McCormick- 43
Ware Shoals- 18 Dixie- 43 Calhoun Falls Charter- Just pick one of these, I’m about out. Timmonsville- 32 Great Falls- I guess you could say they had great fall. Herp diddly haw hee. Lamar- 47 McBee- 7 Blackville-Hilda- 8 North- Is it really a “0” if you don’t actually play? Williston-Elko- 46 Denmark-Olar- 26 Ridge Spring-Monetta- 33 Hunter-Kinard-Tyler- The number of hyphens in their name, minus two Wagener-Salley- 46 Estill- Uma, Oprah. Oprah, Uma. Baptist Hill- 28 St. John’s- 27 Military Magnet- 46 The Charleston Charter School for matters unrelated to the Military- 38 Bethune-Bowman- 34 Branchville- 24 C.E. Murray- 22 Scott’s Branch- 14 Lake View- 39 Hemingway- 21 Green Sea-Floyds- 63 Creek Bridge- 8 Breakdown- First off, my apologies for not posting anything last week. Unfortunately, the two hurricanes pretty much finished off the crappy old roof in my office, so I spent last week moving to a new location. Seriously, though, I thought about you the whole time. Those desks and computers don’t mean nothing to me, baby. Anyway, we pretty much have our six Class A region champions at this point (more on that shortly). Obviously, the game of the night took place down in Region IV, where Baptist Hill clinched the championship with a come-from-behind 28-27 victory over St. John’s. The game sounded like it was a little sloppy with a lot of turnovers in both directions, which may be attributable in part to a heavy rain shower in the first half. Baptist Hill came in averaging a stupid, cartoonish 68.4 points-per-game in its previous five contests, so that should tell you what kind of defense the Islanders played. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Bobcats had 14 points on the board. That’s actually even better than it sounds, because St. John’s didn’t have many sustained drives to keep Rashad Maxwell and company on the sidelines. One of their scores was pick-six and one was a Tyrone Hicks 74-yard scoring run. St. John’s came up with multiple fourth-down stops and didn’t give up the big play. They made Baptist Hill earn every single thing they got. In the final seven minutes, though, Maxwell directed his team on two clutch scoring drives. It’s funny, he might have been the state’s best WR last year (he had 19 touchdowns, which is kind of a lot) but after the offense failed to click in two season-opening losses, he was moved under center and the team has just been humming along. Don’t forget that this is a senior-heavy team that is playing some legitimately good defense this year. They aren’t just eye candy, fireworks, holy crap they scored how many?, anymore. How impressive does it look now that they held The OC Semi-Pros to 17 points? Minus special teams and defensive scores, they held a dang good St. John’s well below its average. They get a first-round bye, then play either Branchville or Military Magnet, either of whom they’d be huge favorites against, then likely face a test in either Green Sea-Floyds or C.E. Murray. What St. John’s has done is impressive this year. Coach Harpe has a very inexperienced team, but they obviously have come a long way on defense, they are EXCELLENT on special teams and they find a lot of ways to get their playmakers the ball on offense. They should beat whoever the at-large team is next week, then have what should be a great game against Lake View… The only other really competitive game played for a region title was came in Region V, where the Mr. T Haircuts pittied the fools! (Is that a dated reference? It feels like it might be a dated reference). I was a little slow to warm up to this team early. They got smoked by Blackville-Hilda in the season-opener, but that really doesn’t look like a bad loss now given how well the Hawks are playing. Then they lost close to Denmark-Olar, won a couple of gimmes, then got railed by Whitmire. They then proceeded to beat three teams that ended with three wins between them, so they seemed to me to be just kinda meh. When they got my attention was a few weeks ago with a two-touchdown victory over C.E. Murray. That served notice that they maybe weren’t just a team who won and lost all the games you expected them too. Then they won their first region crown in 27 years with a win over a pretty good Branchville team. With a new coach and new offensive philosophy, maybe it just took time for things to click for the Mr. T Haircuts. What they have is an old-fashioned plow horse of a running back in Jesus Benjamin who get 20-ish carries a game. I watched some highlights and he may not have super top-end speed, not the cheetah mating with a lightning bolt kinda thing, but he’s quick, has really good balance, nice cutting ability and looks tough as crap. They also feature a senior, I think four-year starter at quarterback, in Braxton Wedgeworth III, esq. (NOTE: I don’t know if his name is multi-generational or if he’s an attorney, but it just seems to fit). He’s throws it pretty well, though they don’t throw it much, but he’s an experienced guy and leader who can make things happen with his feet. They get a bye to open the playoffs, then get Scott’s Branch or Hemingway. Quick Hits- I was at Timmonsville v Great Falls last week. You can’t overstate what a great job Coach Scotty Steen did with the Red Devils this year. With, I think, on senior on the roster and a 24-game losing streak coming in, to get to 4-5 is quite an accomplishment. Bowser, Moore, Funderburk, Talford; their young talent is top-notch and they’ll take another step forward next year. The Whirlwinds have no depth to speak of at all, but Jamaric Morris is a high-end, dynamic athlete who never leaves the field and Fanando Jackson is a beast at RB. They’ve also played really good defense for new coach Ron Baker this year. They get a tough draw in Ridge Spring-Monetta in the first round of the playoffs, which will be an interesting matchup…Lamar beat McBee which doesn’t exactly rate on the “holy crap” meter, but let me tell you, the Panthers played better down the stretch, in retrospect they played as tough a schedule as anybody and they get Ware Shoals to open the playoffs, which is a likely win. Also, Lamar is good…I had high hopes early in the year for Green Sea-Floyds and Ridge Spring-Monetta, but both were a bit up-and-down over the course of the season. Both seem to be finishing strong, though, so keep an eye on both. Playoffs I’ve alluded to a couple of matchups already, but let’s go through the bracket as it is currently posted on the SCHSL website. First off, all region champs get first round byes, so Dixie, Lamar, Wagener-Salley, Baptist Hill, The Mr. T Haircuts and Lake View will be off next week. In the upperstate, Timmonsville gets Ridge Spring-Monetta, with the winner going to Dixie. McBee faces Ware Shoals, with the winner headed to Blackville-Hilda. McCormick matches up with Williston-Elko in round one and the lucky winner gets an all-expenses paid trip to a savage rootin’ (Lamar). Whitmire matches up with Estill and the winner gets the not-very-envious honor of playing Chitlinville. In the lowerstate, Military Magnet and Branchville face off for the right to go to the greater Hollywood, Peter’s Point area to maybe lose by the kind of score you see, text to your buddy and go “OOOH DANG!” (Baptist Hill for those unfamiliar with Peter’s Point…which is a funny name). Green Sea-Floyds is listed as playing “bye #6” even though the two from that region doesn’t get a bye, I don’t think. Someone from the lowcountry let me know what the deal is with that, please. If it is what it says, then either Green Sea or #9 Dream or Engine, Engine #9 or whatever goes to C.E. Murray the following week. Scott’s Branch is listed as going to the third-place finisher from Region VI, which technically hasn’t been decided yet, but will be Hemingway. The second round opponent for that winner takes on the Mr. T Haircuts. St. John’s hosts an at-large team. There aren’t many lowerstate teams left really…it’ll be like Creek Bridge or Cross who, no offense, shouldn’t be in the playoffs, but whatever. If we had a points system and upper-to-lower flexibility like God intended instead of pre-seeded brackets, we wouldn’t have this foolishness, but them’s the berries, Hoss. Anyway, St. John’s will beat whoever that is and have an excellent second-round match-up at Lake View. All-Stars The Shrine Bowl and North-South rosters were announced recently. One Class A player made it on the Shrine Bowl roster, that being uber-awesome Williston-Elko TE Keshawn Toney. His team underwhelmed a bit this year with youth an injury and he was banged up at times, but he’s a nearly 6’3, 245-pound man beast who frequently lines up wide, runs past people and wins jump balls. He can also flatten hapless defenders. He’s like a bull, but one that can soar high to the heavens to high point throws. So, like if a bill and a bald eagle had a baby, it would be him…or something. Anyway, he’s a South Carolina commit, which I’m sure helped his cause but he deserved recognition. On the North-South roster, we got exactly the minimum that can be taken (six, one from each region) as per usual. De’Iveon Donald from Dixie (big, strong RB who will knock your teeth out your ears on defense), Jamario James from HKT (incredibly active guy, all-around terrific player), Jacquez Lucas (a frightening person who plays for Lamar), Rashad Maxwell from Baptist Hill(did you miss the 19 TDs last year, guiding an offense to 68 a game this year thing earlier?), Braxton Wedgeworth II, esq (big-time player on both sides of the ball) and Darius Williams from Hemingway (he’s a large person who runs fast and hits hard) all made the game. My problem is that for whatever reason, we rarely get more than one 1A guy on the Shrine Bowl and we get the bare minimum on North-South. First of all, unless there’s something I’m missing, how in the world did Maxwell not make the Shrine Bowl roster? He caught 19 touchdowns last year, selflessly switched positions this year and is guiding the most explosive, dynamic offense in the state. He has multiple nine TD games this year, a fact I’d like for you to let simmer in your head for a few minutes. If he gets the recognition he deserves in the Shrine Bowl, then an extra spot suddenly opens up on the North-South roster. I’ll admit a lot of Class A teams seem to have an inordinate amount of youth this year and Class A has fewer teams than in the past, but this is a recurring problem. Last year, they passed right over Quentin Sanders, Mikial Fourney and Josh Belk from Lewisville, despite Sanders having 2,000-plus yards and a seventy flobbity jillion TDs, Fourney being an absolute stud on both sides of the ball and Belk posting insane numbers at a premium position. Lake View, Wagener-Salley, RS-M, Green Sea-Floyds, all have had good years this season, all have talented seniors, none got a sniff. This comes despite the fact that in Class A, most players rarely leave the field. Ain’t much two-platoonin’, Jabbo. If you start at QB, you also start at safety, and return kicks and cover kicks. RBs are LBs who also have to kickoff. I’m sure there are two-way starters in other classifications, but it’s the exception there, not the rule. It would be nice to see more Class A guys rewarded for what they do, instead of starting the all-star process with demerit next to their name. Now, if someone will hand me a ladder, so that I may dismount and climb down from my high, high horse. POLL TIME As always, I am posting my ballot for the S.C. Prep Media Poll, followed by the actual final poll. 1. Lamar- Duh 2, Wagener-Salley-See above. 3. Dixie- A power running team with one of Class A’s best defenses. They got a really tough playoff draw, though. 4. Baptist Hill- Showed they could win close and against good competition last week. Their best win of the season. 5. Blackville-Hilda- One of the season’s most pleasant surprises. Physical and nasty on both sides. 6. Lake View- Dynamic playmakers at QB and RB and pretty solid defense make them formidable. 7. St. John’s- This young team hustles, they can hurt you a lot of ways on offense, they held Baptist Hill to 28 points and they’re terrific in the kicking game. 8. Whitmire- They maximize their talent as well as anybody…and they’ve got some to work with. Well-coached with kids that never stop coming at you. 9. Bethune-Bowman- Since getting beat down by the team at number eight, they seem to have legitimately improved. Great backfield. 10. Green Sea-Floyds- Don’t forget about this experienced bunch who lets the air out of the ball and beats the will to compete out of you over the course of 48 minutes. 1. Lamar (13 first-place votes) 2. Wagener-Salley 3. Dixie 4. Lake View 5. Baptist Hill 6. Blackville-Hilda 7. Bethune-Bowman 8. St. John’s 9. Ridge Spring-Monetta 10. Green Sea-Floyd’s Suggested Reading If you’ve been injured on the job, dial all 7s for Braxton Wedgeworth III, esq. There are some game capsules here you can choose to read. But then, making smart choices isn’t your forte, now is it Rachel? I bet if he’d caught 19 TDs at Dorman/Summerville/Et al he’d have made the Shrine Bowl.
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Ware Shoals (0-8, 0-2) at Calhoun Falls Charter (0-5, 0-2)
There is more to this game that just somebody getting a “1” in the win column Because of the ridiculous pre-seeded brackets, the winner of this contest is pretty much in the playoffs. Both teams are coming off lopsided losses, with the Flashes falling to Whitmire 46-0 last week and Ware Shoals getting rolled by Dixie 56-8. I’ve seen the Purple Hornets in person this year and was impressed by how hard the kids played. They have some talent…I like the running back, he wasn’t a blazer but he was nice between-the-tackles thumper who caught the ball pretty well. They used Jermarious Goodman and Ben Webb at QB and both had their moments. They aren’t very deep and don’t have a ton of team speed, but I think those positives will be enough to carry the night. Whitmire (5-3, 2-1) at McCormick (1-6, 1-1) The Wolverines are fresh off a vigorous rootin’ of Calhoun Falls Charter and have won four-of-five overall. They have an excellent back in Jaylin Brown, but they have any of about five or six guys who will handle the ball on a given night out of that scrum and hurt you. Unlike a lot of teams that run that offense, though, they’ll bust you with a passing play here-and-there. You know, they run it 17 straight times, so you feel comfortable totally crowding the box and BOOM, wheel route. You don’t see it coming. You’re like a fish swimming along who sees a big, fat minner with a string attached. What could it hurt, right? You take a bite and next thing you know you’re cornmeal battered, deep fried and sitting next to a generous helping of slaw on a Styrofoam plate. Is that where you want to end up? What was I talking about again? Oh, McCormick got blanked by St. Joe’s last week and they’ve only cracked double-figure scoring once all year. They might tonight, but it will be hard to keep up the efficient Wolverines attack. Great Falls (4-3, 0-1) at Lamar (6-1, 1-0) The Red Devils come in off a tough loss to previously winless McBee last week. Even if they don’t win another game this year, this is a successful season considering they’d won one game the last three years combined. There is talent on this roster, though most of it is young. You know of 6’6 Kelton Talford…he of the spring-loaded legs and catcher’s mitt hands. But D.J. Adams, Xavion Moore, Hunter Funderburk, Quay Bowser and others will author a bright future for this program. This is a mighty heavy lift, though. Since their loss to Gray Collegiate, Lamar has just laid horrific beatdowns on Lake View and Timmonsville. They aren’t throwing as much with QB Cam Galloway out for the year, but that just means Jacquez Lucas and Malik Johnson get more carries, which isn’t a thing I’d be interested in if I was facing them. The defense has completely shut down good offenses the last two weeks and you almost can’t run the ball on the them. Timmonsville (3-4, 0-1) at McBee (1-6, 1-0) I got no clue on this’n. Timmonsville was cruising along at 3-1, their only loss to a pretty good AA Lee Central team in overtime, now they’ve lost three straight. They certainly have dynamic skill guys on offense with Jamaric Morris and Fanando Jackson, but they’ve scored 27 points in their last three games. McBee was 0-6 and with a new head coach and totally new offensive scheme, I’d pretty much written them off. If you really go back and look at that 0-6 start, though, it was littered with losses to good AA teams like Hannah-Pamplico, North Central and A.J. They almost beat Blacksburg two weeks ago, then won going away at Great Falls last week. They are playing better and the new spread offense seems to be starting to click. Aiding the transition are Tyrece Wright and Jaheim Wright. I think about 80 percent of the people in McBee are named “Wright” and they’re all good at football. I think there is an ordinance that any woman without the last name “Wright” has to marry a Wright. I don’t know how else they have a seemingly endless supply. Anyway, I won’t be surprised either way here. Denmark-Olar (4-3, 2-2) at Wagener-Salley (6-1, 4-0) The next stop for the Chitlin Express is probably 7-1. They all but locked up the Region III crown with a 20-6 win over Ridge Spring-Monetta last week. Quentiz Barnes had a huge night in that one on the ground. The Hand Slung All-Stars rarely throw the ball, but they don’t have to. They are dominant up front and over the course of a game they slowly grind you into a paste they use to thicken some celebratory victory stew. You also can’t run on them. I’m still interested to see them play someone who spreads the field a bit, but they won’t see anyone of that ilk for a while. Denmark is improved, but is coming off their worst showing of the year in a 30-0 loss to HKT. North (0-6, 0-4) at HKT (2-5, 2-2) North has the longest losing streak in the state, they’ve scored 32 points all year and they’ve given up at least 42 in every game. HKT has been spotty on offense after losing some explosive skill guys from last year, but their line is solid and they’ve played pretty salty defense. I hope North gets a win at some point, but I doubt it will be tonight. Blackville-Hilda (5-2, 3-1) at Williston-Elko (3-5, 2-3) It just feels weird to see W-E’s name and “3-5” in the same sentence. They’re the type of program for whom a bad year is 6-4, with a second-round playoff exit. They lost big numbers from last year, but I figured they’d just reload like always. I also thought KeShawn Toney was like what you’d get if a bull and a bald eagle had a baby. A large powerful being capable of flight with razor-sharp talons. The future D-1 tight end is that, actually, but he’s been hurt. They’ve really had a rough time on defense. B-H on the other hand has pitched three straight shutouts, one against RS-M. They fall into the Wagener-Salley, “let’s put on sturdy footwear and kick each other where it hurts until someone blinks” brand of football. They are good up front, they knock the crap out of you on defense and they just pound you with a couple of good backs. QB Adonis Davis is a good runner too and can bring a little bit of a passing threat to the table. This feels like a B-H win, but if Toney is healthy he could stretch the field enough to create some opportunities. Ridge Spring-Monetta (3-4, 2-2) at Estill (1-6, 1-4) RS-M is not where I was expecting them to be this season. With so much returning talent, particularly on defense, I thought this would be their year to snatch the Region III crown from Williston. They did beat Williston, but also lost to Blackville-Hilda and Wagner-Salley and they’ve struggled to put folks away. They were close last week against Chitlinville. They fell 20-6 but had one drive end on downs at the 11 (then gave up an 89-yard touchdown run), turned it over inside the 10 and allowed a non-offensive touchdown. They were close, but this ain’t horse shoes or hand grenades, Brogator. Still, they should end the season on a three-game winning streak, starting with tonight. They’re in the playoffs already, pretty much, and they often play their best ball late, so there’s still hope. Military Magnet (0-7, 0-1) at Baptist Hill (4-2, 0-0) Remember in August when Baptist Hill had 14 points in two games and everybody was like “WHA WHA WHA?” Boy, that seems like a long time ago. Seriously, I don’t know if I can ever recall one personnel decision making as big a difference as Baptist Hill’s bold switch of Rashard Maxwell from WR to QB. You’re taking a guy who caught 19 touchdowns last year and sticking him under center. That seemed like a risk to me, but apparently Marion Brown knows a lot more about football than I do (I imagine he knows more about most things than I do, actually). That move has worked to the tune of point totals of 60, 72, 58 and 78 in their last four games. Expect something similar tonight. St. John’s (5-2, 1-0) at Charles Town School for Mule Husbandry and Plow Repair (1-6, 0-0) The Islanders will basically be playing for the region title next week against Baptist Hill, but Coach Harpe won’t let his guys think about that until they take care of business tonight against the Riptide. Charleston Charter may still be walking funny after losing by 78 last week. St. John’s won’t hang quite that many on them, but they’ll get plenty. C.E. Murray (4-3, 2-0) at Bethune-Bowman (5-3, 2-0) On the surface, this looks like an enticing match-up but I don’t know if it actually is. The Mr. T Haircuts have a good, old-fashioned plow horse of a RB in Jesus Benjamin and an experienced leader under center in Braxton Wedgeworth III, esq. But the five teams they’ve beaten have three combined victories. THREE! C.E. Murray has shaken out of their little three-week funk with back-to-back wins. I expect Coach Wilkes’ team, which has developed a knack for clutch, close wins, to take this one tonight. If the Mr. T Haircuts come away with the victory, though, it will probably change my perspective on them quite a bit. Cross (0-8, 0-3) at Scott’s Branch (1-5, 0-2) Cross is a proud program that has enjoyed a lot of success. They are normally a tough out, but they are probably the youngest team in the state this year. As such, they’ve scored 10 points in eight games. Scott’s Branch has been close the past few weeks and seem to be improving. They have Amonte Brown and some other athletes to work with. This seems like the night they get over the hump with a big victory. Creek Bridge (0-5) at Lake View (4-3, 1-0) Creek Bridge has been shut out three times and scored in double digits once. Lake View put it on a good Green Sea-Floyds team last week with two runners going over 100 yards (including QB Adarrian Dawkins). So, you know, this may not go well for Creek Bridge tonight. Green Sea-Floyds (3-3, 0-1) at Hemingway (3-3, 0-0) Hemingway’s season, at 1-3, was dead and buried. Seriously, I sent flowers, went to visitation, ate some of aunt Beulah’s macaroni casserole…the whole bit. Now they’ve notched consecutive impressive wins. It is important to note who they three early losses were to (Lamar, Andrews and Carvers Bay), none of which look bad at all in retrospect. Green Sea was my dark horse pick in the lowerstate, early on. They have lots of returners from a playoff team, they’re physical, they bleed the clock with an effective running game…but that hasn’t translated so far. Certainly have to take into account that they didn’t get to play for a month because of Hurricane Florence. I still think they’ve got it in them and tonight would be a good time to show it. Whitmire- 46
Calhoun Falls Charter- Remember how many birds Bob Marley sang about? Three less than that. Dixie- 56 Ware Shoals- 8 St. Joe’s 23 McCormick- A round number. I don’t mean divisible by two, I mean it is a number that is actually round in shape. McBee- 36 Great Falls- A number with a rich, interesting history Lamar- 42 Timmonsville- 8 Blackville-Hilda- 23 Estill- Seriously, people. My kingdom for a safety. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler- 30 Denmark-Olar- Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech had four more scores than Denmark-Olar. Williston-Elko- 46 North- Atsa see-through dog diddy! Wagener-Salley- 20 Ridge Spring-Monetta- 6 Baptist Hill- 78 Charles Town Technical School for Buggy Repair and Blacksmithin’- Is this a test? It feels like a test. St. John’s- 53 Military Magnet- 13 Bethune-Bowman- 42 Cross- Read between the lines / / C.E. Murray- 22 Branchville- 12 Lake View- 37 Green Sea-Floyds- 22 Breakdown- You are getting an abbreviated version of my normal ration of silliness today for a couple of reasons. One, I had to cover two court cases this week and had other stuff to deal with in my “paying” gig, so I’m pretty late for tea here to start with. Also, there were only a couple of really impactful games last week…what we had in large supply was super sucky games. You could probably already tell that based on how hard I had to work to come up with all the “zero” references. The biggest game took place in Region III, where the boys from Chitlintown all but clinched a region championship with a 20-6 win over Ridge Spring-Monetta. The War Eagles just kinda did what they do in that one, controlling the line of scrimmage, running the ball well and largely preventing RS-M from doing the same. Coming into the season, I felt like this region was RS-M’s to lose, based on all the returning talent they have from last year’s upperstate championship runner-up team. For whatever reason, though, things haven’t worked out that way. They struggled to put away a few lesser opponents, then got stonewalled by Blackville-Hilda last week. The certainly had their chances in this game, but they fumbled inside the W-S 10 on one occasion, then had a drive stopped on downs at the 11. On the next play, they gave up an 89-yard scoring run. W-S had one non-offensive touchdown mixed in there too. So, this game was a bit closer than even the 20-6 score indicates. Given their remaining schedule, they should finish on a three-game winning streak, but unless Blackville-Hilda gets tripped up, they’ll finish in third place and miss out on a first-round bye. They’re probably looking at going to McBee or Timmonsville in the first round, then to Dixie in the second. Of course they usually play their best ball late, so a run isn’t out of the question. As for Chitlinistan, it’s hard to see them being challenged down the stretch barring locust plagues or a rubella outbreak or something. If they can muscle up and run for 312 yards like they did on a talented RS-M defense, it’s hard to see how Quentiz Barnes (188 yards last week), My’Kell Landy and company don’t just kinda name the score in their final three games. The other game I was really interested in was Lake View’s victory over Green Sea-Floyds. The Wild Gators have been a tad up-and-down this year, but I think that is much more attributable to their schedule than to any deficiencies they have. They lost close to a good AA team in Hannah-Pamplico, they got drummed by Dillon (who doesn’t get drummed by Dillon?) and smothered by Lamar (who specializes in smotherin’). The one minor surprise in this game to me was how well they ran the ball. Adarrian Dawkins went for 150 yards and two touchdowns and Benji Kelley added 102. Watching a few highlight clips of Dawkins (which you can and should do by clicking here) he was just flat-out too fast for GS-F. As for GS-F, I put them in the RS-M category and not just because I condense their name down to three letters and a hyphen. They are a physical team that shortens the games with a power running attack and has a lot of returners from a successful squad last year. Yet, they have three losses and two wins by single digits. They are also a team and school that was impacted horrifically by Hurricane Florence. That kept them off the field for almost a month and probably left them with more things on their plate to worry about than football. They get a resurgent Hemingway team this week. Lake View gets a tune-up for Hemingway as they play Creek Bridge. POLL TIME! As per usual, I will list my top 10, followed by the S.C. Prep Media Top 10, of which my poll is a part. Just outside the top 10 I have GS-F and RS-M. I think both are among the best 10 teams in the state, but polls this time of year have to be driven by the resume teams present and both are struggling on that front at present. Branchville, despite being 5-2, would be behind those two, largely because those five wins have come against teams with a combined record of 2-33. The Mr. T Haircuts (5-3) can prove they belong this week against C.E. Murray. 10. Whitmire- I know they lost to RS-M, but they’re 5-3, they aren’t going to lose again and they’re a well-coached, tenacious handful for anybody they play. 9. C.E. Murray- They have two quality “up” wins and have now won two straight after a brief skid. Coach Wilkes’ team knows how to win close games, a trait that will come in handy down the line. 8. Hemingway- Suddenly resurgent after a surprising 1-3 start, the Tigers are winning some exceptional defense the past few weeks. 7. St. John’s- Coach Harpe’s team is young, but their offense has a lot of weapons and shows nice versatility. Also key is that they are outstanding on special teams, which gives them a leg up in most every game. 6. Lake View- The Wild Gators lost three games to three top-level opponents but they’ve got a lot of talent, starting with their young signal caller Dawkins. They’ll be 5-3 next week going into their game with Hemingway. 5. Blackville-Hilda- Keep an eye on this team. They are just flogging people on defense, they’re good up front, they run the ball well and they throw it with young Adonis Davis just enough to keep you honest. 4. Baptist Hill- Since putting Rashad Maxwell at quarterback, they have put up cartoonish numbers (he accounted for nine touchdowns last week). More importantly, they are playing real, big boy defense. 3. Dixie- All but wrapped up a region title last week. Another team with a great kicking game that has really boosted them in some games. Deiveon Donald and Chandler Smalley are a good RB tandem and they’ve stood toe-to-toe with everyone they’ve played defensively this year, including AA unbeaten Ninety-Six. 2. Wagener-Salley- The pig innards are pretty much physically pushing everyone they play around at this point. 1. Lamar- Duh. 1. Lamar (12) 2. Wagener-Salley (1) 3. Dixie 4. Lake View 5. Baptist Hill 6. Blackville-Hilda 7. Hemingway 8. St. John’s 9. C.E. Murray 10. Ridge Spring-Monetta and Branchville Receiving votes: Denmark-Olar, Bethune-Bowman, Whitmire, Green Sea-Floyds, Timmonsville. CRANKSMACKS OF THE WEEK! Rashad Maxwell, Baptist Hill. Accounted for nine flippin’, dadgum, hot-a-rocky touchdowns in Baptist Hill’s epic rootin’ of the Riptide. Tyrone Hicks, St. John’s. Had 126 yards receiving and three touchdowns on offense and 10 tackles with two sacks in a big win for the Islanders. Calhoun Falls Charter (0-4, 0-1) at Whitmire (4-3, 1-1)
Whitmire is coming off a 27-0 loss to Dixie last week. That actually isn’t as bad as it sounds when you consider that Dixie’s defense held a powerhouse AA Ninety-Six squad to 12 points and left Christ Church straining and jumping at the bowl to emit a drop (they shut them out is what I’m getting at). The sledding should be considerably easier this week. As always, I’m happy for and proud of Calhoun Falls Charter for persevering through really trying circumstances...namely, keeping a hard-fighting team on the field with fewer than 100 students. Still, depth and an offense that can come at you from a lot of directions should be enough for the Wolverines in this one. Ware Shoals (0-7, 0-1) at Dixie (5-2, 2-0) I rarely pronounce regions to be over, done and settled this early, but boy it feels like we’ve reached the conclusion in Region I. Dixie beat Whitmire last week and took out McCormick the week before, leaving them to play winless Ware Shoals and Calhoun Falls Charter to lock up the region title and number one playoff seed. Remember when I talked earlier about how good their defense is? Maybe not…that was at least a few sentences ago and we’ve both grown and changed as people since then. Well, that defense is good and it’s going up against an offense that has scored eight or fewer points four times this year. St. Joe’s (3-4) at McCormick (1-5) The Chiefs got in the win column last week as they beat Calhoun Falls Charter 32-12. I’m sure it felt good to have a breakout performance offensively, after they’d been straining and jump…did I use that sophomoric analogy already? I think I did. Yeah. Yeah, I did. OK. To me, McCormick is one of the largest unknown quantities in Class A right now. They’ve played a top-five Class A team in Dixie (have I mentioned they have a good defense, I can’t remember?) Calhoun Falls Charter (who they handily beat) and a bunch of AA and AAA teams. What do they look like against middling to good Class A team? I don’t know, and we won’t find out tonight either. St. Joe’s has dropped two straight and three-of-four, but gave really good AA teams (Landrum and Southside Christian) serious battles the last two weeks. It might be a long night for McCormick, but they could also be better than they’ve been able to show. McBee (0-6) at Great Falls (4-2) I have no idea how to read this one. So, it’s a lot like a math or science book, I guess. (Have I already done the “I sucked at schooling” bit? I might have). Based on record alone, this shouldn’t be close, but you have to look a little deeper. McBee has played a very good Class A team in Lake View and five AA teams, four of whom sport winning records. All those games had been blowouts until last week, when they dang near beat Blacksburg, holding a lead with three minutes to go. Tyrece Wright caught a TD and ran for one in that game. You should know this about Wrights…they are good at football and they are in rich supply in McBee. The Panthers have a new coach and have scrapped the wishbone they’ve run forever for the spread. That makes my face hurt to think about, but maybe after taking some early lumps they’re starting to get it. Great Falls was off last week, but they’re enjoying their best season in several years. They have good young talent in guys like Quay Bowser, D.J. Adams, Hunter Funderburk, Xavion Moore, Kelton Talford etc. The key word there is “young” though. It also has to be noted two of their victories have come against winless teams and one is against a team with one win. I think this will be an excellent matchup against teams that are more evenly matched than it might appear. This is an important game, since the winner is likely in the playoffs. Lamar (5-1) at Timmonsville (3-3) The top-ranked Silver Foxes bounced back from the loss to Gray Collegiate in great form last week, as they left a quality Lake View squad straining and...no, I’ll stop now. That’s quite enough of the enlarged prostate humor for one evening. They won 27-6 and that one Lake View score came on a kick return. Lake View didn’t sniff 100 total yards. Lamar did go with youngster J.J. Langley at quarterback (in place of starter Cam Galloway, who is out for the year with injury) and didn’t ask him to do too much. They ran the ball, they played defense and they doled out a goo-oood rootin’. Timmonsville was on a roll at one point, running out to a 3-1 record with the only loss coming to AA Lee Central in overtime. Now they’ve lost two straight, though. They are much improved on defense this year, but the offense has really gone south the past two weeks, though it has come against a good defense from Green Sea-Floyds and a suddenly good again Hemingway squad. They have offensive weapons in Morris, Jackson et al, but they only have 19 points the last two weeks. A trip to Lamar hardly seems like the soothing salve for one’s offensive wounds… Estill (1-5, 1-2) at Blackville-Hilda (4-2, 2-1) The Hawks stunned many last week with their 2-0 upset of Ridge Spring-Monetta. I wasn’t completely shocked, though. If you want to have an old fashioned “let’s knee each other where it hurts and see who cries first” contest with B-H, they’ll oblige you. They are outstanding in the trenches, their defense is physical as all get-out and they just slowly drain your will to compete with a blunt force trauma offense. They have a two-headed monster at RB with Randolph Sincino and Daylun Dawkins. They also have an AMAZINGLY named QB in Adonis Davis who adds another component in the run game and can throw it when need be. Estill beat up on North for their one win but has been outscored 147-23 otherwise, so, you know, this may not go well for them. HKT (1-5, 1-2) at Denmark-Olar (4-2, 2-1) Denmark is legitimately improved. And they, oddly, have played everyone close other than Silver Bluff and North. They nipped the Mr. T Haircuts 24-18, they handed Branchville their only loss 28-13, they only lost to RS-M by 10 and they beat Estill 22-16. HKT, long the standard-bearer for tiny schools competing well, are scuffling this year after losing all their skill guys. From last season They’ve been shut out three times. Still, the Vikings have played almost everybody close, so who knows? Williston-Elko (2-4, 1-2) at North (0-6, 0-2) W-E is having a decidedly un-W-E sort of year. I figured with top-drawer talent like Keshawn Toney, huge numbers overall and their annual ability to reload, they would be a contender this year. Instead, they are struggling mightily on defense and have been fairly inconsistent on offense. Injuries play a part, certainly (including to Toney) but I might have underestimated how losing a huge group of seniors last year might have impacted them. I don’t suspect it will matter tonight. North has the state’s longest losing streak, they’ve given up at least 42 points in every game and have scored just 24 all season. I really hope they can get that elusive “W” soon, though. Wagener-Salley (5-1, 3-0) at Ridge Spring-Monetta (3-3, 2-1) Once these two purged the Williston demon early on, almost everyone assumed that this game would be for the region crown. Then RS-M lost to Blackville-Hilda last week, but there were some warning signs earlier on. They struggled to put away a Williston team that has proven to not be as good as was expected and they had a tough time with Denmark-Olar. If they had struggled only on offense this year, I would get it. Tyson Bettis was one of the most underrated players in Class A last year in my opinion. He ran it well, he was a good passer, but he always played his best in big games, was tough as crap and often willed them wins. Last week notwithstanding, though, the defense has been solid, but not of the “grind you into fine particulates and use your dusty remains to line the field” level I was expecting with so much talent back. Chitlinville has proven they can run the ball on anybody and that you likely aren’t going to run it much on them. Totally dominant on both sides up front. This is still a huge game. I’d favor The Chitlintown All-Stars, but RS-M has that reputation of playing their best late in the season, so it’s no gimme. The Charleston Charter Academy of the Arts, Sciences and Food Service (1-5) at Baptist Hill (3-2) Good for the Riptide getting one in the win column, but they’ve given up more than 50 three times this year. Since Baptist Hill moved Reshad Maxwell to QB, they’ve scored 190 points in three games. So, this is liable to look like a speeding train full of bricks and hand grenades hitting moped that has stalled on the tracks. Military Magnet (0-6) at St. John’s (4-2) St. John’s has had to sit and stew on their loss to Calvary Day of Georgia for two weeks. Coach Josh Harpe has a young roster, but his offense balances the run and throw well and he spreads the ball around to lots of playmakers. He also has one of the best special teams units in Class A football. This should be a chance for them to put that last loss behind them and start the region with an important win. Bethune-Bowman (4-3, 1-0) at Cross (0-7, 0-2) Jesus Benjamin, Braxton Wedgeworth III esq. and company should have a good night against one of the state’s youngest squads in Cross. C.E. Murray (3-3, 1-0) at Branchville (5-1, 1-0) Big-time region implications in this one. Branchville is off to an excellent start and they have a senior-heavy roster. However, they’ve eeked by in lots of their wins…and those five wins have come against teams with a combined record of 2-30. TWO AND DADGUM THIRTY. This is their chance to prove their legitimacy. C.E. Murray is much more battle tested., having played The OC Semi-Pros, Mullins etc. I also don’t think Branchville has seen a passing game like McKnight and company will bring to the field. Sadly, I’m out of time, so Region VI gets the “in other action” treatment… Lake View at Green Sea-Floyds Hemingway at Creek Bridge McCormick- 32
Calhoun Falls- 12 Dixie- 27 Whitmire- If the spread was 28, they beat it Lamar- 27 Lake View- 6 Blacksburg- 28 McBee- 27 Green Sea-Floyds- 19 Timmonsville- 13 Blackville-Hilda- 2 Ridge Spring-Monetta- They lost and the other team scored two points, so you might can figure this one out on your own. Denmark-Olar- 22 Estill- 16 Williston-Elko- 16 HKT- 14 Wagener-Salley- 54 North- Who didn’t love Jami Gertz back in the day? Bethune-Bowman- 36 Scott’s Branch- 23 Branchville- 20 Cross- As out Kazakh friends would say, “нөл” Charleston Charter Academy for car detailing and interpretive dance- 26 Creek Bridge- 20 Breakdown- The big question going into Friday was how Lamar would bounce back from its first regular season loss in three years. The answer was “by beating someone’s face in.” Their game with a good Lake View squad wasn’t quite as close as the 27-6 score would make it appear. Playing against a team you’d probably feel good about holding under 30 points, the Silver Foxes allowed 30 total yards of offense. That included limiting dynamic QB Adarrian Dawkins to -15 total yards. The six points came via a kickoff return. With QB Cam Galloway lost for the year to injury, Lamar didn’t ask backup J.J. Langley to do too much. He obviously managed the offense well and allowed Jacquez Lucas and Malik Johnson to run up-and-down the field on the Wild Gator D like a couple of deer hepped up on truck stop speed. That’s a really awful analogy there, because now I’m picturing Bambi in a Kenworth pulling logs, hitting up Rubber Duck on the CB to score enough tweek to keep him awake long enough to get his load to A-Town, good buddy. What was I saying now? I am taking nothing away from Gray’s win over Lamar last week. They made big plays in the passing game and deserved to win, but I think the Galloway injury early and a three-week layoff played a big part. I think the Lamar we saw this past Friday is a lot more indicative of the kind of team they are. My clandestine Lamar mole told be he thinks the loss may actually end up serving them well. Last year, they played with a gigantic chip on their shoulder after losing in the title game to Lake View the year before, so he thinks the Gray loss could actually re-focus them and make them play like they’ve got something to prove. A really PO’d and intensely focused Lamar doesn’t seem like a thing anyone else should be interested in. They are 5-1 now and will start region play this week against Timmonsville… I’m sure a lot of people thanked their lucky stars they didn’t have to sit through Blackville-Hilda’s 2-0 win over Ridge Spring-Monetta Friday night. I am not among them. I bet they just beat the T-total crap out of one another. I bet that was like to two dudes standing toe-to-toe and headbutting one another until one got wobbly, said he couldn’t see out of his left eye and tapped out, while the other derided him as a sissy. That’s two really physical football teams that, while they throw it here and there, just want to run it down your throat and physically maul you in the trenches. I’m sure some folks were surprised at the outcome, but I really wasn’t. B-H has a pair of good runners and an athletic QB in the awesomely named Adonis Davis who can beat you a lot of way. As the score indicates, though, they are really, really good on defense. Even in their loss to the red hot Chitlinville team the other week, they kept it close and competitive. They shut out HKT and the Mr. T Haircuts before that. On top of that, RS-M hasn’t been rolling people the way I expected at the outset of the season. Granted, they lost a great one in QB Tyson Bettis from last year, a winner with outstanding physical tools, but they returned most everyone else, particularly on defense. I was surprised then that the allowed 30 in a win over Denmark-Olar and barely got by a Williston-Elko team that is really struggling. Now, the loss does not end their region title hopes. They get second-ranked Wagener-Salley this week (aka New Chitlinland). If they win that one, they could force a three-way, round-robin style tie at the top (Wagener already beat Blackville-Hilda), or they could win it outright with a win and a lot of help they probably aren’t going to get. With a loss, they’ll be 3-4, will have lost two straight in the region and will probably be looking at a third-place finish. I will note that they always seem to play their best late in the season, so we’ll see what happens. I normally wouldn’t get ahead of myself by pronouncing a region race over this early in the year, but here I am, pronouncing a region race over. Dixie took a hard-fought 27-0 win over Whitmire Friday. It was a defensive struggle in both directions, with Whitmire not even cracking 100 total yards and Dixie barely managing 200 themselves. However, they put the Wolverines in bad field position all night and forced a couple of key turnovers. They didn’t (and don’t) throw it much, but Dawson Glenn was 4-of-5 for 82 yards which provided a little bit of balance. Deiveon Donald and Chandler Smalley didn’t put up their normal gaudy rushing stats, but they combined for 128 and three touchdowns. The contributions of Bradley Nickles need to be acknowledged too, since he kicked a pair of 40-plus yard field goals. You can’t overstate what an advantage that gives a team in the Class A ranks, where many teams don’t even bother kicking extra points. This game is a good microcosm of what Dixie brings to the table. They aren’t flashy and nothing on the stat sheet makes you mess yourself, they are just solid in all three phases, they have good senior leaders and they don’t hurt themselves with dumb mistakes. Barring something unforeseen (and I’m talking like locusts swarms or alien invasions of Due West), they’ll easily take care of Ware Shoals and Calhoun Falls Charter, win the region and get a first round playoff bye. That might mean a meeting with RS-M, but we’re still more than a month away from that. Quick Hits- So, I got a tad too smarmy and glib for my own good in assessing McBee’s chances against Blacksburg. I said “it may not go well for them” which on this BLAWG is like having an old lady at church say “Bless your heart.” They’d gotten trucked in every game, Blacksburg is a good AA team who came in at 4-2 and dang if McBee didn’t lead that thing in the fourth quarter. They lost 28-27, but that represents a heck of an effort. If you really look at it, they’ve played a monster schedule and did so under a new coach running a completely new offensive scheme. They are young, but maybe things are starting to click for them. They have some talent in guys like Tyrece Wright (athletic people named Wright are very plentiful in McBee) who had two touchdowns Friday. They aren’t going to challenge Lamar, but they need only beat Great Falls or Timmonsville to make the playoffs. If they play like they did Friday night, that could very easily happen… The Mr. T Haircuts had probably their best all-around performance of the year in Friday’s win over Scott’s Brach. Jesus Benjamin ran for more than 200 yards and the team is now 4-3 heading into what should be 5-3 as they play Cross. If the offense keeps clicking, their games against C.E. Murray and Branchville might be interesting…Not sure what has happened to Timmonsville’s offense. They were cruising right along, then managed only 19 points the last two weeks. The level of competition (a sneaky good Green Sea-Floyds and resurgent Hemingway) might have something to do with that, but that problem ain’t going away Bubba, since Lamar comes to town tonight. I understand that is Timmonsville’s homecoming, which seems like a grievous oversight on someone in the scheduling department’s part. Suggested reading (and viewing) Come on Rubber Duck, coffee and Pall Mall’s only keep a man awake for so long. You can read several game capsules here, including one on the Mr. T Haircuts. Or you can choose not to and say you did, but there’s a big, poisonous spider in that web of lies you’re spinning, Marvin. If you like football and junk but not, like words and stuff, there are a lot of short capsules and video clips here. I DON’T WANT WORDS MR. NEWSPAPER MAN. I WANT SOME VIDYA OF BRANCHVILLE! Region I is settled science, people. Cross didn’t win Friday, but they still got an amazing performance. One that made me want to make my way to the fellowship hall for covered dish delights. NOTE: I’ll post my top 10 poll tomorrow along with my CRANKSMACKS of the week. If you know of a Class A player who offered up a noteworthy performance, please let me know via DM at @CNR_Sports on Twitter or via email at [email protected] McCormick (0-5, 0-1) at Calhoun Falls Charter (0-3)
This is a game between a pair of winless teams but this is in no way an inconsequential matchup. Because of the inane pre-seeded brackets foisted upon us, the winner of this one is all but in the playoffs. If the winner then goes on to beat Ware Shoals, they’ll host in the first round…but let’s not get off on that tangent right now. Let’s wait until we have time to be really stretch our legs and be indignant and jerky about the topic. The Flashes, as near as I can find, have played one game in the last month, that being a 31-point loss to something called Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. Their numbers aren’t great but they have been a bit more competitive than last year and a big hat tip to them for keeping the program going with enrollment under 100. McCormick hasn’t scored more than eight point in any game this year. Now, they’ve played a rough schedule, with the only game against a Class A school being last week’s region opener against a very good Dixie squad. So, it’s possible they’ve just been overwhelmed in terms of size and overall talent and this is the first time we’ll really get to see what they’ve got. I like the highlights I’ve seen on Silas Cannady on both sides of the ball and this might be a night he finally gets to go off. Dixie (4-2, 1-0) at Whitmire (4-2, 1-0) I hate to pronounce regions over, done and settled on October 5, but that’s totally what I’ll be doing later tonight with Region I. I don’t see any way either of these teams loses to anyone else in the region. Right now, they just appear head and shoulders above their region mates. Dixie is fresh off 37-8 thumping of McCormick last week, but I think their two losses actually demonstrate what kind of team they are. They gave Landrum and Ninety-Six, a pair of very good, ranked AA teams, all they wanted. They also shut out Christ Church. Those games give you an idea of how good they are in the trenches and how they can just drain the life out of an opponent and the clock. It’s like a fat guy with a straw near a gravy tureen. Sure, it’s tough to get sausage gravy through a straw, but he’s gonna keep sucking and pretty soon, everybody else is stuck eating dry taters. You know what I’m talking about…or not. Anyway, Whitmire may be a hair behind them in terms of experience and they don’t have a signature win just yet, but they played four team you’d figure they were better than and they handled their business in all four. Those kids play hard, they’re tough and their offense is probably not fun to try to defend. They run a double-wing, scrum thing, but they mix in the outside run better than most teams that use that offensive attack. They also throw the ball just enough and just well enough that you’re never totally comfortable just completely selling out to stop the run. They also have a ton of guys that cycle in-and-out of the backfield capable of hurting you. Jaylin Brown (201 yards on eight dadgum carries last week) tops that list. Should be a good one in the Pearl of the Piedmont tonight! Lake View (3-2) at Lamar (4-1) For the first time since 2015, Lamar is having to respond after a regular season loss…really sit and think about that for a second. I don’t know what to chalk their loss to Gray up to. They’d been idle for three weeks because of the hurricane and their quarterback got injured early in the game. Those factors might have been the difference, or maybe Gray, a AA team with some talent and a pass-first offense the Silver Foxes hadn’t seen up until then, would’ve beaten them anyway. I’m interested to see what Lamar cooks up offensively with their QB out for the year. Maybe they roll with back-up J.J. Langley, maybe they lean more heavily on the run, or maybe they do some tinkering, maybe bring back that three-back offense they used a few years ago. I would imagine the defense is going to play like a bunch of hungry dogs chasing a cat with a T-bone tied to its tail after getting gashed last week. They’ll get a stiff test in Lake View. Their two losses were a close one to a very good AA Hannah-Pamplico team and grade one rootin’ from AAA mega-power Dillon. But seriously, there aren’t many teams who wouldn’t tote a rootin’ from Dillon. They can certainly test Lamar’s secondary with QB Adarrian Dawkins. They run it well too and have only given up 16 points in their three wins. It’s not a region game, there are no playoff implications, but this is the game of the week in Class A. Green Sea-Floyds (2-2) at Timmonsville (4-2) This is another game I’m really interested in. Green Sea is a team I had as a dark horse candidate to make a run this year. They have 16 starters back from a team that won a playoff game, they are physical as crap etc. They lost to a couple of good AA schools, beat West Columbus and Loris but they haven’t played a game in a month. I think that’s a huge impediment. The Whirlwinds lost last week to a suddenly resurgent Hemingway squad and scored only six points in the process. They’ve continually played good defense, even in last week’s loss, and Jackson, Morris and company don’t seem like the kind of guys you want to face when you haven’t played a game since the first week of September. I guess we’ll see. Blacksburg (4-2) at McBee (0-5) Wildcats Coach Andrew Chisolm faces his alma mater tonight…and not to be mean about it, but that’s about the most positive thing I can glean from this match-up. Blacksburg is a good AA team, McBee (against an admittedly tough schedule) is struggling to generate much offense and has given up at least 45 points in four of five games. So, you know, this might not go well for them tonight. Blackville-Hilda (3-2, 1-1) at Ridge Spring-Monetta (3-2, 2-0) There’s a lot of build-up to RS-M’s game next week against Chitlinville. That’ll be for the region title and a number one playoff seed…pump the brakes, Bubba. The Trojans need not look past this match-up tonight. The Hawks are going to be a handful for everybody going forward, in my opinion. They lost to Chitlinburg, but it was a very competitive contest and their other loss came against AA powerhouse Barnwell. They shut out HKT last week, giving up 56 yards of offense in the process. They are REALLY good on defense. Offensively, they’re showing a bit more variety than past years. They still have a big O line and seek to drain your will to compete in athletics with a long, methodical whipping…they run the ball is what I’m getting at. Randolph Sincino and Daylun Dawkins both went over 100 yards last week. QB Adonis Davis (whose name indicates he is either a quarterback or the current holder of the North American TV title belt) had 154 total yards and two touchdowns (on rushing and one passing). He’s a dual threat. RS-M has won three straight, and this is nit-picking in a major way, but I was a little surprised that their games against Denmark and Williston were both so close. Was also surprised they gave up 52 points combined in those. Again, that’s not bad against pretty competitive teams…it could be that my expectations were outsized…or that I’m not terribly bright. Whatever, this should be a tremendously physical game and it’s not in any way a forgone conclusion. Denmark-Olar (3-2, 1-1) at Estill (1-3, 1-1) The Vikings have taken a major step forward this year. They gave RS-M a heck of a game last week, falling 30-20. They got a nice win over Branchville earlier in the year as well. I don’t know a ton about them, but I do know Zyviear Jamison had 16 tackles last week, including six for a loss and added in 81 yards receiving. I looked it up and that is apparently good. Estill put it to North last week, but have been outscored 120-7 otherwise. HKT (1-4, 1-1) at Williston-Elko (1-4, 0-2) Those records look really out-of-place, don’t they? I know they lost a big senior class from last year, but I fully expected W-E to reload and roll like they always do. Instead, they’ve dealt with injuries and they have just gotten their faces stepped on defensively the last few weeks. Uncoverable man/beast/bear Keshawn Toney has been among the injured, from what I’ve read and I’m not sure of his status tonight. I think this is where they get their first region win, though. HKT, shockingly given their history, just can’t score. They are young, they lost all their skill guys from last year and aside from their win over North, they have eight points this year. Like, total. In their four other games. North (0-5, 0-2) at Wagener-Salley (4-1, 2-0) There isn’t a need to spend much time on this one. North has the longest losing streak in the state…I hope they find a win soon, but it won’t happen tonight against Chitlin RFD. Scott’s Branch (1-5, 0-1) at Bethune-Bowman (3-3) Scott’s Branch is has dropped four straight, including a 30-28 decision to Branchville last week. Given time, Coach Brian Smith is going to build a winner, but the team has struggled on offense. Defensively, they’ve been pretty good. They face a Mr. T Haircuts squad that is 3-3, but the three wins have come against teams (North, HKT and Military Magnet) with one win between them. They have a veteran, athletic quarterback in Braxton Wedgeworth III, esq., and solid runner in Jesus Benjamin, but offensively they struggle to make water against good teams. This is a region match-up, so it’s important for both teams. Branchville (4-1, 1-0) at Cross (0-6, 0-1) The Yellow Jackets are senior-heavy and rolling on a three-game win streak, though the wins have all been against struggling programs. Unfortunately, Cross meets the criteria to be considered “struggling” as well. They’ve been outscored 236-10 this year. They might be the youngest team in the state and losing a big, talented senior class is tough to recover from at a school as small as they are. They’ll be back and this might not be a horrific blowout tonight but Branchville will probably exceed last year’s win total tonight. Dixie- 37
McCormick- 8 Whitmire- 35 Ware Shoals- 6 Great Falls- 44 Camden Military- 22 Gray- 38 Lamar- HOLY CRAP LAMAR LOST WTH? WHA WHA WHA?!?! Hemingway- 13 Timmonsville- 6 Lake View- 47 McBee- 10 Blackville-Hilda- 30 HKT- Why is everybody so hung up on numbers, man? Ridge Spring-Monetta- 40 Denmark-Olar- 30 Wagener-Salley- 60 Williston-Elko- 26 Estill- 55 North- 8 Bethune-Bowman- 42 Military Magnet- 12 Calvary Day- 52 St. John’s- Something. Or either the opposite of that, whichever. Branchville- 30 Scott’s Branch- 28 C.E. Murray- 54 Cross- 2 BREAKDOWN- I have to admit that when I saw scores Friday night from the Lamar-Gray game, I thought someone was drunk tweeting, or maybe somebody had left their phone in their back pocket and were butt tweeting oddly specific, but highly inaccurate updates. I think butts can do that, right? But no, Lamar, a team that had 18 straight wins dating back to 2016, a program that had won 39 of its past 40 games against top competition from the AA, AAA and AAAA ranks, really had gotten its stuff handed to it. Going into that game, I had a gut feeling it wasn’t going to be a total Lamar runaway for a few reasons. For one, Lamar had not played a game in three weeks. I’m sure Coach Fountain runs fairly intense practices, but at a Class A program especially, where warm bodies aren’t always in great supply, you simply can’t recreate game-like situations on the practice field. I can’t imagine any coach would want his team to be off for that long. It should also be mentioned that Gray is a AA team and while they didn’t come in with a great record, they had lost a bunch of very close games. Then you add in an unforeseen X factor in the early first quarter injury to QB Cam Galloway. I hate that for the Silver Foxes but especially for the kid who seemed to be really growing into the position in his first year as a starter. From what I’ve heard, it’s not looking good for him to return this year. My double-secret Lamar informant had told me he expected them to lose a game or two along the way this year, but the way they started, particularly on defense, I started to doubt that. Gray was able to light them up through the air, though. Now, was that attributable to rust, to the emotional blow of losing their QB or a bad night? Or, has Lamar not played a high octane passing attack and got exposed a bit? They face a pretty dang good thrower this week in Adarrian Dawkins, so we should find out pretty soon. I don’t know if we’ll see a different Lamar offense going forward. Do they dust off some of that three-back look they used a few years ago? Do they just lean more heavily on super-stud RB Jacquez Lucas, or do they just plug J.J. Langley in at QB and carry on? We’ll see. They were the last unbeaten in Class A, they lost to a AA team coming off a long lull and lost a key player. I don’t think anyone is pushing panic button right now and until I see different they are still the favorite to win the whole thing… I bet there was much merriment in Chitlin Junction Friday night. They not only beat Williston-Elko for the first time in 25 years, they laid down a frightening, signature cranksmacking. Seriously, they didn’t do anything different than they do on a normal Friday night. They lined up in power sets and crammed it right up the old tail pipe, running for over 350 yards. I’ve said before that I like this team a lot, what with their ability to run the ball and stop the run. They can play that tater-kicking, phone booth brand of ball with almost anybody. What’s tripped them up the past few years is athletic teams that spread it out and throw pretty well (namely Lewisville in the playoffs). Start looking at potential opponents in the upperstate playoffs, though, and find me anybody other than maybe Timmonsville that’s gonna do that. Williston might could have, but with Keshawn Toney hurt, their field-stretching ability went bye bye and, odd as it seems given their history, they just could not stop the run. There might be a team or two (I’m thinking Lamar and Ridge Spring-Monetta and that’s all) who can match The Stump Whooped All-Stars on the blunt force trauma scale. They play RS-M in two weeks for what sure feels like the Region III title. As for Williston, they’ve now lost to RS-M and Chitlinland, so a region crown isn’t happening. Hard to see them even getting one of Region III’s two first-round byes. They get some very winnable games coming up with Estill, North and HKT, but also real challenges in Blackville-Hilda and an up-and-coming Denmark-Olar… Hemingway is kind of a like the taco meat of confusion, in a shell of consternation, slathered with the guac of misunderstanding, on a befuddled tray at the “Who are You?”Cantina. They were completely dismantled to open the season by Lamar, got shutout by Andrews and were boat raced by Carvers Bay. Granted, that’s three good teams, but we’re accustomed to seeing them at least compete in those kinds of games, if not win them. In the last two weeks, though, they’ve suddenly recorded consecutive quality wins, doing so largely with solid defense. That’s a surprise, considering they gave up 133 points in those three early losses. Still, they held a good C.E. Murray offense to 12 points, then limited an explosive Timmonsville attack to six points. That bad start could be attributed to getting acclimated to a new system under a new coach, the loss of a massive and talented senior class and a tough schedule. Maybe playing like-sized schools and having had time now for young players to grow into their roles has made a difference. We know they have individual talent (lots of guys named Darius that are really good at football). Now they are starting to force turnovers, the offense is a bit more efficient and they seem to be hitting their stride. They are off this week, then face a Creek Bridge team they figure to easily handle. Then they’ll get a challenge in the form of Green Sea-Floyds… QUICK HITS- I hate to pronounce region over, done and settled in early October, but Region I will be over, done and settled by this Friday night. Whitmire ran its record to 4-2 with a 35-6 whipping of Ware Shoals last week. Dixie dismissed McCormick in similar fashion. I can’t seen either of those two losing to anyone in the region but each other and they play this week. Dixie is stout up front and I don’t feel like their defense gets near the credit it deserves. They played toe-to-toe with two ranked AA teams in low-scoring games. Like-sized opponents have been like the frustrated looking man that stars in every commercial for saw palmetto, which is to say unable to squeeze out so much as a drop. Whitmire is pretty good on defense, their kids play their tails off and they have a gigundous stable of backs that can hurt you on offense. The over/under on pass attempts in this one is about 8 and the game should be over by 9:25 or so, unless it’s homecoming or a the white cap accidentally locks himself in the bathroom or is stove up and won’t come out of the bathroom or whatever…I know I said earlier that RS-M v Chitlinvania in two weeks is probably for a region title, but that was several paragraphs ago and we’ve both changed so much as people since then. Blackville-Hilda get RS-M this week and they might have a little bit to say about things. They’ve already lost to Chitlineburg , but it was a fairly competitive game. Their other loss was to a loaded AA Barnwell squad. They are physical, they are playing really good defense and they can throw it a little bit. This ain’t a gimme for RS-M…After three of the roughest years in program history, Great Falls is now sitting at 4-2, having beaten Camden Military last week 44-22. That’s a testament to some tough kids and good coaching. They still don’t have a lot of depth and they have only a senior or two, but they’ve got exciting young talent. You know the name Kelton Talford (if only because you read this blog and remember my ridiculous analogies where I compare him to a giraffe with spring legs and catcher mitt hands) but Quay Bowser, D.J. Adams, Hunter Funderburk, Xavian Moore and others are excellent building blocks for the future. They’re off this week, but then they play winless McBee. The winner of that contest, in all likelihood, makes the playoffs. CRANKSMACKS OF THE WEEK- My friend Jed Blackwell from the Spartanburg Herald Journal has started giving out imaginary, online helmet stickers to worthy players. What’s it called when you take something that belongs to someone else without asking, with no intention of giving it back? There’s a word for that. Can’t remember it. It’ll come to me. I should probably think of something else to call it so as not to make it obvious I’m lifting ideas from others. I thought of “Stelmet Hickers” then realized that isn’t a real thing. So, let’s use a dumb term I coined instead. The point is that I’d like to specifically acknowledge big games by Class A players, so here’s my first go at it. D.J. Adams, Great Falls- Threw five touchdowns in a win over Camden Military. He has 10 touchdown passes (and one rushing) in the past two weeks. Jaylin Brown, Whitmire- Ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns on...wait for it… EIGHT FLIPPIN’ CARRIES against Ware Shoals last week. That’s some Bo Jackson on Tecmo Bowl stuff right there. Zyviear Jamison, Denmark-Olar- 81 yards receiving, which is good on its own, but then add in his cartoonish 16 tackles and six tackles-for-loss, and DANG YO! Jamario James, HKT- 20 tackles…so basically every tackle that was made in his team’s loss to Blackville-Hilda. If you have a candidate for CRANKSMACKS OF THE WEEK, DM on Twitter (@CNR_Sports) or email me at tjenkins@onlinechester POLL TIME! Here is my ballot in Class A for the S.C. Prep Media Football Poll. This was the hardest week I’ve probably ever had filling this out. There is a pig pile of teams worthy of consideration. Branchville is 4-1, but I left them off this week because their wins have come against teams with a combined record of 1-19. They played one pretty good team and lost by two touchdowns. Whitmire, Great Falls, Denmark, Green Sea and Blackville-Hilda are all right there too, but here’s how I voted. 10. C.E. Murray- Had dropped them out last week, but they routed Cross, have two nice “up” wins and the three losses came to three good to very good teams. 9. St. John’s- I dropped them a bit after their loss to an out-of state power, but I love their variety on offense and REALLY like what they can do on special teams. Fully expect them to win their next two and set up a de facto region title game against Baptist Hill. 8. Timmonsville- Dropped them several notches off their loss to Hemingway, but they play good defense and have some explosive offensive weapons. 7. Hemingway- First time I’ve ranked them since Lamar violently diddled their souls in the opener. They seem to be turning the corner with consecutive quality wins after early struggles against a tough slate. 6. Ridge Spring-Monetta- Experienced, physically tough and fond of hitting people. Their region fate will be determined the next two weeks. 5. Baptist Hill- They were off last week but they seem like a completely different team with Rashad Maxwell at quarterback. 4. Lake View- I think they are top-five worthy. Big measuring stick game coming this week with a PO’d bunch of silver foxes. 3. Dixie- Senior-heavy, good in the trenches, good running game and terrific defense. 2. Wagener-Salley- CHITLIN STRUT! 1. Lamar- I’m keeping them here despite the loss. They were Class A’s last unbeaten and lost to a AA team with some extenuating circumstances. They’ve only played one fellow Class A team and beat them by 62. Here is how the full poll came out, once they let other people vote and stuff. 1. Lamar (9) 2. Wagener-Salley (4) 3. Lake View (1) 4. Dixie 5. Ridge Spring-Monetta 6. Baptist Hill 7. Hemingway 8. Timmonsville 9. C.E. Murray 10. St. John’s and Branchville (tie) Receiving votes: Blackville Hilda, Denmark-Olar, Green Sea-Floyds. Suggested Reading Not much to read this week, sadly. You can see various game capsules involving Class A teams here. Or you can keep hanging out with your no-count friends smokin' wacky tobacky and playin’ them vidya games. |
TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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