Trinity-Byrnes (4-2) at Calhoun Falls Charter (1-2)
The Flashes had last week off and probably needed that time to rub salve on the raw, gaulded spots left by the 62-0 whipping they toted from the Legion Transfer Portals two weeks ago. Things seem to have genuinely improved overall for the Flashes, with their opening win over Ware Shoals rousing interest and drawing some more players out for the team, lifting their roster to almost 20. That doesn’t sound like much, but you also have to remember that is essentially half the male student body. I have not nam to share with you on Trinity-Byrnes other than they have won four straight and are named like that school in Duncan is named. Ninety-Six (1-2) at Dixie (0-5) I got to see the Hornets in person last week in their 26-7 loss to Great Falls. Obviously, they are fairly young and inexperienced, having graduated 18 starters from last year’s upperstate finalist team. They actually have some good size up front (young as it may be) but what they don’t have is a lot of speed, something Great Falls was able to exploit. Ofensively, the Red Devils got a bunch of chunk plays and with not much of an outside threat from Dixie, they were able to bottle stuff up in the middle and hold them to about 40 total yards after their opening touchdown drive. You remember that story about the tortoise and the hare, where you learned that slow and steady wins the race? It’s a load. You were fed a giant stew pot full of lies, kids. The rabbit lost because he was lazy or on the dope or something. Anywho…once they get some more experience Dixie will have a shot to be back to a grind-it-out type team that can win games off its physical play. That probably won’t happen this week, though. Ninety-Six has been a bit offensively challenged this year, but they’ll come into this one with the upper hand based on speed alone. Great Falls (3-2) at Ware Shoals (1-4) The Red Devils notched the aforementioned 26-7 win over Dixie last week. They gave up a score on the first drive on a long pass (a forward pass is almost a trick play for a wing/bone team like Dixie) but absolutely shut them down after that. Made a ton of plays in the backfield. Offensively, they were without QB Tommy Seagle, but D.J. Adams moved over from his RB/WR role and had a huge game running the ball. They also brought Kaleb Funderburk in to play under center some and he threw the ball well (including to Adams). They have other weapons too, they play hard for 48 minutes and feel like an ascending team right now. They have this game and Camden Military next week, which should give them a shot to be 5-2 going into region play. I was a really surprised to Ware Shoals’ score last week (that being a 56-12 carpet-bombing) by Camden Military. My understanding is CMA has fairly stout little RB who ate them up. They have a tremendous chess piece in Jamarius Goodman…a scary chess piece with sticky hands and quick feet. Beats the crap out of a bishop. They’ll do a lot of different things with him, but they’ll obviously have to have a better night defensively than last week to hold up against the Red Devils. Whitmire (2-3) at Bethune-Bowman (1-3) The Wolverines took one on the chin (if Wolverines have chins, I’ll have to check on that) at the hands of Branchville 52-16 last week. Whitmire, unfortunately, turned the ball over four times, which proved to be more than they could overcome against a good team. I’ve seen the Wolverines, and it’s a typical Whitmire squad. They play hard, they run that scrum perfectly and put a lot of pressure on you in terms of going for it on fourth down and onside kicking on every kickoff. Branchville was able to put up big numbers through the air last week and Great Falls did too in the game I saw. They are a bit undersized on the back end which may contribute to that. Even in the loss, Chandler Crumley ran for 107 yards. Tackling him is like standing in the path of a hay wagon full of car batteries rolling down a mountainside.The Mr. T Haircuts were off last week, but lost badly to HKT their last time out. This is another team (like Dixie) that had one of its better seasons in recent memory last year, but suffered big graduation losses. It appears that offensively, they are a bit of a one-trick pony. Now, said pony (Jesus Benjamin) does a heck of a trick. He plays the bassoon riding a bicycle backwards through a flaming hoop…a strange way of saying he’s a very good RB. They’ve been a little up-and-down on defense too. Lamar (5-1) at Lake View (3-2) Don’t let Lake View’s record fool you, this is a heck of a good matchup. The Wild Gators come in losers of two straight, but it has to be noted that those losses came to perennial AAA tail-kicker Dillon and another unbeaten AAA team in Marion. Out of the gate this year, they gave Hannah-Pamplico a good rootin’, flogged the Sausages and beat West Columbus about to death. They’re a good team with some exciting, big-play athletes like Adarrian Dawkins. Lamar, since its tough road loss to Pageland, has basically ground up their opposition into a fine powder and used them to line their field. They beat AAAA Darlington 48-0, AA North Central 64-12 and a good AAA Cheraw team 52-27 last week. You know how good that offensive line is, a point accentuated by the gaudy rushing stats they had against a good Cheraw defense (375 rushing yards, two backs over 150 yards), but the defense chipped in by picking off two passes and scoring a touchdown. The Silver Foxes have a lot more experience on the roster than the Wild Gators (who replaced something like 17 starters from last year), but this could still be a terrific football game. Green Sea Floyds (3-1) at McBee (0-4) Thee Trojans saw their 10-game winning streak broken last week, but some perspective is required here. They lost a competitive game to a very good, unbeaten AAA Aynor squad. Depth seemed to play a role late, but they blew up-and-down the field offensively, with Jaquan Dixon and Bubba Elliot both putting up huge rushing numbers. McBee lost to Hannah-Pamplico last week 16-14. I tip my hat to the Panthers for playing a supremely big-boy schedule (Lake View and Blacksburg are still to come out-of-region) and it might pay off down the line (like it did last year), but facing an annoyed bunch of Trojans tonight is probably not going to be fun. Scott’s Branch (1-4) at Timmonsville (0-4) The Whirlwinds were off last week, but against a fairly brutal schedule this year, they’ve been outscored 151-26. They are just young and, especially on offense, they are adapting to a new system and to life without frightening football ninja/QB Demaric Morris. They’ll get there. Scott’s Branch has struggled terribly on defense and with turnovers on offense. They did notch a close win over Military Magnet last week, though. Blackville-Hilda (3-1) at Wagener-Salley (4-0) This is more than a battle for the old oaken hyphen trophy, it may well be for a region title. Now, this is the second region game for both and Williston and RS-M will certainly have their say, but the winner of this one certainly has the inside track here. The Hawks pasted a pretty good Denmark-Olar team last week 37-14. The highlights I’ve seen of them this year indicate that new coach Brandon Isaac has brought a little more spread to the party. They have a stable of good running back, but Adonis Davis, on top of having an awesome name, is an athletic QB who throws it really well, particularly the deep ball. They also have a guy with backdoor pharmacy level speed in WR/KR Z’ontre Kinard. Those things will give them a chance here. Against a lot of people, they could likely line up, get physical, run the ball and win comfortably. For them or anybody not named Lamar or Green Sea, that is a recipe for pain and failure. The gentlemen from Chitlinburg are too big up front on both sides, too physical and too efficient for that to work. Since they’ve gotten good over the last four or so years, the teams that have given them trouble are athletic teams that spread the field this year, that may not even be enough. Will be interesting to see how this one goes. If it’s W-S wins in a rout, you can all but crown them region champs in my opinion. North (0-3) at Denmark-Olar (2-2) I continue to hope that North can turn their fortunes around. Kids and coaches work entirely too hard to never get to taste a win (which they haven’t done in over two seasons). I doubt that reversal of fortune starts against a physical D-O team whose two losses came to Silver Bluff and Blackville-Hilda, the latter of which was semi-competitive. Estill (1-3) at HKT (2-2) The Gators have lost three straight since opening with a win over Allendale-Fairfax, a win that actually looks pretty good now given how well A-F is playing. HKT has pretty much beaten the teams they should have (Eau Claire and the Mr. T Haircuts) and lost to the ones you figure they would (Wagener-Salley and Edisto). This is really their first game against a median-level opponent. Ridge Spring-Monetta (2-2) at Williston-Elko (1-3) This will be a telling game for Williston. When they lost to Barnwell and Silver Bluff to open the season, I wrote those losses off, since they were to good AA teams. Then they fell to Allendale-Fairfax and I wondered what was up. Last week, though, Allendale-Fairfax turned around and beat Silver Bluff, so I’m now not counting that as a bad loss either. They finally got a win over Estill last week. Javier Rudolph had 124 rushing yards in that one. RS-M has now won two straight after two “up” losses to start the year themselves. Tray Dean specializes in menacing quarterbacks Collier Sullivan is a dang good RB. The loser here, frankly, will have a tough time making any kind of run at a region title, what with Blackville-Hilda and Wagener-Salley still to come for both. North Charleston (1-2) at Baptist Hill (2-2) You keep waiting for the Bobcats to have that inevitable 90 point mega bomb whoopdown of somebody, but that hasn’t happened as of yet. They were able to grind out a nice 22-14 win over a scrappy Cross team last week. Darrell McKinley had a couple of passing TDs in that one. I ain’t got much for you on North Charleston Hoss, other than they are probably walking funny after a 48-point loss to Waccamaw last week. Military Magnet (0-4) at Branchville (4-1) Branchville is coming off an impressive win over Whitmire last week. Zach Wiles had a huge game, hitting 11-of-16 passes for 196 yards and 2 TD while also running for 77 yards and three more scores. Ronnie Nester blistered the Wolverines for 152 yards on eight catches. Military Magnet lost 36-15 to previously-winless Scott’s Branch last week and just haven’t scored a lot in general. So, you know, this may not go well for them tonight. St. John’s (1-3) at Waccamaw (3-1) The returns have not been good the past few weeks for the Islanders, but that has come against three AA schools with a combined record of 11-1. They are young on offense and that offense sometimes puts their talented defense in some tough spots…but trust your 1A loving hillbilly blogger on this one…this team is going to improve as that offense gets some experience and starts to find itself. Waccamaw, a 3-1 AAA team whose only loss is to Aynor, is another tough draw, though. Hemingway (0-5) at C.E. Murray (2-2) When you’ve scored 13 points in five games like Hemingway has, C.E. Murray (owner of a super-nasty offense) is not the place you go to get well. It’s actually where you go to contract malaria or rubella or some such. Lake Marion (1-4) at Cross (2-2) The Trojans gave Baptist Hill all they wanted last week before falling 22-14. Cross is back to being a physical team that plays tremendous defense, but what they aren’t really back to doing just yet is scoring points. They still have not score more than 16 points in a game since 2017. Even one of their two touchdowns last week was on defense. Lake Marion certainly has a number advantage, being a AAA team and all, but they also got smoked like Pall Mall last week by C.E. Murray, so you have to feel like this one Cross has a shot to win.
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Great Falls- 26
Dixie- 7 McCormick- 37 Eau Claire- A round number. Not divisible by two, I mean it’s shape is round. Camden Military- 56 Ware Shoals- 12 Branchville- 52 Whitmire- 16 Lamar- 52 Cheraw- 27 Blackville-Hilda- 37 Denmark-Olar- 14 Williston-Elko- 44 Estill- 16 Wagener-Salley- 54 HKT- Charlie might ought not have drank the fizzy lifting drink Ridge Spring-Monetta- 60 North- 8 Baptist Hill- 22 Cross- 14 Burke- 46 Charleston Charter for School for widget and doodad studies- LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, KEITH WHITLEY!!!! Scott’s Branch- 36 Military Magnet- 15 The OC Semi-pros- 58 St. John’s- The accompanying video pronouncing this word seems a hair unnecessary. C.E. Murray- 53 Lake Marion- More like Lake Mari-none. AMIRITE?!?! Aynor- 36 Green Sea Floyds- 22 Lakewood- 44 Hemingway- 7 Marion- 28 Lake View- 12 Breakdown- As some teams are starting to get into region play, we had far fewer “up” games this week, but our Class A brethren posted a solid 3-5 mark against teams of higher classification. Two of those were in no way surprising (McCormick’s rout of Eau Claire and C.E. Murray’s proper seeing to of Lake Marion), so let’s focus on Lamar drilling a very good, ranked AAA Cheraw squad. Since their loss at Pageland, Lamar has savagely flogged the unfortunate sets of school children tasked with playing them. The crap bombed AAAA Darlington 48-0, stuck in North Central sideways (64-12) and now handled Cheraw 52-27. The same Cheraw that beat Marlboro County, Chesterfield and Pageland. Now, Cheraw moved the ball a little better than some of Lamar’s other opponents, but we’re talking about a quality AAA team here. The Silver Foxes made Cheraw’s run defense look like, well, not a turnstile as much as a well-lubricated turnstile with rocket boosters. Jiaquell James went for 161, Cam Galloway had 152 and Dajour Green added 56 yards. Think about this…Cheraw held Pageland, home to melon-chunking giants and very fast people to, to 12 points. Lamar lined up against that same defense and averaged nearly 7 yards-a-carry. When you can do that, you can compete with (or whip) pretty much anybody. The Silver Foxes have two more stiff out-of-region tests (Lake View and Gray, against whom eating clock and running the ball well will be essential) but they look every bit like the contender we assumed they’d be… The only “up” loss that caused me to raise an eyebrow was Green Sea Floyds having their 10-game winning streak snapped by Aynor. There is really no reason, though, save maybe overinflated expectations, to make any kind of a big deal out of that result. Here again, we are talking about Class A team not only playing a AAA team, but playing an undefeated, very good AAA team. The reason I start this ridiculous BLAWG out every week by highlighting “up” wins is because they are a big deal. When you can go toe-to-toe with someone double, triple or eleventydrupletuple (that’s probably not an actual thing) your size, the deck is stacked against you. More students likely means more athletes walking the halls and it certainly means considerably better depth. From what I read, depth did play a factor, with Aynor piling up yards on the ground in the second half. Still, QB and stock car mechanic Bubba Elliot ran for 134 yards, Jaquan Dixon ran for over 100 and had a 50-plus yard scoring catch. They are the most explosive offense in Class A and against competition ONLY twice their size, their defense has bordered on being dominant. They’ll be more than fine in the games that matter. They get a scrappy McBee team this week, then face Baptist Hill in what figures to be an interesting matchup. Given the downhill, load the box defense they play, it will be interesting to see them go up against a more wide-open spread attack like that Baptist Hill operates… It’s a little early to hype any contest as being a de facto region title showdown, but here I am, on Wednesday, September 25, telling you this week’s Blackville-Hilda at Wagener-Salley game is kind of a de facto region title showdown. Besides, in most every way imaginable, it is WAY better to be early than late. Anywho, I thought Wagener-Salley might get a bit of a test from HKT, who had been playing defense and an effective game of keepaway on offense through the opening weeks of the season, and holy crap was I wrong. It was non-competitive from the jump, with the boys from Chitlin Junction dominated up front on both sides of the ball. Likewise, I thought Denmark-Olar, another team playing some salty defense and controlling the ball, might be a handful for Blackville-Hilda. And they were, in the sense that Blackville gave them a handful of their hind ends. Now, Ridge Spring is certainly playing better after a rough start vs. a tough schedule and Williston blew up offensively this past week. They’ll have some say, but boy, this feels like the top two teams in the region playing this week. We’ll have a preview of that one (and every Class A game) up, hopefully on Thursday... I wanted to take a second here to congratulate all the Class A players whose hard work was honored with inclusion on the South Carolina Shrine Bowl roster. Unfortunately, those players are represented by the Keith Whitley and Willy Wonka references above. Not one player from the Class A level was selected for the game. At this point, we know Class A players will be slighted and get short shrift. Generally, it takes either a Division I signee (see, KeShawn Toney) or a guy who plays for someone on the Shrine Bowl coaching staff. We almost always at least get the latter, and weren’t even tossed that crumb this year. I get that Class A has been diminished a bit in terms of size by realignment, it isn’t a super great year for top-end Class A seniors and we had lots of coaching turnover in the class this year, which has an impact. A friend of mine actually heard the argument once “well sure, that running back puts up good numbers, but he does it against 1A competition.” Yeah, and he does it behind a 1A line, while also starting at linebacker and returning kicks and being the punter. Unlike in larger classes, most Class A teams don’t have the numbers to two platoon, so the best athletes never leave the field. I doubt many 5A QBs double as starting safeties. To me, that makes any stats look far MORE impressive for Class A guys. And of course, Lamar, Green Sea, Wagener and a bevy of other drop a metric crap ton of points and yards on AA, AAA and sometimes even AAAA competition. You honestly mean to tell me Bubba Elliot couldn’t have helped the Sandlappers? “Well he doesn’t fit our system.” In which case you system must be “losing at football.” Kevin Jackson? How about any offensive lineman from Lamar? I always hear what a tough time they have finding linemen? Plenty of them in that little town down in Darlington off I-20. I get that the team is no longer picked based on what you do as a senior, or sometimes on the field at all. Combines, 7-on-7s and summer work play an increasingly large part in the selection process and small, poor, rural Class A schools are often underrepresented at all those events for financial reasons. Many will get their due in the North-South game, but to not get the acknowledgement from the Shrine Bowl remains very disappointing to me. Suggested reading… Aynor is a super funny word and also their football team is good. You can read capsules on lots of games here and then also here, or say you did and don’t. Nobody believes a word you say anymore anyway, Carol. You can read about Great Falls beating Dixie here, but remember the guy who wrote it is a hack and sucks as a person. Great Falls (2-2) at Dixie (0-4)
This figures to be a pretty good matchup. Great Falls is coming of 34-0 thumping at the hands of Andrew Jackson, but that was a14-0 game early in the third quarter against unbeaten, unscored upon AA team. Coach Tom Butler has done a good job in his first year with the Red Devils. They’ve won twice in overtime and rallied from a 22-point deficit against Whitmire to be throwing in the end zone to tie the contest on the last play of the game. The kids play hard and never think they are out of it. They aren’t just a scrappy little bunch that gets by on effort, though. They aren’t deep, but they’ve got good size up front and lots of offensive weapons (Talford, Moore, Fox, Adams etc. and so on). It’s hard to get a read on Dixie at this point. We knew there would be some bumps in the road as they replace 18 graduated starters from last year, but the early schedule has included three AA opponents and one AAA. This week, playing a like-sized opponent for the first time, will give us the most accurate reading on what kind of team they have. It should also be pointed out you can’t actually get from Great Falls to Dixie without walking through thick forest and being guided through a frightening series of hills by a Sherpa. Eau Claire (0-4) at McCormick (0-4) The Chiefs sort of fall into the Dixie boat of being winless but having played a big-boy schedule chock full of AA, AAA and quality out-of-state competition. McCormick nearly beat Fox Creek last week, pushing them to overtime before falling 20-14. Quarterback Suderian Harrison ran for a score and threw one and A’Chean Durant ran for 100 yards in the loss. The level of competition lightens up a bit this week…and by “a bit” I actually mean “a whole, whole lot.” Eau Claire is winless and lost 50-6 to Lewisville, 35-0 to HKT, 74 to NOT NAM against Wagener-Salley and 42-12 to Dreher. This is a good chance for the Chiefs to take some momentum into the bye week ahead of the start of region play. Camden Military (2-2) at Ware Shoals (1-3) Things got off to a really good start for Ware Shoals this year, as they opened with a curb-stomping of Oakbrook Prep. Since then, though, they lost to Calhoun Falls Charter, were blown out by AAA Travelers Rest and fell 20-13 last week to Greenwood Christian. Other than the TR loss, the defense has done a pretty good job and they do have a big-time offensive weapon in Jermarious Goodman. When you’ve been mired in a tough couple of years like the Purple Hornets have and have a new coach, it may just take a while. Generally, Camden Military represents a “W” on the schedule of SCHSL teams, but it should be noted they come in with a pair of victories (over Hickory Grove Christian and Asheville School, so this is certainly not a layup. Branchville (3-1) at Whitmire (2-2) This actually figures to be one of the better matchups of the week. Branchville laid a painful, Grade 1 ROOTIN’ on The Charleston Charter School for This, That and The Other last week 67-12. If they can get this one, they have an excellent shot to be 6-1 rolling in Cross for a big region matchup on Oct. 11. As I’ve mentioned before, It’s hard to find a lot of info on Branchville, located as they are, I guess, in a corner of the state that still communicates with smoke signals and hollering. Whitmire evened its record at 2-2 last week with a 40-14 win over North. They spread the sugar around big-time on offense in that one, with Chandler Crumely rushing for 66 yards and three scores, Jaquan Tindell-White going for 66 yards (he also ran a kickoff back for a touchdown) and two other racking up at least 50 yards on the ground. Fun Fact…these are the state’s only two Pre-K through 12 schools. Cheraw (4-0) at Lamar (3-1) As always, Lamar plays a big-time, grown man schedule and continues that this week with unbeaten, AAA Cheraw. When you look at the stats from their 14-12 win over Pageland last week, it’s kinda hard to figure exactly how they are undefeated since they were outgained in that one 313 to 29 in terms of total yards. However, they got a 70-yard interception return late in the game from Lawton Harris to provide the winning score. There is something to be said for finding a way to win even in a game in which you were statistically dominated. Lamar’s offense actually could have taken the night off last Friday, since the defense outscored a good AA North Central team by itself (returning three interceptions for touchdowns) . They didn’t take the night off, though, hence the 64-12 dragging. This has the makings of one of the state’s best games this week and can go either way…though I will certainly say I don’t think 29 yards of offense is getting it done for Cheraw this week. Denmark-Olar (2-1) at Blackville-Hilda (2-1) Alright, it’s tater-cutting time in Region III. Actual, real, count-towards-the-playoffs games commence there this week. B-H was off last week, having beaten Allendale-Fairfax their last time out 27-0. With as many returners as they have up front, a really good dual-threat QB in Adonis Davis, a bevy of talented RBs and a QB-crushing football cyborg in Kumon Odom. Still, they struggled to put away a Mr. T Haircuts team in the opener that has gotten knocked around pretty badly since then, got flogged by Barnwell (most everyone will get flogged by Barnwell) and didn’t put away A-F the way I thought they would. So, maybe the week off will prove helpful. Denmark is one of the early surprises in 1A. They lost last week, but that was to a good AA Silveer Bluff team. They won a shootout over Branchville and rolled the Mr. T Haircuts that ran for nearly 300 yards on Blackville-Hilda. The loser of this game isn’t necessarily behind the eight-ball, but they’ll be 0-1 in the region with games against Wagener-Salley, HKT and RS-M still to come. Williston-Elko (0-3) at Estill (1-2) It feels weird to sit here and write about Williston-Elko, but they are now 0-3 and are just 6-9 since the start of last season. This is traditionally one of the preeminent powers in Class A football. Their first two losses this year, you almost wrote off since they played up against a couple of powerhouses. I thought they’d regain their footing last week, but instead they lost to Allendale-Fairfax 27-16. Credit to A-F for scoring a defensive touchdown, coming up with a couple of big goal-line stands and scoring on some explosive plays. Tres Rimes had almost 300 total yards offense, but miscues and turnovers hurt the Devils. I’d normally chalk this up as a comfortable “W” for them, but this Estill team, while it has lost badly to Ridgeland-Hardeeville and Wade Hampton, started the year with a win over the A-F team Williston just lost to. Could be a more competitive game than folks are expecting. Wagener-Salley (3-0) at HKT (2-1) This has suddenly turned into a pretty important game. The boys from Chitlinville were off last week, but when last we saw them they we CRANKSMACKING Eau Claire 74-0. They are throwing the ball a hair more than in past years, but they have five hogs up front and a stable of backs that can trample you, your competitive spirit and your very soul (that was a tad dark, I’m sorry). They’ve also looked good on defense, including against Fox Creek, a team with some nice passing capabilities, a thing that has given W-S trouble in the past. HKT’s close loss to Edisto never looked bad, but it really doesn’t now, what with Edisto being an unbeaten AAA team. Their beatdown of the Mr. T Haircuts last week, particularly the way they played defense in that game, was impressive. The Stump whooped all-stars will be the favorites every time they walk on the field in the regular season, but they might get a bit of a test. Ridge Spring-Monetta (1-2) at North (0-3) North has the state’s longest losing streak, they lost 40-14 last week to Whitmire while giving up more than 300 yards rushing. RS-M beat Whitmire two weeks ago 68-28. So, you know, this one may not go well for North. Baptist Hill (1-2) at Cross (2-1) The Bobcats got off to a rough start his year, with two lopsided losses, but those came against The OC Semi-pros and Bishop England. Last week they gave the Academic Magnet a thorough, thorough rogering by a 67-0 score. You had to figure when they got on a level playing field competition wise, they’d score seventy bojillion points as always. Cross is putting together a nice bounce back from last year’s winless campaign. They knocked off Kingstree last week 16-13. Zyrell Eadie caught four balls in that one including a 65-yard touchdown from DeAndre Brown. So, Cross is going a little more to the air than normal. They’ve played some really tough defense, but they still haven’t score more than 16 points since the 2017 season and to have a chance in this one, I believe they’ll need a lot more than 16 points. Charleston Charter School of Stuff and Things and Sundries (0-2) at Burke (0-3) Burke lost close to Cross in the opener, but have gotten drilled by First Baptist and Barnwell the last two times out (though honestly, there’s no shame in any of those three losses). The Riptide has lost close to Academic Magnet and very, very badly to Branchville. Bout all I got for you on this’n, Hoss. Scott’s Branch (0-4) at Military Magnet (0-2) The Eagles, to be honest, are struggling right now in every respect. In four games they’ve allowed 176 points and scored 22. Turnovers have been a big problem as have penalties. Now, it is worth mentioning those losses, lopsided as they were, came exclusively against AA and AAA schools, including some pretty dang good ones (Bamberg, Edisto etc.). Military Magnet, likewise, has three losses, but all are to teams of higher classification. This game, the first in which each gets a like-sized opponent, it will be a better barometer than any other game either has played thus far. The OC Semi-pros (3-0) at St. John’s (1-2) I’m gonna hand it to Coach Josh Harpe, the Islanders will pretty much play anybody, anywhere. They’ve already been to Andrew Jackson and have some other stiff tests to come out-of region, all of which should have them primed for the region slate. Now, this is a tough matchup, going against a AA school with one of the most potent offenses in the state. Trust me, though, St. John’s has a good defense and a young offense that is still finding its way. Give them time and good things will happen. Lake Marion (1-3) at C.E. Murray (1-2) Not your typical AAA vs. 1A battle. Lake Marion has not played a close game, having railed Military Magnet, but lost by very wide margins to Woodland, O-W and Bamberg-Ehrhardt (by a combined 168-14). The War Eagles are close, man. Coach Brian Smith has them playing great defense, but they lost to a really good AA Lee Central team 14-13 and solid AA Mullins team 15-12. They just need to find a little more offense. The way they’ve played so far portends well for down the road when they get into region…and maybe this week against a defensively challenged Lake Marion squad. Lakewood (1-3) at Hemingway (0-3) Hemingway did finally reach the end zone last week for the first time, but still fell 26-6 to Carvers 26-6. You have to figure the offense will come around to some extent eventually, particularly when they aren’t playing the likes of Lamar, Andrew et al. That said, this is probably not a good matchup. Lakewood may not be walking right after last week’s savage 61-0 diddling by Sumter, but it’s a big AAAA school against a Class A opponent still trying to find itself offensively. Green Sea Floyds (3-0) at Aynor (2-0) The Trojans came from behind to beat hated rival Loris last week 28-27. Jaquan Dixon did some Jaquan Dixon stuff in that game. He answered a Loris score with a 60-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the first half. He scored on another long run in the fourth to build on is team’s lead, then he picked off what would have been a game-winning two-point try by Loris late in the game. This is another in their tough earl-season gauntlet. Aynor has only played two games, but they’ve notched quality victories over Waccamaw and East Clarendon. Expect a great game here. Lake View (3-1) at Marion (4-0) The Wild Gators suffered their first loss last week, but it came to AAA powerhouse Dillon and came on the heels of three nice wins to begin the year. So, nothing to worry about there. Nothing to worry about if the young, up-and-coming Lake View team loses this week either. Marion appears to be a pretty good contender in AAA in the lowerstate. It occurs to me occasionally, there may be folks out there that love Class A football, but aren't crazy about, you know, words and reading and junk. My solution to that problem was to try something different this week. Instead of putting all those letters and verbs and whatnot, my buddy James McBee and I recorded a podcast to review last week's action, preview this week's games and discuss liver pudding, mono, refrigerators wrapped in barbed wire and other relevant stuff. Hope you enjoy...
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/piedmontpickemshow/episodes/2019-09-12T23_28_28-07_00 “This dog-walking thing is just an excuse for you to eat barbecue, isn’t it?” my wife asked recently.
That is a scurrilous, slanderous lie! How dare she. Granted, we had eaten a lot of barbecue, but consuming perfectly smoked, delightfully seasoned and lovingly sauced pork just happens to be a fringe benefit of my 46-county dog-walking trek. And, I mean, since we were in the area and had to mark Williamsburg off the list anyway, what kind of sense would it make NOT to eat Scott’s Barbecue? What other dining options would one likely find in the greater Hemingway community? Before going to downtown Hemingway for our actual walk, we did make our way to Scott’s. This would mark my second visit to the original Scott’s location. The first was a fairly memorable experience about six years ago. The drive took us past "Henry's Starlight Lounge" which stood out a bit because Henry actually had a portrait of himself on the sign atop the building. I guess that was there in case you missed the same picture which just so happened to adorn "Henry's Restaurant" conveniently located in the same elongated building as Henry's Starlight Lounge. Sadly, Henry’s appeared to have gone the way of the Dodo, with the building looking unoccupied as we drove by on our recent trip. I must admit that my wife wasn't entirely sold on the experience on our first trip. I'm a barbecue nerd that was eating up every second of the journey, but she didn't fully understand why you'd drive an hour to eat at this one little place when other options were closer. Lots of people would hold the same view. By her own admission, she's also a "city girl" who mostly accustomed to eating in establishments with carpets and table cloths. I, on the other hand, enjoyed more meals than I can count at Babe's Cafe in Santuc. Babe's shared a tiny brick building with Joe's Store, was barely big enough to hold the three tables it had and was staffed by a verbose, six-foot-something, 300-some-odd-pound fellow named Babe who would occasionally tell patrons he wasn't going to cook whatever it was they'd ordered. "I ain't cooking any damn onion rings today," he once growled at me as he gave me French fries instead of what I'd actually asked for. Babe was hysterically funny (he was buddies with Jerry Clower) and could somehow make fried bologna sandwiches taste like filet mignon. He pulled food off that little grill that had almost no equal. You are rarely going to find those kinds of characters and that amazing level of cuisine at a generic chain place, I have learned. On that first trip, there were actually two signs out front. One said "Scott's Pitt Cook B.B.Q." and listed a phone number. There were no portrait-style pictures of the proprietor, but there was a little cartoon pig over a fire. The other read "Scott's Variety." Both signs were accurate at the time. There were shelves stocked with some of the normal country store merchandise you'd find anywhere, but there were also bottles of their sauce and bags of homemade pork skins (which are also called nabs) on either side of the three dining tables in the building. There has been a significant change since last I visited, and not one that was desired. The old location burned down a few years ago. Scott went on a “chef in residence” tour to raise money for the rebuild and did so. The lone sign now said “Pit Cook…Scott’s BBQ. The stuff inside now not related to eating pig meat is pretty minimal. The menu is much the same starting off big, listing the price for a whole smoked hog and the cost if you bring in a hog you'd like them to smoke for you before getting down to a sandwich or sandwich plate. They don't have a lot of sides to pick from and I like it that way. Sometimes, when barbecue joints try to cook everything under the sun, they lose focus on what's really important, which is the barbecue. Pick a few things and do them well. My plate came with some slaw, beans, barbecue and two pieces of white bread. I also got a bag of nabs. I asked for tea and was told they didn't have any. Whatever you want to drink, you go to the cooler in the back and pull out yourself. That was a reminder that you weren’t really in a restaurant…in was a general store that happened to serve amazing barbecue alongside quarts of motor oil and fishing lures. Part of what makes the barbecue at Scott's different is that he only cooks whole hogs. Many barbecue places use only pork butts to make barbecue, but with whole hog, you're getting pork butt and loin and rib meat and ham too. I could distinctly taste the unctuous, fatty awesomeness of some pork belly in one bite. My wife and mother-in-law were similarly impressed. On that first visit, we actually met Rodney Scott, the establishment's renowned pitmaster. Among barbecue and foodie types, he's pretty famous, but was down-to-earth and nice as could be. Scott, as I suppose we can all be at times, is totally attuned to his profession. When we told him where we were from, he related to us in terms of barbecue. "Oh, up there in mustard sauce territory," he said. I told him that was correct. I also told him I am a strict mustard-based sauce disciple (a phrase that probably has not appeared in print many times) and will not be swayed from that view, though I conceded that his spicy vinegary sauce came closer to converting me than any other I'd had. We talked about barbecue for a few minutes. I asked him about a quote I'd heard attributed to him insinuating that using charcoal was lazy. "I might have said that," he answered with a smile. Scott makes his own coals in giant barrels behind his store. He shovels the coals into his smoke pits and spends who-knows-how-many-hours tending to and turning whole hogs. He does things the hard way and you can taste every ounce of effort and sweat he puts into his craft. He is living proof that if you do things the right way, work hard and are great at what you do, the world will find you, even on a rural patch of road in the South Carolina lowcountry. He thanked me, then headed back to his smoke pits to make more culinary magic happen. There was more magic to come on our second visit. We pulled up to Scott’s barbecue around 1 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. It was a typical lowcountry South Carolina summer day, which is to say hot, with air roughly the consistency and humidity level of a bowl of beef stew. There were mosquitos and flies buzzing around that I feared might carry me away, sort of like the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. All that would be worth it, though, to get inside of Scott’s. From the outside, the place looked mostly like it did prior to the fire that burned it down a few years back. There were still people sitting on benches adjacent the front door and there was still a buggy full of the biggest, most amazing-looking watermelons I’ve probably ever seen. I considered myself lucky when I opened the door that the only line at the counter was a family of four. As I patiently stood behind them, I looked around and did notice some differences from the original Scott’s. It is still sort of a general/variety store, but there are way fewer non-barbecue offerings present. Really, I only saw a couple of stand-up display racks of chips, honey buns and normal general store trappings. A lot of the celebrity signed headshots that used to adorn a wall near the register were also gone, probably victims of the flames. On one hand, I hate that because those are fairly cherished mementos, they’re a reminder of who has walked through the doors and for some folks, a signed picture of a Food Network personality is sort of a seal of approval. However, if you’ve ever had Scott’s barbecue, you already know that what you’re getting is good and real. There did remain a sign warning visitors against the evil of “drop down pants.” Once I got to the order window, I told the lady what my wife and mother-in-law wanted (which was a barbecue sandwich and a side of some type). I like tater salad macaroni and such as much as anybody, but if I’m at a world-class barbecue joint that is three-plus hours from my home (meaning I rarely get to eat there) I’m just eating meat. So I ordered a large barbecue sandwich, but also ordered (or thought I ordered) a chicken sandwich. I’d never had any of Scott’s chicken, so I decided to give it a try. I must have just beat the peak lunch rush, because by the time I was done ordering, at least a dozen other folks had come in and gotten in line behind me. One pleasant change at Scott’s is they do have a little bar on the side where a lady sells tea and lemonade. So I ordered us drinks while I waited. When I finally got my order, I took it out to the car, almost giddy and the delights I knew awaited me. I opened the sandwich and inspected it before I shoved it in my face hole. The whole hog approach at Scott’s shows. You aren’t looking at finely chopped meat and it doesn’t resemble traditional pulled pork either. You can see textural differences. I believe there was a succulent belly strand laid right at the top of my sandwich, next to what I’m sure was some ham meat. It had the light red hue of Scott’s barbecue sauce. As Scott makes coals and meticulously tends to his whole hogs, he mops them with a spicy vinegar concoction. And for those unfamiliar, when you cook whole hogs, you don’t use little culinary brushes because it would take forever. You take an actually, full-sized mop, dunk it a big barrel of your sauce, and slather it on the pigs. “This is good, but it’s kind of spicy,” Ashley said. To her, “spicy” is almost a pejorative. It isn’t to me, though. The vinegar tang and red pepper heat cut through the richness of the meat a bit. That sandwich was perfect. You tasted pork, the heat and bite of the sauce, smoke and seasoning in that order. I was fairly hungry, so after knocking out my barbecue sandwich, I went for the chicken sandwich, but there wasn’t one. Oh, there was chicken…about half of one, but I apparently had a miscommunication of some kind with the lady taking my order. There was no bread or bun, just chicken. That was fine with me. The chicken at Scott’s tastes a lot like the barbecue, which is to say the meat flavor is up front, his normal sauce is present and it is smoked to perfection. Pulling out of Scott’s took some doing. The small parking lot and very rural locale are not totally equipped to handle the crowds the place draws. Cars were packed in around us so tightly, we couldn’t see in either direction. Helpfully, someone wearing thick gloves and an apron came from around back, walked out in the road, looked in both directions, then gave us the signal that it was safe to pull out. He then waved and strolled on back to the smoke pits as we left. As for our walk in Hemingway, it was brutally hot, so we had to keep it short. It was a nice little downtown with bright red brick sidewalks and a water tower (which just screams “small town” to me, particularly if there are numbers spray-painted on the side denoting when the nearby school won state). The place seemed to have an inordinate number of haircutting places to be so small and there was, I promise, a car lot that featured two whole vehicles for you to choose from. I only encountered one person during the walk, but one lady at a stoplight did wave and smile and Tucker and Gracie. That’s about all I’ve got on Hemingway. That’s not much, is it? Hmm. Maybe Ashley was right after all. Maybe sometimes, it is mostly about the barbecue. Buford (0-2) at Dixie (0-2)
This game is a little difficult to get a read on because of how the Yellow Jackets and Hornets both got to 0-2. Buford opened with a fairly competitive loss to a good Blacksburg team then lost to what appears to be a pretty salty AAA Indian Land squad. Still feels weird to put “Indian Land” and “AAA” in the same sentence. It wasn’t that long ago Indian Land was like Carlisle with a less exciting night life. I stopped at what appeared to be the area’s only gas station going to a game once upon a time and they didn’t even have a bathroom. The cashier helpfully invited me to do my business behind the building and promised not to look. Really. I’m guessing “just leak it out back, buddy” probably isn’t a thing in Indian Land anymore. Anyway, Buford had one first down in the first half and never visited the end zone. I think we all realized Dixie was in a bit of a rebuilding mode after last year’s senior-laden squad made it to the upperstate title game. They opened with a loss to AA Christ Church, then lost at AA Landrum last week 35-7. Their only score in that game came via special teams as Dixie blocked a punt and Caleb Simpson recovered it in the end zone. With something in the neighborhood of 17 new starters, there is an obvious adjustment period for the Hornets and they’ve had to do that against two really good teams. I saw Buford in the preseason against Chester and from that I will note that Dixie might have a chance here. Travelers Rest (2-0) at Ware Shoals (1-1) Ware Shoals looked good in its opener against Oakbrook Prep, but then went out last week and lost 14-13 to a Calhoun Falls Charter team that hadn’t won a game in nearly three years. Honestly, most of the losses in that stretch weren’t terribly competitive. Maybe the Flashes are legitimately better, but that was still a bit of a stunner. I watched some highlights and even in the loss Jermarius Goodman made a ton of big plays on both sides of the ball for the Purple Hornets (ran for a score and threw one) but it obviously wasn’t enough. Now, coming off that and facing a 2-0 AAAA Devil Dogs squad, um, you know, this might not go real well for the Purple Hornets. Laney (0-1) at McCormick (0-2) The Chiefs had a nice showing in the opener, nearly upending AAA Crescent, but were made the victim of one of my lame zero jokes last week against Lincoln County. They play an ambitious schedule that will include Fox Creek next week. Wouldn’t be shocked to see them 0-4 at that point, but then they get Eau Claire before rolling into region play, so they’ll have a shot to bounce back quickly. I don’t know much about Laney other than that laid it to McCormick pretty badly last year, are 1-0 and are the alma mater of Michael Jordan. Why then they are called the Wildcats and not the Jordans or Swooshes or GOATs or Fightin’ Wenningtons is beyond me. *Update- This is Laney High in Georgia, not the one in North Carolina that Michael Jordan attended. PigskinAndPigskins regrets the error, but not so much that we are going to change what we already wrote and deprive ourselves the chance to make a Bill Wennington joke. Ridge Spring-Monetta (0-2) at Whitmire (1-1) Here’s another team that is really tough to gauge, given who they’ve played. The Trojans opened with a shutout loss to Batesburg-Leesville, then got roasted 41-6 last week by Saluda. But here again, they weren’t playing Larry’s Living Room Rangers, they were playing a couple of really good AA teams in Batesburg and Saluda. They’ve got talent up front in Cameron Davis and scary, QB-mashing football robot Tray Dean, but they’ve done next to nothing offensively. This should be the week we see what they’ve got as they face a like-sized opponent for the first time. Whitmire managed to hold off Great Falls last week 37-29. Great Falls was able to rack up some fairly hefty yardage totals against them particularly through the air, but will do that to a lot of people this year. RS-M is apparently spreading it much more than they used to, so that may be something they try to exploit. The thing about Whitmire is how much pressure they put on you. They onsides kick on every kickoff, they usually go for it on fourth down and they run that scrum offense. You have to be disciplined and it eats clock and shortens the game and if you end up trailing late, you’re sunk. Great Falls cut the deficit to eight with eight minutes to go and got the ball back at their own four with two minutes to play. RB Jaquan Tindell-White has some wheels and is fun to watch. FB Chandler Crumley doesn’t have wheels as much as he has tractor tires that crush possums and corn stalks and defenders unlucky enough to be in his path (I have no idea what any of this means). Should be a good matchup. Lewisville (2-0) at Great Falls (1-1) Dearest Reader, How bout clicking here and reading the preview I wrote on this’n for the newspaper. Best, Me Darlington (0-2) at Lamar (1-1) The Silver Foxes suffered a rare regular season loss last week in falling to Pageland. Here’s the thing, though, their defense played WAY better than the final score would make it appear. Pageland, home of large lineman and fast people, really just wants to push you around and run the ball and they flat could not against Lamar. They hit a long pass early and scored twice on defense and that was pretty much it. So long as the Silver Foxes take care of the ball, they will be fine. They are playing a AAAA team this week in Darlington, but it’s a AAAA team that have routinely dragged. Darlington lost to Cheraw 28-0 in the opener and 47-6 to West Florence last week. Lee Central (1-1) at Timmonsville (0-2) You know, it’s entirely possible that Timmonsville could be this year’s McBee. Last season, the Panthers looked like hot trash in a taco shell for about seven or eight weeks, but only to dumb untrained eyes (like mine, mainly). They were playing arguably the toughest schedule in 1A and struggled, but it made them a better team. They won a couple of games late, made the playoffs and won two games. Timmonsville has already lost to a 2-0 AA team and a 2-0 AAA team. Offensively, the young Whirlwinds haven’t done much of anything really, but they’ve kept their games fairly respectable. I don’t expect they’re going to win this week against a rugged, experienced team like Lee Central…and probably not against Marion or Green Sea Floyds, either. But maybe there will be a payoff down the road… Allendale-Fairfax (0-2) at Blackville-Hilda (1-1) The Hawks may be walking funny and talking with a lisp after the savage flogging laid upon them last week by Barnwell. Really, though, that’s one you just kind of move on from. Barnwell MIGHT have one or two reasonably competitive games during the regular season. They’ll beat fellow AA teams worse than they did Blackville-Hilda, so it’s not a harbinger of anything long-term. I watched some highlights of the game and was kind of surprised to see the Hawks going single-back, four wide as much as they were, since they are generally of the “we’ll just stomp on your face” variety on offense. Maybe they felt like that wasn’t a winning recipe against Barnwell. Maybe Barnwell loaded the box and took that away…maybe I’m pulling stuff out of my tail hole at this point. Anyway, Hawks QB Adonis Davis looked good throwing the ball, both on the short stuff and on a couple of bombs that went for scores. I don’t know a whole lot about Allendale-Fairfax other than I read they looked improved in the preseason, they are 0-2 and the league did them a terrible, crappy disservice by sticking them in AA. Branchville (2-0) at Denmark-Olar (1-0) Two weeks ago, I probably wouldn’t have pegged this as game of the week material, but here we are. Branchville, to be blunt, doesn’t have a WOW win in its first two, having beaten Colleton Prep and long-struggling North, but they’re 2-0 and have done that coming off a six-win season that included a playoff victory. It’s time to start paying attention to them…if that were a thing that’s possible. I’ve haven’t been able to find much of anything on them, save some “hype” videos that feature wacky, montage-style editing that makes it impossible to see what anyone is doing. In some stuff I found from last year they’re go double-back, double-wide a good bit and had a good-sized junior quarterback with a big arm. So maybe that holds or maybe he entered the transfer portal. If you’ve seen them and have a scouting report, I’d love to hear it. Ditto for Denmark-Olar. I do know they had a nice win over the Mr. T Haircuts last week. The defense played especially well, not yielding a score and holding a potent rushing attack in check. Estill (1-1) at Wade Hampton (2-0) Coming off a hard-fought win over Allendale-Fairfax in the opener, Estill got roughed up by Ridgeland/Hardeeville 39-0 last week and I regret to inform you 39-0 would be a good outcome this week. Wade Hampton is a big, good AAA team that runs an offense you never see who gave up 69 yards of offense last week while forcing four turnovers. Better things may be ahead for the Gators but this is a tough matchup. North (0-1) at Bethune-Bowman (0-2) The Mr. T Haircuts hung in there and kept it relatively close in the opener against Blackville-Hilda, mainly on the strength of RB Jesus Benjamin’s 200-plus yard rushing performance. Last week, they were straining at the bowl to make anything move, pretty much, with their only score against Denmark-Olar being a punt return. They’ll find the sledding a bit easier this week. I’m rooting for North and would really like to see them get out of the prolonged losing streak they are mired in, but after a 55-0 loss to Branchville last week, it’s hard to see that happening against B-B. Eau Claire (0-2) at Wagener-Salley (2-0) The Shamrocks have been outscored in their first two games by a margin of 85-6 against Lewisville and HKT. The boys from Chitlin RFD rolled a good Fox Creek team last week, blasted Pelion and are as physical as it gets on both sides of the ball. This will be a lot like a 50-car train full of cinderblocks and dynamite colliding with a donkey cart slowly crossing the tracks. Burke (0-2) at Baptist Hill (0-2) I doubt this is even being played this week, what with there being a hurricane and whatnot, but if it is it seems like the place and time that the Bobcats will get their first win and score seventy-eight gojillion points. Charleston Charter School for Aquatic Biology and Booger Studies (0-1) at Phillip Simmons (0-2) Again, with this game likely not even being played, not gonna expend a lot of energy on it other than to say the Iron Horses have been close in their two losses and might get over the hump against the Riptide. Academic Magnet (1-1) at Military Magnet (0-1) Another likely weather casualty, which is a shame because this match-up between magnet schools is an attractive matchup. I’m positive it would be a good one. See what I did there? Magnets, attractive, positive…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cross (1-1) at Timberland (1-0) Assuming this game is even played, it’s probably not a great matchup for Cross. They’re improved over last year but are still young, challenged offensively a bit and Timberland is a top five AA team. Scott’s Branch (0-2) at Bamberg-Ehrhardt (1-0) You can basically read my Cross-Timberland preview above and apply everything I said to this matchup, minus the “improved over last year” part. Johnsonville (0-2) at Hemingway (0-2) Another “if they even play” game. The Sausages hung in there against Lake View and Marion, but have managed to scratch out only 14 points in two games combined. Hemingway, young, with a new head coach and playing heavy hitters Lamar and Andrews out of the gate has been outscored 107-0 in two games. This could be a spot for Hemingway to start turning things around a bit. Calhoun Falls- 14
Ware Shoals- 13 Landrum- 35 Dixie- 7 Lincoln County- 41 McCormick- Remember how many it took to make a thing go right? Two less than that. Whitmire- 37 Great Falls- 29 Pageland Central- 33 Lamar- 20 Chesterfield- 35 McBee- 26 Edisto- 22 Timmonsville- 14 Barnwell- 62 Blackville-Hilda- 18 Denmark-Olar- 26 Bethune-Bowman- 6 Ridgeland/Hardeeville- 39 Estill- Less points than the above team’s name has slashes Hunter-Kinard-Tyler- 36 Eau Claire- Two less points that the above team has hyphens Branchville- 55 North- You say it best when you say this Saluda- 41 Ridge Spring-Monetta- 6 Wagener-Salley- 42 Fox Creek- 20 Silver Bluff- 20 Williston-Elko- 6 Bishop England- 31 Baptist Hill- 12 Academic Magnet- 14 Charleston Charter School for Computer Technology, Applied Mathematics and Spoon Technology- 12 North Charleston- 32 Military Magnet- 21 Andrew Jackson- 69 St. John’s- Not as many as Andrew Jackson had, by like, 69 Lee Central- 14 C.E. Murray- 13 Whale Branch- 28 Cross- Tell ‘em bout it, childhood crushes of mine East Clarendon- 39 Scott’s Branch- Not nam Green Sea Floyds- 47 Hannah-Pamplico- Did I already do the joke about less points that hyphens? I think I did. Andrews- 53 Hemingway- Seriously people…can I get a safety or something here? Lake View- 20 Johnsonville- 6 Breakdown- It wasn’t the best week for our Class A brethren in terms of taking on the big this week. After going almost .500 on “up” games in the ridiculously named Week 0, Class A schools were just 4-16 playing teams of higher classification this past week. That bad number came about because some teams we are accustomed to seeing win such games lost close ones (see: Lamar and C.E. Murray), some were playing teams that don’t look particularly beatable by anybody (see: Blackville-Hilda and St. John’s) and some are probably just going to struggle regardless of whom they play at this point in the year (see Scott’s Branch and Charleston Charter). Some of those four wins were impressive ones, including Wagener-Salley’s victory over Fox Creek. That had the making of a shootout for a while, with Fox Creek leading 13-12 after one. From that point on, the Chitlinville All-Stars savagely defiled what is normally a pretty good AA team. Kevin Jackson ran wild (three touchdowns), Kaleb Shaw did likewise and the defense allowed only one more score the rest of the way, none in the second half. They did get dinged by the passing game of the Predators early on, which is a thing they have been susceptible to in recent years, but they defended well from the second quarter on. If they can continue to do that, maul people with that big O line and studly collection of backs and mix just a tiny semblance of a passing game (which they did do Friday) in, it might be a while before they lose one. They’ll be big favorites the next two times out against Eau Claire and HKT, then their region slate is front-loaded with Blackville-Hilda and Williston-Elko early. They could have a region crown and a high playoff seed sewn up early… Lake View’s win over the Fightin’ Sausages wasn’t overwhelming it terms of score (20-6) but if you dig inside the numbers a bit, you’ll see a different story. Johnsonville didn’t scratch out much offensively, but the Wild Gators just went about the business of slowly draining the clock of it’s precious seconds and the Sausages of their will to compete. They ran the ball 50-some flippin’ times for near 300 yards. Ja’Correus Ford (a name you should familiarize yourself with) had 129, Adarrian Dawkins had 77 and threw a touchdown and Michael McInnis added 72. They play a super manly schedule that features Dillon, Marion and Lamar out-of-region in the coming weeks. Hard to imagine them getting through that hellish gauntlet unscathed, but running the ball and playing defense can get you a long way in this game, Broham… The least surprising “up” win for a Class A team was Green Sea Floyds’ CRANKSMACKING of Hannah-Pamplico. After taking a Grade 1 rootin’ from Lake View in the opener, we all might have figured H-P wasn’t quite the team we expected or close to being what we saw from them last year. At least not here early in the season. Still, it’s a AA team that has a lot of starters back up front and some athletes. We know that with QB Bubba Elliot (who plays football when not driving the Larry Jim’s Taxidermy and Accounting Services Buick at the local drag strip) and Jaquan Dixon, the Trojans are pretty much gonna name their score. Both had huge games again. But their defense did not allow H-P to cross midfield. Like, at all. For the entire game. They’ve got some tests coming up in Aynor, Loris, Baptist Hill and Lake View, but right now it almost doesn’t feel like it matters who they play. They are a giant, destructive force. They’re like, um, what’s something topical here? A giant, destructive force that lays waste to everything in its path in the Atlantic? Maybe a tug boat full of dynamite captained by a cross-eyed guy that huffs paint? Analogies are not my strong suit. I’ll keep thinking on it…The other “up” win was HKT’s blistering of Eau Claire. Couldn’t find much on that game, but HKT might be a team to keep an eye on. They were very competitive in an opening loss to what is now a 2-0 Edisto team. Eau Claire is in for a long, rough year (having gotten housed the previous week by Lewisville) but HKT did what you are supposed to do in those instances, which is take care of business… As I figured would be the case, C.E. Murray v Lee Central was old-timey football, minus the coaches smoking on the sidelines and nattily attired fans drinking hooch from leather flasks stuff. That was two very physical teams that can’t much be bothered with the forward pass. The identity of both is to whip your ass at the line of scrimmage, run the ball, stop the run and leave with a “W” with little care whether they get that 3-2 or 70-0. C.E. Murray held a lead late, but Lee Central scored with under two minutes to go, went for two and got it. I’ve heard good things about the talent Lee Central returns this year and their prospects for the season, so this is by no means a bad loss. From all appearances, Brian Smith has put his stamp back on the War Eagles program in a hurry, with his team shutting out Kingstree in the opener and narrowly dropping this one in a hard-fought battle. They get a week off before battling Mullins, Lake Marion and Hemingway in successive weeks… I have to admit I was fairly surprised by the Lamar-Pageland outcome, but I probably should not have been. Despite their close opening loss to Broome (a pretty good AAA team) all I’d heard about the Eagles coming into the year is how deep they are, how big they are up front on both sides of the line and how good they are against the run. Lamar’s entire O line from last year returns intact and that’s five big, scary dudes, not five randos they rounded up from the pizza line in the cafeteria. What the Silver Foxes don’t and won’t do much is throw the ball, so they essentially had to go strength-on-strength. QB Cam Galloway ran the ball well, going for 67 yards on 10 carries. For the most part, though, designed running plays to their backs didn’t net much in the way of yardage (69 yards total). But the thing is, Pageland couldn’t run the ball on Lamar either (133 yards on 44 attempts) and the Silver Foxes had a lead late in the contest. What happened was Paglenad scored with 4:30 left in the contest to go up 21-20. Lamar then suffered two turnovers in the course of 69 seconds, both of which were returned for scores. That was it. Pageland didn’t throw the ball much, but did get a long touchdown pass early and turned two picks into scores late. It was a tough loss, but Lamar will be more than fine and will benefit down the road from playing teams of Pageland’s caliber… I’m not going to go on-and-on about the game I attended Friday (Great Falls v Whitmire), since I wrote a story about it that you can read if you so choose. I do want to note a few things, though. First, if you beat Whitmire it’s because you’re just better than them, because they play their tails off for 48 minutes, they put pressure on you in the kicking game and they are perfectly content to run for three yards out of that scrum, wait as long as possible until snapping it again, then running for three more yards. And they almost always go for it on fourth down. That can backfire sometimes, obviously, but it also makes you continue to have to make plays. They short-squibbed every kickoff against Great Falls, so essentially they attempt an onsides kick on every kickoff. They only recovered one, but that came early in the third. They had just driven for a score, then got to put that offense back out there to kick and thump on down the field, eat clock and score again. They won by one TD, so that made a big difference. Chandler Crumley is a total load at fullback. He may not rack up massive yardage totals, but he’s like a refrigerator on wheels rolling down a hill. Maybe one with spikes on the door and a gun turret on top. He’s a big kid (near 240) who runs low to the ground and is a big-time stick-mover. I really like Jaquan Tindell-White at running back. He’s not real big at this point (only a sophomore) but is quick, shifty and runs with great patience for a younger player. Great Falls was down 22 in the second half and had ample chances to quit. Instead, they clamped down on Whitmire defensively and made huge plays in the passing game. Kelton Talford is a mismatch against almost anyone (because he’s a tall person with large hands who runs fast) but Xavion Moore had a big game at WR too. Both were over 100 yards. They aren’t real deep but they can score points and they showed a lot of grit in battling back. Poll Time As always, I will present you with the S.C. Pep Media Class A Poll, followed by my ballot for said poll. Gonna level with you here…it was a difficult week for pollin’. We’re at the point in the season when some teams have only played once, so it’s hard to judge them. Then you have to try to measure teams that are 0-1 and 0-2 but have played much bigger, super strong competition, against teams that feast early on sweet, delicious cupcake schedules. I’m not good at measuring or anything else involving numbers, but here you go… S.C. Prep Media Class A Poll 1. Green Sea Floyds (9) 2. Wagener-Salley (1) 3. (tie) Lamar (1), Lake View 5. Blackville-Hilda 6. C.E. Murray 7. Branchville 8. Baptist Hill 9. Denmark-Olar 10. (tie) McBee, Calhoun Falls Charter My ballot 1. Green Sea Floyds 2. Wagener-Salley 3. Lake View 4. Lamar 5. C.E. Murray 6. Blackville-Hilda 7. Denmark-Olar 8. Whitmire 9. Branchville 10. Baptist Hill Suggested reading Check out this Great Falls-Whitmire story if you want to but take it with a grain of salt because the guy that wrote it is a hack deluxe. Much like when you eat them, it’s hard to keep chitlins down. Destructive force near the beach? Maybe a dolphin with a bazooka? You can read this roundup that includes lots of 1A action or you can be ignorant like your doggone diddy. All joking aside, congrats to Calhoun Falls Charter on breaking a nearly three-year losing streak on Friday. |
TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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