Southside Christian (12-0) at Lamar (9-3)
So, we get a rematch of last year’s upperstate championship game. In that one, The Silver Foxes actually led the Sabres on their home field at halftime before Southside Christian rallied for a 17-6 victory. This one is at Lamar, which could make a bit of a difference. The Silver Foxes beat a very good and very hot Ridge Spring-Monetta team last week 36-16. Now, RS-M had yielded some points this year, so the 36 isn’t a big surprise, but holding Remedee Leaphart and his band of scary playmakers to 16 points represents a day’s work by the Lamar defense. Of course, they shut out A’Chean Durant and McCormick the week before so this defense is playing about as well as a team can. Offensively, they’ll spread it out some, then pack it in to the bone (which is a weird thing to say, now that I go back and read it). They play a couple of QBs, but Tyler McManus is the main guy and, of the two QBs of theirs I’ve seen, the best passer of the group. They have an embarrassment of riches at RB where Ju’Quan Toney and Pat Anderson reside (the latter dropped a cool 209 yards on RS-M last week on just 18 carries). I’ve mentioned before that I kept hearing whispers early in the season of “I’ve heard Lamar is down.” That’s kind of like sticking your hand in a tiger cage at the zoo and when he bites off your hand, saying, “Well, if this tiger was any count, he’d have bit my whole arm off. YOU SUCK TIGER!” It’s late November, four teams remain in Class A and Lamar is one of them. They aren’t real deep but they remain one of the toughest squads in this state Chad Wilkes has done an excellent job overcoming some early COVID pauses to have this team right back in contention. Southside Christian had about as tough a match-up last week as any 1A team has given them in a while, but they beat Calhoun County 28-6. Since the playoffs began, they have yielded a few points here and there (20 in three games, which is more than the 13 they gave up to Class A opposition all year) but they have still been dominant. Coaches (like, good ones) have told me they might have a shot to win AA if they were still there, because they are so much better than everybody else up front defensively and Ja’Corey Martin is a top QB that can literally do it all. They, in general, can attack you however they’d like to on offense. If you have a weakness, they will be able to exploit it. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and don’t beat themselves, which indicates they are very well coached. They haven’t lost to a Class A team, I don’t think, since 2014. Now, they were in AA for a lot of that time, but let’s not forget, that they were a threat to win that classification in 2018 and 2019, losing in the playoffs to the eventual state champions both years. Now, I’m not going to beat the dead horse right now (it’s actually dead, has been picked through by buzzards and has been pooped out on the ground adjacent buzzard nests), but private and charter schools have been dominant in most every sport when they compete in Class A and they have some built-in advantages that help on that front, but it is what it is at this point. Winning against Lamar and in Lamar are SUPER heavy lifts. The Silver Foxes will hang in there, will likely keep it close and the Sabres will know they’ve been in a fight, but I think it’s a fight they’ll ultimately win. The winner- Southside Christian C.E. Murray (7-1) at Bamberg-Ehrhardt (12-0) Friends, if you yearn for old-timey football, where guys named Clem and W.E. beat the crap out of each other, running from wedges and straight Ts sans pads and only wearing leather helmets, while coaches smoke Luckys on the sidelines and deride the injured as sissies and women, this is the game for you. Seriously, this is two of the toughest teams around, neither will throw it much, both REALLY LIKE the idea of hitting you and they play actual real defense. The only game I missed last week was Bamberg-Ehrhardt v Baptist Hill, but boy did I miss it. With the Raiders having struggled in round one with Hannah-Pamplico (a team that throws the ball well) I thought air attack of the Bobcats would be similarly problematic. Instead, they just whipped Baptist Hill on the line of scrimmage in beating them 33-7. They’re undefeated, they’ve only allowed four teams to score in double-digits and the most they’ve given up all year was 22 to Hannah-Pamplico. They haven’t destroyed everybody they’ve played, but they run the ball, they keep you from running it and dangit, in a world of slapnuts, five-wide spreads, that’s still a recipe for winning football games. And they have a variety of backs to choose from in the “ramming it down your gullet sideways” department. Quinton Banks had 152 yards last week, Nick Folk had 135 and Quincy Bias added 53 more. Defensively, they destroyed everything Baptist Hill tried to do and forced some big turnovers. Probably the biggest “WOW” score of last week came courtesy of C.E. Murray. Now, I picked them to beat Whale Branch, but I wasn’t expecting 47-0. Whale Branch was without their top RB, but still, that was a supremely talented team that had a shot to get to Columbia…right up until they didn’t. I would not have foreseen anyone dominating them to the extent C.E. Murray did. Much like with Bamberg, we really need to look back at the season and appreciate how good the War Eagles are. They lost the opener to the OC Semi-pros in a competitive game and haven’t lost since despite having two, three-week COVID layoffs. They’ve really only had one competitive game all year, that was against Carvers Bay and that came when they had only played one game in six weeks. Tyree Prunes played huge on both sides of the ball last week, Quentarius Grant ran for three touchdowns and Amond Myers scored a defensive touchdown. They have played nasty defense all year and seem to be hitting their stride at the right time. They honestly seem to play better each week at this point. This is a tough one to pick. It’s two evenly-matched teams that are similar in so many ways including offensive philosophy, good coaching, deriving enjoyment from pummeling other school children etc. I’m going with a gut feeling, though. I won’t be shocked, no matter who wins, but there is something about the momentum the War Eagles seem to have had building for the past seven weeks that makes me feel like they will carry the day. The winner- C.E. Murray
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Southside Christian (10-0) at Calhoun County (7-4)
A month into the season, I could not have envisioned writing a sentence that would contain “Calhoun County playing in the third round” unless “ain’t gonna be” was stuck in the there somewhere, or unless the sentence was followed by “PSYCHE!!!!” At one point, the Saints sat at 1-4, but that requires a bit of dissection. They lost a 54-50 shutout to Whale Branch (who is still 8-1 and still alive in the lowerstate bracket), lost to a great AAA Clinton team and dropped another “up” game to O-W. The win mixed in there was over AA power Barnwell, but then they dropped the region opener to then-unheralded Denmark-Olar and gave up 58 points while doing so. At that point, they seemed like the soup of confusion, in a howl of consternation, filled with the Saltines of inconsistency at the WTH Diner. Of course, that Barnwell win looks really good now and Denmark-Olar ended up averaging about 50-a-game. Granted, their region was a bit down this year, with the exception of Ridge Spring-Monetta, whom they beat. Then they blew out a scrappy McBee team last week for their sixth-straight win. They’re on a roll and you don’t have to look much farther that R.J. Brunson to know why. In that McBee game, he hit 8-of-9 passes for 281 yards and five touchdowns and piled up FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE yards of total offense by his damn self. His Hudl profile notes that his 40 times is something like 4.48 which normally drawn an eye roll from me and a comment along the lines of “You run a 4.4 and I’m gonna go crap out a live turkey.” Well, Thanksgiving dinner is apparently taken care of. You watch his highlights and that speed is readily apparent. The Saints had 6 scoring plays of at least 40 yards and they hit a bunch of deep balls. For that reason, I think they at least have a puncher’s chance here. As I figured, C.A. Johnson was able to dent the scoreboard last week against Southside Christian but the game still wasn’t close at 42-14. It should be noted that before the game, the Sabres had given up 13 points to Class opponents all year. As good as they are up front on defense, I don’t just don’t see anybody being able to line up and have success running the ball against them. I mean, nobody else has all year, including Greer. To have a shot, you’ve got to have athletes, you have to be able to throw it and you have to be capable of popping big plays. Calhoun County can do all those things. What I’m not sure they can do is slow down Southside Christian’s offense. They’re balanced and they have an excellent trigger man in JaCorey Martin, a true two-way threat. As I’ve noted before, in recent years, when one of the top private schools is in Class A, they tend to win almost everything. As of right now, that’s how things are looking in terms of the football playoffs. Calhoun County will score (which is no small feat against the Sabres) and has the ability to maybe even make it interesting, but probably not more than that. The winner- Southside Christian Ridge Spring-Monetta (9-2) at Lamar (8-3) Man, what a matchup. RS-M held off a late charge from Great Falls last week and came away with a 48-32 victory. Lamar faced A’Chean Durant and a McCormick Chiefs team that had exploded offensively the week before and shut them out 14-0. The funny thing is, I kept hearing from people during the year “Ya know, Lamar is a little down this year.” Well, “down” by Lamar’s standards is obviously different than “down” by everyone else’s. And in the two games I saw them play this year, I sure didn’t see that myself. Admittedly, they aren’t nearly as deep as normal, but here they sit in the upperstate semifinals. Tyler McManus is back at QB after returning from injury but they are playing a couple of guys there. They play two distinctly different offenses…a spread and wishbone. I saw them against Lewisville and they stayed three TE, two backs for the entire game (when McManus was out). They’ve got a couple of excellent RBs in Pat Anderson and Ju’Quan Toney. To me, Toney is criminally underrated. Super explosive and an excellent pass-catcher. And obviously, they are good defensively given what they did last week. RS-M has QB Remedee Leaphart and since I’ve previously compared him to Mighty Mouse and a scary football cyborg sent to Earth dispirit other school children and crush their will to compete, I think you know I think highly of him. The really impressive thing about him is that when he runs, he maintains his poise and keeps his eyes downfield. He uses his legs as much to keep passing plays alive as he does to run the ball and consequently, they make a ton of big plays. Dantrell Weaver is an excellent back and they have plenty of capable receivers. I’m honestly torn on this one. If it turns into a shootout, I think RS-M wins it. On the other hands, they’ve had a tough time stopping good teams, which Lamar certainly is. It’ll be close, it could truly go either way but a home field and a good defense are the deciding factors for me. The winner- Lamar Whale Branch (8-1) at C.E. Murray (6-1) C.E. Murray won a bit of a shootout with Branchville last week 58-36 and Whale Branch took down a good Lake View team 27-12. I feel like C.E. Murray slid under the radar just a hair this year. They lost to The OC Semi-pros, then were off for three weeks, then beat Latta, then were off three more weeks. The schedule ended up being truncated, but now they’ve won six straight and aside from the gave with Carvers Bay (which came right after their second, three-week layoff) they’ve pretty much mashed everybody. They have a lot of contributors, but Tyree Prunes is a name everybody should know by now. Terrific at quarterback and a safety, he’s playing great and just in general, when you watch highlights of the War Eagles, they somehow look more physical than everybody they play. Whale Branch did an excellent job defensively last week against a talented Wild Gators team, with the defense yielding only one late touchdown (they scored early on an interception return). Xavier Chaplin plays on both lines, looks like his picture should be on the side of a can of green beans and is incredibly nimble for a dude his size. They’ve got talent at the skill spots with Joseph Hicks having scored twice last week (once rushing and once receiving). They only thing I questioned them on until last week was that basically, they’d played two good teams all year, barely beating Calhoun County and losing close to Baptist Hill. But that really isn’t an issue now given how they handled Lake View. Whale Branch has been talked up as a favorite to come out of the lowerstate and they certainly have the talent to do so. Heck, they might be the favorite here…but I’ve just got a feeling. The winner- C.E. Murray Bamberg-Ehrhardt (11-0) at Baptist Hill (10-0) Our only matchup of unbeatens (on the field anyway, BH did have to forfeit a couple of early season wins) this week takes place in Hollywood, right down from Peter’s Point (which is a hysterically funny name that makes me laugh because mentally, I’ve 7). And it features a real contrast in styles. In one corner, you have B-E, big ol’, tough ol’, let’s have a 48-minute tater kickin’ contest and see wins, B-E. They routed Carvers Bay last week. They lost their starting quarterback a few weeks ago and are playing a couple of young guys at that spot now. Really, though, they are going to hand the ball to Quintin Banks, Quincy Bias and Nick Folk and just try to step on your face, while playing good defense. On the other side, you have Baptist Hill, who flings it all over the yard. Last week that included having Harold Gathers hook up with Damon Smith FOURTEEN DADGUM EXPLETIVE ADJECTIVE EXPLETIVE times for 157 yards and four touchdowns. So, Smith is Tecmo Bowl Jerry Rice, basically. For most 1A programs, 14 for 157 and 4 scores is a season stat line. When you play for Marion Brown, it’s a game. As I’ve said before, if you roll out there and try to out-physical B-E, you’re going to lose and hurt and cry and not play football anymore. BUT, if you can toss it around (like Hannah-Pamplico did in the first round in a near upset) you can make some headway. Two great teams and if B-E can impose their will physically, they’ll win in, but I saw the Bobcats get this one in a shootout. The winner- Baptist Hill Playoff picking record 22-2 Friends, I’ve missed you and I’ve missed writing about 1A, but at the end of last year, I’d prepare my steaming batch of Class A nuggets and half the games would end up cancelled by the time Friday arrived. This year, giant slates of games would be cancelled week-to-week, or people would line up games a day or so in advance. In terms of trying to write about that, I felt like a guy in the woods who was certain he’d chased down Bigfoot, only to realize he’d spent a day in pursuit of the world’s most obese squirrel. Well, we’ve got a steady schedule from here on out since the playoffs have started, so let’s celebrate the majesty of South Carolina’s most entertaining classification…
Williston-Elko (3-7) at Southside Christian (8-0) It doesn’t seem like that long ago that W-E was like a guy at a bar who beats you up in the bathroom, leaves with your girlfriend, then takes her to your parents house, where your mom washes his socks and makes him a sandwich. They beat everybody and often ran it up in the process is my point (because my point was probably not immediately clear from that terrible analogy). Now, though, they haven’t finished over .500 since 2017. They did score a nice win over a high-scoring Denmark-Olar team this year, but also ended up on the business end of two major league rootins’ to close the season against Calhoun County and Ridge Spring-Monetta (by a combined score of 86-0). And honestly, unless their resume included “roster stocked with scary football robots and superheroes that can poop lightning” it doesn’t really matter. Barring something unforeseen, this feels like a coronation more than a competitive tournament anyone other than Southside Christian can win. Take it for what it’s worth, but since about 2011, if there is a private school present in Class A, they win Class A. The Sabres are the defending champs and seem considerably better than last year’s version, which was at least challenged in a couple of playoff games. They haven’t been this year, giving up 28 points all season…and 15 of those came in their win over AAAA Greer. Coaches have told me they are so good up front on defense, they would have a shot to win AA and would probably be competitive in AAA. People know the name of DT Michael Kennedy since he made North-South (and would have made the Shrine Bowl, were that a thing this year) but he’s one of many. Ja’Corey Martin is a true two-way threat at QB, the special teams are excellent…you have to look hard to find a weakness. When you put that up against a team that had struggles on offense and defense down the stretch, I’ve expended way more words than necessary to tell you “this won’t go well.” The winner- Southside Christian Wagener-Salley (4-6) at C.A. Johnson (5-3) Let me tell you something, the Hornets are legit. They came out of nowhere last year to have a winning season, but then ended up walking funny for a while after running into Southside Christian in the first round. This is a veteran group at some important spots, so I think the “HOLY WOW WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS” thing has been left behind now. Isom Harris is one of those kids who seems like he’s been starting at QB forever…like, when C.A. Johnson was a one-room school that students got to via carriage and where they had to poop in the woods because motor cars and indoor plumbing hadn’t been invented yet, he was under center. He’s at least a three-year starter, maybe four and he’s grown into an excellent QB and leader. Good passer, good runner and has some nice weapons at his disposal with guys like Dawan Rice and Ce Ce Bailey. They do a lot of split back stuff with those two and both are capable pass catchers too. Defense has been pretty good too and the team succeeded through multiple season pauses and it should be noted the three losses were to good teams (Lamar, Keenan and Wade Hampton) and those were competitive. The guys from Chitlinburg have had a bit of a down year given that they’ve made some deep playoff runs in recent years (though some of their losses were close ones against good teams). As with the past few years, they have guys up front who look like they should live at the top of a beanstalk and eat weird bone bread and a couple of really good running backs. Ian Stroman has had some big games on the ground this year but “big” is woefully inadequate when describing what Cam Davis did last week against the War Eagles of Blackville-Hilda. He had FORTY FIVE CARRIES FOR 320 YARDS AND SIX TOUCHDOWNS! It takes a bad dude to tote it 45 times in a game. He probably flosses with barbed wire and uses live rattlesnakes for belts. I think this is one of the two best matchups we have in the first round. I will say that Wagener-Salley had real trouble with a couple of mobile quarterbacks who can throw it this year and they’ll see another Friday. I think having a year of playoff experience now will be a big help to the Hornets so… The winner- In a close one, C.A. Johnson Calhoun County (6-4) Bye. The Saints, to me, have some serious dark horse, might-make-a-run potential. They were supposed to play Military Magnet in the first round, but the Eagles (0-9 and outscored 367-28 on the year) opted not to accept a beating or t-shirts emblematic of their participation in the playoffs. This seems like a really good time to remind everyone that pre-set brackets suck and we need a points system. Ware Shoals (3-6) at McBee (2-5) I have to admit, the Panthers had me stumped. I saw them against Lewisville when they were fresh off a 40-point output against Great Falls. As they plodded down the field at a glacier pace on a drive that went 17 plays, 51 yards (so three yards per play) and about 9 minutes of clock later. I thought “How in the world did they score 40?” WELL…that answer became clear in short order as their three-yard runs turned into five-yarders, then 10 as they kept the opposing defense on the field and wore them down. They are physical and they stay in that bone. They use a lot of different backs and just pound you. It should also be noted that since Johnny Kline became their coach, McBee seems to have played its best football down the stretch and into the playoffs, each year where it has been a tough out. I take delight in telling you that Ware Shoals has a 130-pound RB named Justice Lomax (a name that just oozes awesomeness…and you should go watch his highlights, BTW) but two of their three wins came against winless Calhoun Falls Charter (the other was a tight victory over Whitmire) and most of their losses weren’t real competitive. This might be a close game but I’ll take the team with the more consistent offense. The winner- McBee Whitmire (2-6) at Ridge Spring-Monetta (7-2) The boys from the Pearl of the Piedmont have had a little bit of a rough year. The Wolverines are really young, with freshmen getting lots of snaps at QB, RB and other important positions. I saw them in the year and they didn’t punt, even on 4th-and-long from deep in their own territory. Every kickoff was of the onside variety. They gamble and force you to make plays, which can apply pressure to an opponent, or, you know, not work. But if you’re running a bunch of `14 and 15-year-olds out there, that’s probably a way to give yourself more of a shot. This is a growing and learning year for them. RS-M is already growned and learned, however. Just start with QB Remedee Leaphart. On time of having an incredibly awesome name, I think he’s one of the best signal-callers in the state. Don’t forget, he led them to a state runner-up finish as a sophomore. He reminds me of Corey Fields, really, or of a football-playing cyborg sent from space to embarrass other school-age children. He’s athletic, but he runs to keep passing plays alive as well he does run for yardage. Consequently, they make a lot of big plays, as evidenced by their outlandish point totals. The defense is really good too and aside from a close loss to Calhoun County, they’ve just laid painful, awful beatings on everybody (they’ve outscored the opposition 158-8 in the last three games). They move on and have a shot to keep dong so for a while. The winner- Ridge Spring-Monetta Great Falls (6-3) at Dixie (7-2) I don’t think this is a typical 4 vs. 1 matchup. Great Falls has one of the most dynamic backfields in Class A with QB Xavier Brown and RB Foxx Moore. Both average over 8 yards-per-carry, both have run for double-digit scores…Brown has near 2,000 yards of total offense and Moore nearly 1,400 (which doesn’t even include kick returns). Brown had never started at QB until this year, but he’s not just a run around guy, he developed into a good passer very quickly. When you’re an old, unathletic person with the vertical jump of a limbless possum, that’s kind of hard to fathom, really. Moore is diminutive, but he DOES NOT shy from contact. He’ll bounce around in traffic like a bumper car, knocking elderly drivers and kids who should really be on a merry go round out of harm’s way into the wall (am I the only one who tried to disable other bumper cars at Carowinds?) before accelerating out of reach. Will Manning (a 6’7 TE) and Jordan Holmes (who has about 80 percent of his catches go for TDs) are nice complimentary weapons and the Red Devils do have 5’9, 220-pound change-of-pace back Jaylan Sanders. He’s the “oh, I’d rather not try to tackle him” balance to Moore’s “I’m tired of chasing him so I’m going to stop trying” skillset. Now, I’ll tell you tackling hasn’t been a strength for the team and they’ve gotten in some shootouts. Dixie, we all remember, had a big, senior-laden team a few years back that got to upperstate, but they bottomed out the last two seasons. Well, they rebounded nicely this year and their only losses came to Southside Christian and Crescent. They run a double wing, they use a lot of backs and appear to have a good kicking game. Having said that, their seven wins have come against teams with 15 combined victories and a lot of those were VERY close. I’m not saying they aren’t good. If you’re 7-2 and have found ways to win close games, you are, in fact good, but how will they handle a dynamic, big-play offense? I think it being the fourth time Great Falls has faced this offense this year makes a difference too. I may be wrong, but what fun are picks without an upset? The winner- Great Falls Blackville-Hilda (3-5) at Lamar (6-3) I’ve heard all year “you know, Lamar is a little down.” I saw them in person twice and the only thing I noticed is they probably don’t have anywhere near the depth they normally do. Aside from C.A. Johnson, their 1A contests were not close and when considering the three losses, understand they played a BIG BOY schedule that included Dillon, Timberland and Aynor (who they took to overtime). They run both a spread and a wishbone look. The first time I saw them was early and they were spread heavy, then QB Tyler McManus got hurt and I saw them run nothing but triple-tight, two backs the second time. They are effective at both. I was told McManus was expected back for the playoffs, so we’ll see how that goes. Even when in the spread, they leaned on the run and dadgum they’re good at it. They block downfield well, Pat Anderson is a very good back and Ja’Quan Toney often looks like a grown man playing with children…like, an overly-competitive grown man with anger issues that stiff-arms his 7-year-old son, then spikes the ball in his daughter’s face and admonishes her for poor tackling effort. Blackville-Hilda, by the standard of the past few seasons, had a down year. That really showed on defense because remember, they allowed 10 points-per-game last year and gave Southside Christian a serious challenge in the playoffs. They enter this postseason having lost 5-of-6 and gave up a lot of points while doing so. I think the Silver Foxes advance. The winner-Lamar McCormick (3-4) at Denmark-Olar (6-3) Let’s have a little appreciation for what Jarvis Littlejohn has done with D-O this year. With a killer backfield of QB Keithan Washington and RBs T.J. Williams and Chris Sanders, the Vikings averaged over 45 points-per-game and won six games after being in the “meh” to “yuck” category for a while. Now, they needed every last one of those points in a couple of shootouts and had a bit of a head-scratcher loss to Williston-Elko, but this is a potent offense that can seemingly light anybody up. I’ve honestly been a hair puzzled by the fact that McCormick hasn’t done the same thing. They obviously have a dynamic player in A’Chean Durant, who is Mataeo’s brother. As an aside, you ever notice how when a good player has a younger brother, somebody always wants to whisper, “You know, his little brother coming up is better than him” even if the younger brother is bow-legged, eats his own boogers and prefers collecting stamps to athletics? Well, trust me, A’Chean is NOT that kid. Few are as good as his brother was but he’s real dang good. Maybe the lack of eye-popping points totals is owed to a brutal schedule that included Abbeville and a season that was only seven games long. I think we’re going to get an entertaining shootout here but I think the Vikings get an intriguing matchup with Lamar next week. The winner- Denmark-Olar Cross (2-4) at C.E. Murray (4-1) I think C.E. Murray managed to slip under the radar a bit for most of the season, because they only played five games and had two separate breaks that stretched on for three weeks. So, they should theoretically be healthy and like every Brian Smith-coached team, I’ll bet there as tough as the steaks I saw at the Dollar Tree once-upon-a-time (real thing that happened and no I did not buy any). They have a North-South guy in QB/DB Tyree Prunes and after an early loss to the OC Semi-pros (that was closer than the score would make it appear) they won a close one over Carvers Bay and pretty well smashed everybody else. It’s pretty telling that if you watch highlights of their defensive players, they are usually labeled “textbook tackling” or “he squashed that WR like a bug” because that’s kind of a Smith Hallmark. I admittedly don’t know a ton about Cross, but it’s usually a good thing for them when they have a RB named Wright (and they do in Caleb). They gave Baptist Hill the toughest game they had all year, but also only beat two teams with a combined one victory between them teams and dropped one to St. John’s. Probably a quick, run-heavy game and a physical contest in both directions, but I figure it will be the first of at least a couple of playoff wins for the War Eagles. The winner- C.E. Murray Johnsonville (4-3) at Branchville (5-1) The Sausages got into some high-scoring games this year and have an excellent RB in Daquan Burroughs, an elusive guy with power that ran for near three bills on Hannah-Pamplico a few weeks ago. Branchville, though, played really good defense all year and its easy to forget they had Bamberg-Ehrhardt in a 14-7 game at halftime before getting knocked around a bit in the last 24 minutes of that one. Could go either way, but I’ll take defense in this one and that’s about all I can offer you here, Hoss. The winner- Branchville Estill (3-7) at Lake View (8-2) In retrospect, Estill’s season-opening win over Denmark-Olar was pretty impressive, but there hasn’t been much of note since then. Lake View is among the most talented teams in the lowerstate and sometimes you don’t really have to detail how horrendous the end is for a skeeter that hits your windshield when you’re doing 90 down a country back road on a hot summer day. Hit the wipers and keep on drivin’. The winner- Lake View East Clarendon (2-6) at Whale Branch (6-1) The Warriors were one TD from being unbeaten, winning their region and taking a number one playoff seed. As the guys at LowcoSports.com (check them out if you haven’t) pointed out, though, finishing second actually puts them on the opposite side of the bracket from Bamberg-Ehrhardt. So, that’s kind of like slipping on fresh dog poop and falling, but in so doing your big, dumb head cracks the ground open and reveals a gold mine. Because, you know, that happens a lot. Anyway, Whale Branch has a mega-productive RB in Joseph Hicks, who has run for right at 1,000 yards in seven games. Aside from a wild early game against Calhoun County, the defense has been consistently good too. East Clarendon, um, made the playoffs, which is nice. The winner- Whale Branch Hannah-Pamplico (4-3) at Bamberg-Ehrhardt (9-0) Am I crazy to think H-P has a shot here? The conventional wisdom is B-E is a favorite to win the lowerstate title. Go back to their game with Johnsonville, though, and you’ll see QB Zander Poston throwing for 382 yards and SIX EXPLETIVE TOUCHDOWNS. Now, if you try to beat B-E at their own game, if you go in their and try to have a tater kickin’ contest with them, you’ll end up drooling, crying and speaking in a voice that’s a few octaves higher than it is now. But, if you come in with a big passing attack, maybe you can make some headway. It’s hard to say since that hasn’t much happened this year. Also keep in mind, H-P beat Lake View, which shows they’re capable of hanging with most anybody. B-E has only given up 62 points all year and 21 of those came in a win over AAAA Airport. They are going to run the ball with a trio of Quintin Banks, Quincy Bias and Nick Folk. They haven’t been challenged this year (including by Airport) and I think they move on…but I’m just saying it might be interesting. The winner- Bamberg-Ehrhardt St. John’s (2-6) at Carvers Bay (7-3) CB has been a little up-and-down, but St. John’s has mainly just done the down part. The winner- Carvers Bay Baptist Hill struggled with turnovers in the first half and trailed at the break but rolled Scott’s Branch 56-20 Thursday night WHICH I TOTALLY WOULD HAVE PICKED! Bobcats feel like a lock to make it to the third round, to me. Allendale-Fairfax (3-4) at Green Sea Floyds (7-2) A venerable hyphenated team against one that seems like it ought to have one. Green Sea lost the opener at Blacksburg (which you can’t get to from Green Sea without fording across a river on horseback and cutting threw thick brush with a machete) and lost late to Lake View. They have a couple of productive backfield options, including Colby Thorndyke. A-F played a brutal schedule, so I feel like this isn’t the runaway it looks like on paper. Still… The winner- Green Sea Floyds |
TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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