Charleston County Machine Shop and Cobbler Trade School (0-8, 0-2) at St. John's (6-3, 2-0)
St. John's had one of the "holy bleep" performances of the week last Friday, beating the upstart Baptist Hill team 54-8. Quarterback Kameron Smiley had 196 yards in the air and two touchdowns while both TJ Givens and LarRynz Givens each ran for right 150 yards. So apparently the Givens family can tote it. St. John's three losses this year all came to schools of higher classification and they've won four straight all by impressive margins. The school from Charleston, who I have created so many goofy iterations of that I forget what they are actually called, has been shut out five times this year and scored more than six points only once, so, I'll let you draw your own conclusions on how this'n might go. Bethune-Bowman (5-2, 0-1) at Branchville (3-4, 0-1) B-B is one of the feel-good, up-from-the-ashes teams we seem to get every year in Class A. After years and years of losing, they are at 5-2. The little bit of film I've seen on them they have an athletic quarterback, a running back who looks like a PO'd fire hydrant on rocket roller skates and a pretty active defense. That said, they got scalded by a very good C.E. Murray team last week 40-12. Branchville has three wins and that's great for them, but one of those was to a non-SCHSL team and the other two were against North and Military Magnet, who have combined for two wins. So, this seems like a good opportunity for the Mr. T Haircuts to get back in the win column. Scott's Branch (4-4, 1-1) at C.E. Murray (4-2, 2-0) The Eagles come in on a two-game losing streak. They've sort of beaten the teams you expect them to (Timmonsville and Denmark-Olar) and lost to the good ones you figured would beat them (Cross and St. John's). However, they gave Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Cross and St. John's all pretty good games, so they are certainly no pushover. The War Eagles (a more violent, aggressive version of the bird than what Scott's Branch has, I guess) tore up Bethune-Bowman 40-12. In the process, they showed that they aren't a one-trick pony offensively. Darius Rush had his customary good game (91 yards on just seven carries and a TD catch) but Sean Swaringer ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns and Marcus Reid had four catches for 76 yards and a score. C.E. Murray basically clinches a region title and the sweet, delicious playoff seeding that comes with it with a win tonight. East Clarendon (0-7, 0-2) at Creek Bridge (0-7, 0-2) Honestly there's not a lot of sizzle to sell on this one. The grill is cold and there ain't no meat in the fridge aside from one can of stand-up weenies, man. Both teams are winless this season. East Clarendon has scored 56 points and given up 226, while Creek Bridge has scored 60 and yielded 314. I will compliment both on playing very manly, beastly (manbeastly?) schedules. East Clarendon has been competitive in two games, falling in a close one to Timmonsville then inexplicably playing a good Hemingway team to an 8-6 final. So they have been close a few times. Unless the winner of this one also upsets Green Sea-Floyds (the other region VI team without region win) neither is going to the playoffs. But hey, somebody is going to win a football game and I don't say that to be trite. As hard these kids and coaches work, you hate to see them go an entire season without a victory, so it's good one or the other will get something to celebrate. Hannah-Pamplico (5-2, 2-0) at Green Sea-Floyds (3-4, 0-2) H-P is another of those warm, fuzzy stories of the year, shaking off several bad years and an 0-2 start to now having a five-game winning streak. Green Sea lost a close one to Hemingway last week and game unbeaten Lake View a good game their previous time out. They have a clock-eating power-running attack that is effective (with two excellent backs in Akil Gause and Mahummad Graham), shortens games a bit and has had them in just about every contest this year. The problem last week was a pair of fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown and one of which led to a touchdown. I don't think turnovers have been a persistent problem, so you might chalk that up to three weeks off the playing field and greatly curtailed practice time by one of the areas hardest hit by the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. If they don't win this one, they are staring at a four seed, or missing the playoffs entirely should they be upset by either East Clarendon or Creek Bridge the next two weeks, but it sure feels like they're due to win a close one and a big one. Should be a good game. Hemingway (6-1, 2-0) at Lake View (7-0, 2-0) Hannah-Pamplico will have something to say about it if they win tonight, but boy this feels like it's for the Region VI title. Lake View, the number two ranked team in Class A, didn't show any rust from their three-week layoff, blowing out Creek Bridge 43-14 last Friday. Honestly, the game wasn't even that close, with Lake View leading 35-0 10 minutes into the game. Shrine Bowler Duane Nichols accounted for two of those scores. My clandestine, sooth-saying lowcountry expert told me in the pre-season this was the team to beat in that part of the state and they've done nothing to prove him wrong. Hemingway used a couple of turnovers to beat Green Sea-Floyds 18-12 last week. Their previous game, though, was the aforementioned head-scratcher against winless East Clarendon, which they survived 8-6. That came on the heels of their biggest win of the season, a 28-12 comeback victory over C.E. Murray. Quarterback Troy Singletary make it all go on offense and aside from Andrews, no team has scored more than 14 points on Hemingway all year. Two very good teams who could maybe meet again this season. We'll see.
0 Comments
Ware Shoals (3-6, 1-2) at Dixie (5-4, 1-2)
The Purple Hornets kept their playoff hopes alive last week with a 39-8 win over Calhoun Falls Charter. Janius Jefferson, a really good running back, had 186 yards and four touchdowns in the game. The defense limited the Flashes to less than 90 yards of total offense. Dixie had a rougher time, dropping a 16-6 game to Whitmire. The Hornets (Dixie is a regular hornet, existing only to sting and inflict pain and not dazzle the world with its purpleness like Ware Shoals' version of the bug) have had several rough years in a row. They dialed their schedule back quite a bit this year (three non-SCHSL opponents) but that's helped them get their footing, enjoy a little success and maybe take a step forward as a program. They've only averaged 10-a-game against actual public schools, however. This is a big game, with the winner moving to the playoffs and loser likely counting shoes. The teams already played once, in Week 0, with Dixie winning 28-21. Ware Shoals seems to have improved since then, so this could be a close one. McCormick (4-5, 3-0) at Whitmire (4-5, 2-1) This game is for the Region I championship. "But, but, your week in review said McCormick had locked that mother up and built it a room in its attic to live in." Well, math and attention to detail are not strengths of mine. You want a laser focus on minutia and mad cipherin' skills, go talk to a banker. You want horrible analogies and mildly inappropriate jokes with some football mixed in, just stay with me. Anyway, I screwed up and this is, in fact, for the region title. McCormick went out of region last Friday and captured an "up" win, knocking of AAA Columbia 30-14. Mataeo Durant ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the win. They actually ran for 220 as a team and got just enough of a passing threat from Dillon Walters (93 yards passing) to provide a little balance. Really, McCormick's record is somewhat deceiving. With Durant, one of Class A's best players, injured early in the year, the team struggled, but they've won four straight since he returned, which ain't a coincidence Bubba. Whitmire got a hard-fought 16-6 win over Dixie last week. That came on the heels of a total head-scratcher loss to Calhoun Falls Charter the week before in which the Wolverines turned the ball over six times. I haven't seen them this year, but my understanding is that Whitmire is pretty young and have a metric butt ton of new starters, what with 18 seniors having graduated from last year. Think about a school with 160-ish kids losing that many players in a year and then you'll appreciate how impressive that 4-5 record actually is. I've also been told they are extremely well-coached and are always in position to make a play. They may not have a lot of team speed but the kids play very hard and you'll know you've been in a fight by the time a game ends. Devin Vo set the school record for carries in a game two weeks ago (and ran for more than 200 yards) so you could see a lot of he and Durant with the ball in their hands. Should be a good one behind the brick wall, next to the public course in the Pearl of the Piedmont. Lewisville (7-1, 1-1) at Great Falls (0-9, 0-3) On paper, this looks like a mismatch. Football is not played on paper, of course...mainly because the players' cleats would tear it up and whatnot. The Lions are ranked in the top five and are 7-1, with the lone loss coming to a powerhouse McBee team. They also beat what have turned out to be really good AA teams in Andrew Jackson and Blacksburg. They have a North-South All-Star in WR/RB Mike Hill (one of only six 1A players so honored...the minimum that could be selected, which is a total load but I'll sound off on that tomorrow), a senior quarterback in Trey Keels who is fresh off a 380-yard, three-touchdown performance, highly coveted lineman Josh Belk, a pair of outside linebackers (Daryl Foster and Jene Thompson) who have combined for more than 20 sacks and a bevy of other weapons. Great Falls is breaking in new schemes on offense and defense, has a thin roster and now has a couple of injuries to contend with. I'm telling you, though, I've seen every game between the two since 2001 and somehow this always ends up being an interesting game. Two years ago Great Falls came into this match-up 7-2 while Lewisville was 1-8 and the Lions won it. There have been years one team was up and the other was down and it still ended up being close somehow. It's as fierce a rivalry as there is in the state. McBee (6-2, 2-0) at Lamar (8-0, 2-0) This is the top match-up in the state Friday. McBee, like McCormick, is actually better than their record would indicate. They were missing five starters for losses to Pageland and Cheraw (including Dashonnell Wright who should've made the North-South game) but since they've gotten healthy they've won by scores of 40-28, 44-16, 42-6 and 46-7. Wright is the best-known of their weapons, but not their only one as Ricardo Wright and, seriously, some other kid named Wright have also been providing some big-play punch. The Wright's are into some mass procreating down there. Anyway, McBee doesn't throw it, but they consistently move the chains AND get big gainers out of their wishbone. Defensively, well, they're coming. You better do some blocking because they send the house and have the athletes to play man coverage behind that. Lamar, of course, has now won 16 straight games dating back to last year. Offensively they still run the system they switched to last year, which I heard one coach call what you'd get if the Wing-T and the spread had a baby. They don't throw it as much as they have in past years and they don't have one, beastly running back that will rack up 2,000 yards like they did in Tre Ceasar last year. They have a stable of guys, any of whom is capable of going for 100-plus yards on a given night. Defensively, someone who has seen them on film a couple of times told me they are kind of vanilla on defense, but he meant it as a supreme compliment. They are so flippin' good, they don't have to shift fronts, change coverages or blitz a whole lot. They hit you hard and all 11 on that side can run. In their last five games against fellow 1A teams, they've given up 25 total points and they have AAA and AAAA scalps on their belt this year. This is a huge one. If McBee wins, having already beaten Lewisville, they all but sew up first place in the region and avenge last year's loss to Lamar that ended their dreams of a perfect season. Lamar wins this one, then beats Lewisville next week and they win the region and just strengthen the perception that they're the team to beat again this year. North (1-6, 1-3) at Blackville-Hilda (6-2, 4-1) Look, offensively, B-H is a one-trick pony. Now, that pony does one of the coolest tricks you've ever seen. It can do a backwards flip through a flaming hoop while it farts the theme from "Miami Vice." They have a big front line and they run the ball out of a sort of modified single-wing. They physically mash most of the school children unfortunate enough to line up across from them. However, if you can physically match up with them and neutralize the running game, well, you get what happened last week, which is a 30-6 loss to Williston-Elko in what basically decided the region title. Even in trailing by that big a margin, the Hawks threw for six yards. Six. That isn't to say they aren't good, because they sure are, just milking the clock and playing good defense and slowly squeezing the life out of opponents. It seems like a safe bet that they start a new winning streak against a struggling North squad. Williston-Elko (5-2, 4-0) at Denmark-Olar (2-5, 1-3) The Vikings got one of the biggest wins of last week, with their 30-6 victory over Blackville-Hilda. Tyran Parks ran for 200 dadgum yards, the defense limited a big, powerful B-H rushing attack to 85 yards and the the team has now won five straight. Denmark has wins over struggling North and Branchville, but otherwise has scored six points this year in five losses...so, you know, Friday might not be their night. Ridge Spring-Monetta (3-5, 2-3) at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (3-4, 2-2) The annual battle for the Golden Hyphen Trophy. Not really, but they should totally play for that. Anyway, HKT won 41-0 over North last week, they've won two-of-three and the loss was a close one to Blackville-Hilda, so they seem to be peaking at the right time. Devante Scott was 12-of-15 passing last week for 285 yards and also has an excellent running dimension to his game. RSM had one of the WTH games of last week. They lost to previously winless Estill 12-6. They've lost two straight overall and I'm seriously wondering what's going on with a team that's made nice playoff runs each of the past few years. Did the team stop and eat gas station chili before the game last week? I'd love some details (leave them in the comment section if you went to the game). They're probably still in the playoffs but a loss in this one, then a game against Blackville-Hilda next week could have them staring at a five seed and an unpleasant first-round playoff path. Estill (1-7, 1-4) at Wagener-Salley (5-2, 3-2) Good for Estill to end their losing streak and get a win last week. The Stump-Whooped All-Stars seem to be back to form, with consecutive wins after back-to-back losses. Bout all I got on this'n, Hoss. Part II of the preview should be posted by tomorrow afternoon. Ware Shoals- 39
Calhoun Falls Charter- 8 Whitmire- 16 Dixie- 6 McCormick- 30 Columbia- 14 Lamar- 48 Great Falls- Tom Jones will let you know, provided he can dodge all the panty draws and get to the mic McBee- 46 Camden Military- 7 Lewisville- 34 Timmonsville- 22 Williston-Elko- 30 Blackville-Hilda- 6 Wagener-Salley- 39 Denmark-Olar- Tell em bout it Mick Estill- 12 Ridge Spring-Monetta- 6 Hunter-Kinard-Tyler- 41 North- Tell em bout it scary Joker St. John's- 54 Baptist Hill- 8 Branchville- 39 Military Magnet- 21 C.E. Murray- 40 Bethune-Bowman- 12 Cross- 29 Scott's Branch- 6 Lake View- 43 Creek Bridge- 14 Hannah-Pamplico- 31 East Clarendon- The answer lies in Arizona Hemingway- 18 Green Sea-Floyds- 12 Breakdown- First of all, my apologies for not having an update for the past two weeks or so. Class A was the heaviest hit by the jack ass hurricane, with 31 teams having to postpone and reschedule games. So, we pretty much had two weeks with very limited match-ups. I tried to write to previews last week but it's kind of difficult when there's nothing to work off of from the previous week. I wrote so really in-depth, incisive stuff like "Jimmy Jack Tech didn't play last week, or the week before, and neither did Billy Ray Prep, so, uh, who knows what kind of wacky, slapnuts game this might be." Anyway, thoughts and prayers with the folks who are still dealing with the aftermath of the storm, now, onto the games! Williston-Elko took a firm grip on the Region III race Friday with a 30-6 pasting of the resurgent Blackville-Hilda Hawks. B-H came in on a six-game winning streak and were doing it with a meticulous, clock-eating, single-wing offense operating behind a mammoth O-line that generally plowed over opposing school children. The only problem with an offense like that is the rare occasion that you run into someone who can compete with you in the trenches. If you can't kinda, sorta threaten to do anything in the air, you're cooked. Williston was able to win the battle of the bigguns up front (they held the Hawks to less than 90 yards rushing) and Lord help, Blackville can't throw the ball (2 of 7 for 6 yards with a pick Friday), so what you get is a blowout for Williston. Tyran Parks running for 200 flippin' yards helped as did an efficient, complimentary passing game from Will Nolind. I wondered about them early this season with their 0-2 start and an offense that just wasn't putting up the numbers we've become accustomed to seeing in recent years. However, losing to Silver Bluff isn't shame-worthy and that Barnwell loss sure doesn't look bad now. You can't assume things, of course, but aside from a match-up with HKT in a few weeks, Williston's schedule looks very favorable to win out, win the region and lock up a plum playoff seed. Also on the path to being the master of their domain is C.E. Murray who gave Bethune-Bowman a good rootin' 40-12 on Friday. Both of these teams are in areas that were affected by the storm. The Mr. T haircuts had not played a game since September 23 and the War Eagles not since September 30. B-B has been one of the feel-good stories of the year in Class A. After many years of struggle, the team got off to a 5-1 start, though admittedly not against a murderer's row schedule. Still, it's basically the same schedule they played last year when they went 2-8. As near as I can tell, there aren't any media outlets in Bethune or Bowman...it's one of those areas where news is delivered by people in powdered wigs who write things with quills on sheep skin, then ride a donkey to the square and read it from the courthouse steps. I mean, that's how we do it where I live, but I digress. I have been able to discern they have an athletic quarterback and a running back in Makiah Simmons who is ever bit as hard to tackle as his 5'8, 225 dimensions would make it seem. I still consider them a good team, so that makes this an even more impressive win for the War Eagles. You're probably familiar with Darius Rush and he had a good game (91 yards on just seven carries and a TD catch) but C.E. Murray showed they can beat you a lot of different ways. Sean Swaringer ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns and Marcus Reid had four catches for 76 yards and a score. Defensively, Davionta Major had 10 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and blocked a punt, Johama Tisdale picked off a pass and Shyheim White had 11 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a QB hurry. Now, having beaten both B-B and Cross, all that stands between the War Eagles and a region crown is a pretty good Scott's Branch team and Branchville, who is having a rough go of it. Since losing to a good Hemingway team, C.E. Murray has clicked off back-to-back impressive wins and they seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time. The Region V crown and the playoff seeding that come with it are there for the taking. Elsewhere, Region I is decided, with McCormick having clinched first place, leaving Dixie, Whitmire and Ware Shoals to fight it out for the bitter, unsatisfying crumbs of second and third place. Region II, which I still believe to be Class A's best, is still very much up in the air. McBee beat Lewisville a few weeks ago and will take on top-ranked, unbeaten Lamar this week. If the Panthers can come out of Friday with a win, they'll have the region title all but secured. If Lamar extends its winning streak to 17 games, they still have to contend with a Lewisville team that should be fully healthy by then. A Lions win there could create a three-way tie for first, at which point they revert to points allowed within the tie, or either a frog gigging competition to decide who gets first, I'll have to read up on it to be sure. Anyway, one of those teams will wind up in third place, then will promptly beat another region's two and one. Region IV is a forgone conclusion after St. John's railed Baptist Hill 54-8. Baptist Hill is another program that's had a nice year after several down seasons, they can certainly score points and have a super-exciting quarterback in Corey Field (over 2,500 yards passing this year) but they've shown a propensity to give up points. St. John's sure scored a lot of points on them, but even more impressively held them to under 160 total yards. With only the winless Charleston School for Appliance Repair and Clogging Performance Academy left, the region booty is theirs to plunder. Region VI figures to get worked out when Lake View and Hemingway square off Friday. Lot of great match-ups coming down the stretch. Quick hits- Anybody have any idea what's going on with Ridge Spring-Monetta? Their loss to previously winless Estill is one of the shockers of the season so far. Injuries? Rascally cheerleader with mono...Hannah-Pamplico hasn't had a winning record in eight years, but the team is just one win away from clinching one after a 31-0 rout of East Clarendon. The team started 0-2, but is now riding a five-game winning streak. The first three wins were by a combined 11 points and one came via them pulling a gigantic rabbit out of their hat or pants or something in the form of a last-second touchdown pass, but the past two have been total blowouts, so momentum and confidence could be building. Good for them...Whitmire's loss two weeks back to Calhoun Falls Charter was nearly as big a head-scratcher as Estill-RSM. Of course, when you turn it over six times and turn it over on downs at the one with a few second left in regulation of a tied, game those things will happen. They bounced back well in a win over Dixie and are in the playoffs for the third straight year, a great achievement for a school of 160-ish kids that lost 18 seniors from last year. Suggested Reading Lawdy law me, them Hawks can't throw it. You can read multiple game capsules here or you can be a horse's ass like your diddy was. He never did have any credit. Worried your po granny to death. Green Sea-Floyds lost a close one to Hemingway, but given the devastation down there from the hurricane, just getting back on the field had to feel pretty good, I'm thinking. Baptist Hill may not be able to walk in a straight line for a while after what St. John's did to them. Ware Shoals v Calhoun Falls Charter was kind of a loser leaves town match where the playoffs are concerned...Somebody got whacked with a chair while the ref wasn't looking, but still, BYE FLASHES! McCormick-16
Calhoun Falls Charter-8 Dixie-43 Spartanburg Christian Academy-22 Whitmire-28 Ware Shoals-13 Timmonsville-64 Great Falls-20 McBee-44 Lewisville-16 Blackville-Hilda-22 Hunter-Kinard-Tyler-12 Ridge Spring-Monetta-27 Denmark-Olar- I'll let lifelong crushes the Wilson sisters do the honors North-22 Estill-14 Williston-Elko-42 Stump Whooped Academy-20 Baptist Hill-60 Charleston Satellite Academy for Automotive Repair and Accounting-6 St. John's-54 Military Magnet-Some things are best left to Billy Preston Scott's Branch-46 Branchville-6 C.E. Murray-18 Cross-12 Hannah-Pamplico-49 Creek Bridge-6 Hemingway-8 East Clarendon-6 Hemingway-8 East Clarendon-6 Lake View-28 Green Sea-Floyds-8 Breakdown- We are now down to two unbeaten teams in Class A after Lewisville lost to McBee 44-16. A lot of people were surprised, not so much that McBee won, but that they won so handily. There were some mitigating factors...listen to me, "mitigating factors." There was some stuff what made that be that way...there, that's much more like it. First of all, super stud lineman Josh Belk was hurt as he jogged off the practice field Wednesday, which frankly has to make it feel like the world the hates you. Seriously, that's like fate pooping on your lawn. He's been as dominant this year as you'd expect a 6'4, 300-pound athletic freak of nature to be, so that certainly made a difference (he is expected back). Also, Lewisville turned the ball over three times and on two occasions, did so after holding McBee on downs at the conclusion of 10-plus-play drives. So, obviously, the defense, already minus a key starter, got gassed (Lewisville ran 44 plays to McBee's 65ish). Two of the scores came in the final few minutes when Lewisville went for it on fourth down deep in its own territory rather than concede the game and punt. Let's also not forget, McBee is a dang good football team. The two losses on their record are a tad deceiving since they both came when the team was minus five injured starters. I think the Lewisville game was the first time they'd had them all back. Ricardo and Dashonnell Wright are a crazy one-two punch in the backfield and the defense is extremely physical, bringing the house, mule-kicking you in the face and trusting their secondary athletes to cover without much help, which they usually pull off. Lewisville now has to turn around and play Lamar, one of the state's remaining unbeaten Class A teams. Lamar was off last week, so their soul-crushing, tater-kicking, baking soda defense (read the last week in review I wrote for an explanation, but don't expect it to make anymore sense than what you just read) should be well rested and healthy. McBee, meanwhile, will bide its time, playing three teams it should beat before closing the regular season against those Silver Foxes, who should come in at 9-0 if they beat Lewisville, with the game probably deciding the region title. I still say no region has three teams at the top as strong as these three. The other unbeaten team is Lake View, which played only its second competitive game of the year (the other being a close win over AA Latta) in beating a scrappy Green Sea-Floyds team 28-8. Given that Lake View had been averaging just under 50 points in its last four games, the final score was a bit of a surprise, but Green Sea has an "eat the clock" style of offense that can shorten games, but of their losses coming in were close (one in overtime). Their coach, Tony Sullivan, obviously thought his team had a good night, saying Lake View "probably don't want no more." Though that seems an awful lot like poking a fire-breathing dragon in the mouth with a gas hose, I like that confidence in a team from a coach and I'll take that over stock coach answers any day of the week. It's like a coach who, after a loss once told me "You watched the game, they cut our a$$. I mean, don't say I said that, put something else in the paper, but that's what happened. Got our a$$ cut. THEY! CUT! OUR! A$$!" I'm digressing from the point here, Lake View's Duane Nichols showed why he was a Shrine Bowl selection, running for 106 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries and throwing for 111 yards and two scores. Looking forward, Lake View has two lay-ups (winless East Clarendon and Creek Bridge) a game against upstart Hannah-Pamplico, who has four straight wins and a solid Hemingway squad, who stands at 5-1. It feels like they'll get to the playoffs with a perfect record intact. You remember last week when I told you I'd had a coach tell me that Class A's most explosive athlete is Darius Rush from C.E. Murray? Remember me singing his praises last year? Well, I was proven right. I mean, I've also made reference to fate pooping on Lewisville's lawn and made a terrible analogy about Lamar's defense being a box of baking soda, so you have to learn when to listen to me and when to tune me out. Cross came into Friday at 4-1, their only loss came in a "playing up" game against a really good Timberland team, they threw a painful rootin' on previously unbeaten Baptist Hill and were fresh off a shutout of AAA Lake Marion. They were also allowing just nine points a game, but Rush ran past them like his last name was Rush, which, um, I guess it actually is. Anyway, he had 200 yards on the ground and scored all three touchdowns. C.E. Murray's defense also had a terrific game, holding an explosive Cross offense to just 12 points. The win was also huge because it really gives the War Eagles the inside track to the region championship. You can never assume too much, but you'd certainly consider them favorites over Scott's Branch and Branchville, leaving only a good Bethune-Bowman team between them and the region crown and the plum playoff seed that comes with it. Quick Hits- How about those Whitmire Wolverines? The Pearls of the Piedmont, despite being the smallest public school with a football team in the state and having lost 18 seniors from last year seem to be getting better every week and notched 28-13 victory over Ware Shoals Friday. Region I, candidly, isn't especially strong this year, so with only Calhoun Falls Charter, McCormick and Dixie left, the Wolverines should probably be viewed as the favorites. Hard not to root for them...Blackville-Hilda has now won five straight after offing HKT Friday. Their game against Ridge Spring-Monetta this week will be a throwback to the days when guys in ties and fedoras smoked Lucky's on the sidelines while deriding players who wanted to come out of games because of skull fractures as sissies; it's a modified single wing against the wishbone is what I'm trying to say. IF they get by RSM (and it's a big if, literally since I put it in all caps) then their October 21 game at a resurgent Williston-Elko will decide the Region III champion...Baptist Hill hung 60 this past week and will be 8-1 heading into the season finale against St. John's and that game will be for the region title. Now, is that prescient, told-you-so-on-Darius-Rush me talking, or poop and baking soda joke me? Hmmmm...If you saw Hemingway-East Clarendon, please tell me what the heck happened there. Hemingway was fresh off win over C.E. Murray, East Clarendon is winless and it ended up 8-6. Injuries? Turnovers? Offensive line eat some gas station tacos the night before? WHA?!?!...Now, our weekly update on my favorite AA player, Mullins running back Willie Nelson. I try to keep to keep up with how he does each week, but I can't find crap for a stat line. Should've made a call or gotten down there to watch in person, but There's nothing I can do about it now! DEE DERPDY HAW HEE! Suggested reading Lake View put away a tough Green Sea team AND THEY CUT OUR A$$! CUT IT BAD! See, because his name is Rush and he rushes the ball and his team won... Williston-Elko fell behind in the third quarter but beat the poop out of the folks from Chitlin-ville, because, you know, somebody has to do the poop removing before you can eat the things. Comments, suggestions, favorite Willie Nelson songs...leave them in the comment section. |
TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
Categories |