in its name. Whale Branch vs. Hilton Head (0-1) HH ripped Ridgeland 68-14 last week and knocked off Whale Branch 20-6 last season. Baptist Hill (0-1) vs. Garrett Academy Tech (1-0) Baptist Hill was shut out 52-nern by Allendale-Fairfax last week. I don't know much about Garrett Academy Tech other than they beat Burke 33-0 last week and that they should "A&M" to the end of their name just for the hell of it. Lincoln (0-1) vs. C.E. Murray (1-0) Lincoln, the state's smallest public school with 106 students, fell to Academic Magnet 49-8 last Friday. C.E. Murray upended Kingstree 23-12. Military Magnet vs. North Charleston The opener for both. Yep...sure is. All I got. St. John's (0-1) at R.B. Stall St. John's fell hard in the opener, losing to Screven County (Ga.) 57-6. Stall lost to St. John's 34-8 last season. Carver's Bay at Johnsonville (1-0) The Flashes gave Berkeley about all they wanted last week before falling to the AAA Stags 40-34. Johnsonville won over Carver's Bay 21-14. East Clarendon at Green Sea-Floyds (1-0) Green Sea was a 26-13 winner over Hannah-Pamplico last week. Hemingway vs. Kingstree ((0-1) Kingstree went down to C.E. Murray 23-12 last week. Hemingway is named like that writer was named. Scott's Branch (0-1) at Manning According to SCFootballHistory.com, Manning and Scott's Branch have played 15 times...Manning has won all 15 with 13 of the victories by shut-out. The closest match-up of the two in the last four years was last season's 47-0 strappin'. Timmonsville (0-1) at North Central (1-0) Timmonsville lost to Wilson 35-12to open the 2015 campaign. North Central got off to a 1-0 start with a 24-13 win over C.A. Johnson. Creek Bridge (0-1) at Aynor Creek Bridge lost big to Marion, 60-6, last week. Hannah-Pamplico (0-1) vs. Waccamaw (0-1) Hannah-Pamplico fell to C.E. Murray 23-12 last week. Waccamaw was on the wrong end of a 14-0 loss to Andrews. Lake View (1-0) vs. Dillon (1-0) The Wild Gators were 32-12 winners of Scott's Branch last week. Dillon smacked North Myrtle Beach 54-14. Latta at Mullins (0-1) Mullins got roughed up 69-14 by Lamar last week giving up more than 500 yards rushing in the process. Bamberg-Ehrhardt (1-0) at Edisto B-E, fresh off a 30-point win over Williston-Elko, goes to Edisto this week. Edisto was on the business end of a 44-0 shutout by Orangeburg-Wilkinson. There you have it, the week that will be in Class A football. You may notice a rather distinct upperstate bias...it's not intentional, but given where I live, where I'm from and who I cover for a living, I have a lot more info, first-hand knowledge and information on the schools closer to me. I'd love to have more stats, info and insights into the lowerstate teams. If you are a lowerstate Class A fan or coach, please leave any information you'd like to share in the comment section or email me at [email protected].
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Week 0 Class A results
Calhoun Falls Charter-56 Dixie-49 Lincoln County (Ga.)-41 McCormick-6 Southside-41 Ware Shoals-6 Christ Church-36 Lee Central-14 Travelers Rest-20 Southside Christian-14 Ninety Six-48 St. Joe's-3 North Central-24 C.A. Johnson-13 Blacksburg-38 Great Falls-6 Lamar-69 Mullins-14 Chester-45 Lewisville-14 McBee-38 Lakewood-20 Dreher-42 Fox Creek-13 Hunter-Kinard-Tyler-28 Denmark Olar-20 Bamberg-Ehrhardt-46 Williston-Elko-16 Allendale-Fairfax-52 Baptist Hill-0 Wade Hampton (of Hampton...aka not the one in Greenville)-47 Bethune-Bowman-0 Porter Gaud-2 Estill-0 (by forfeit) Hilton Head-68 Ridgeland/Hardeeville-14 Academic Magnet-49 Lincoln-8 Screven County(Ga.)-57 St. John's-6 C.E. Murray-23 Kingstree-12 Lake View-32 Scott's Branch-12 Wilson-35 Timmonsville-12 Marion-60 Creek Bridge-14 Green Sea-Floyds-26 Hannah-Pamplico-13 Berkeley-40 Johnsonville-34 Breakdown As the scores above indicate, the first few weeks of the season are often rough for Class A schools, many of which play up in class outside their region. Sometimes those games are county rivalries that generate big gate receipts (Lewisville-Chester) and other times schools essentially have to play whoever they can find to play. That is especially prevalent for Class A teams that start to find themselves on island, isolated from other Class A schools (this is why Great Falls will play Gray Collegiate twice this year). Not every Class A school played a week zero game and some who did play were matched up against fellow Class A schools, but most were not. In total, Class A schools that played someone other than another Class A school in Week 0 went 4-16. Of those 16 losses, two came against out-of-state competition, seven were against AA schools, six were against AAA schools and one came to a SCISA foe by forfeit. There were some successes, however, with the most noteworthy being McBee's 38-20 win over AAA Lakewood. Lakewood inflicted the Panthers with their only regular-season loss in 2014. On top of that, Christ Church defeated AA Lee Central 36-14, Lamar destroyed AA Mullins 69-14 and C.E. Murray took out Kingstree 23-12. There is a lot of value in having Class A teams play up. From a playoff perspective, wins over AA, AAA and AAAA teams provide a huge boost in terms of post-season points...even losses to bigger schools help a Class A team's playoff seeding. If you are in an especially tough region, playing up early helps prep you for what you'll see once the region slate commences. You get better by playing better teams...or either you get people hurt and have your confidence diddled by soul-crushing 70-point losses. It's definitely one or other. The Chester-Lewisville game was marred by some ejections. You can read about that right here. Game of the night? Probably Calhoun Falls' 56-49 win over Dixie, details of which are here. The state's longest winning streak was extended. Righ-cheer for the story. Lamar administered a savage beating to Mullins, story here. Johnsonville almost pulled an upset of AAA Berkeley, get it all hot-n-now here. Defending Class A Division II champs Hunter-Kinard-Tyler leads the state in hyphens and got a test in the opener...CLICKTY HERE. |
TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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