McCormick (2-3) at Calhoun Falls Charter (0-5)
I think if you are realistic, 2-3 is a heck of a record for the Chiefs, given who they've played. Last week they drilled Allendale-Fairfax behind a big rushing night from Mataeo Durant, which is pretty much the only kind of nights he has on the football field. CFC's 27-8 loss to Christ Church actually led me to call a friend and ask "holy crapballs how far has Christ Church fallen off when a 1A school with 13 players is giving them that kind of game?" I was then told the lights went out that night in about the second quarter...which makes sense, what with Calhoun Falls being so close to Georgia and all. That was lame and I'm sorry and I won't do it again. Anyway, so that wasn't quite as competitive as th score makes it appear. It's in no way abstract to think that the Chiefs could run the regular season table from here on out. Ware Shoals (1-5) at Whitmire (2-4) Since beating Great Falls a few weeks back, Ware Shoals was upended by Greenwood Christian and lost last week to Crescent. Someone who has seen them told me it seems like they run a little of everything offensively trying to see what works or get a spark, but that's been a particular area of struggle. Even in their one win, they didn't manage 100 yards of offense. Whitmire offered up a very game effort last week before falling to the Mr. T Haircuts 46-30. The Wolverines are young but are well-coached, play hard and have some nice skill players, especially Jaylen Brown. If you look at their body of work so far, they lose (sometimes in competitive fashion) to goo tams and take care of business against ones that ar struggling, so... McBee (0-5) at Lewisville (5-1) This is a big game for several reasons. It's the region opener, obviously, but the loser of this one is behind the 8-ball a bit in terms of making the playoffs since both still have top-ranked Lamar and a very improved Timmonsville on the horizon. It's not a stretch that whoever totes an L tonight might not make the playoffs, something that would have seemed ridiculous to say before the year started. It's hard to know what McBee really has because of the schedule they've played, which has been chock full of AA and AAAA teams. Of course, it's the same slate of teams they played and beat last year. They had tremendous losses to graduation. Believe it or not, they Wrights are so procreative, there actually is still one on hand in Tyrece. He isn't big but is explosive. Shane Hammonds is another big play waiting to happen. The Panthers will actually get out of the bone on occasion and spread it a little, a notion that makes my face hurt. On defense they still bring the house, but maybe don't have the scary athleticism and experience on the back end they have in the past few seasons. After very lopsided losses in he first three weeks, it does appear they've played better the past few times out. Hey lost to Pageland by three and were 14-14 with Mullins in the second half last week before the bottom sort of dropped out. Lewisville rolled over C.A. Johnson last week behind a huge game from the constantly improving Rhett Cox, who went for 257 in the air and three scores. Mikial Fourney and Johnny Courtney both went over 100 yards receiving and Quentin Sanders did crazy, football-ninja Quentin Sanders stuff. That was the first game this year with the entire offensive line healthy and together…that lasted about a half before all-state guard Quay Simpson got hurt. Fourney and Josh Belk played out of their minds on defense. This is an important game and I’ll be there live tweeting (@CNR_Sports for those who’d like to follow along). Great Falls (0-4) at Timmonsville (3-3) I’ve had this vibe for a while and I’m ready to pronounce it now…Timmonsville is good. They just rogered Scott’s Branch last week after nearly upsetting Hannah-Pamplico the week before. They are throwing it a little more this year and doing so pretty effectively. QB Jamaric Morris has a 666 yards passing with 10 scores. He’s also a big-time running threat, with 382 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. His favorite target is Chris Taylor, who has 510 receiving yards and averages an eye-popping 25.5 yards-per-catch. They also run the ball very well, with Tyquan Eaddy averaging over nine yards pop. Great Falls has some good skill talent, but it is VERY young. They were without a couple of linemen last week who will hopefully be back for this one. Again, this is an important game with both having McBee, Lewisville and Lamar down the road. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (1-4) at Blackville-Hilda (2-3) The annual battle for the old oaken hyphen should be an interesting match-up with a HUGE contrast in styles. HKT has an athletic QB in Devante Scott who makes big plays with his arm and his legs. After starting 0-4 against a rugged schedule, they tied one on Estill and made them wear it home. B-H, on the other hand, has a big line, some big backs and a big quarterbacks and will just try flog you until you tire of big people hitting you and slowly submit to their vicious will (I have no idea WTH I just said there). After losing to the Chitlinville Express last week, B-H needs this one to avoid a 1-2 region start. Denmark-Olar (1-4) at Ridge Spring-Monetta (2-3) So this would be the golden hyphen championship? So many punctuation marks in Region III, man. Denmark, after scoring 12 points in its first four games (all lopsided losses) put it to winless North last week 30-0. Good for the Vikings, who have struggled for a quite a while…and will again…I’d guess starting tonight against an RSM team that gave Williston-Elko a heck of a battle before falling 21-7 last week. This team is better than its record shows and it’s not out of the realm that they could win out, or at least go 4-1 with a loss to Chitlinburg thrown in. North (0-4) at Estill (0-5) Not being dismissive or flippant at all, but one of these teams gets to win a game tonight and that’s awesome. Williston-Elko (3-2) at Wagener-Salley (5-0) Huge game, maybe the biggest in the upstate this week. W-E is coming off a hard-fought victory over RSM last week. They haven’t really put up the kind of offensive numbers we’re used to from them this year, but in an age of whoopdy doo, slapnanny (a word I just made up), five-wide chuckfests, there is nothing wrong with running the ball (which they do well) and playing good defense. Speaking of running the ball and playing defense, I present the Chitlin Warriors. In their last three outings (against good offenses from HKT, The Mr. T Haircuts and Blackville-Hilda) W-S has allowed six points total. Tre Davis had 161 yards on the ground and three touchdowns last week against B-H and I now consider this team a legit contender. This will be a physical war, it will be like watching two mules have a “let’s kick each other in the face” contest, and with the way they both run the ball, it might take an hours to complete. Baptist Hill (4-0) at the Charleston Lowcountry Academy for Frog Gigging and Turf Management The Bobcats, in that past two weeks, have proven that they belong in the lowerstate contender conversation. Corey Fields is a scary, unstoppable football robot with amazing wheels and a bazooka for an arm. He had plenty of excellent targets and they can really play some defense. The Riptide are winless and have scored eight points since their opener so, you know, I feel like this one might not go well for them. Military Magnet (0-5) at St. John’s (3-2) Military Magnet has shown they can put some points on the board, but have struggled defensively. St. John’s is likely to be an ornery bunch after two straight losses. This will be the first Class A opponent for the Islanders and this might end up being a stat-padder kind of evening for QB Kam Smiley and company. Branchville (4-1) at Scott’s Branch (2-3) Don’t let these records fool you. Branchville, wisely, has dialed their schedule back a bit the last two years, which makes sense for a struggling program that wants to take a step forward. Those four wins have come against teams with a combined one victory. One, singular, win. Scott’s Branch has an impressive scalp on their belt in the form of shutting out Bamberg-Ehrhardt, but lost to Edisto and Timmonsville the past two weeks. This feels like a “back on track “ game for them. C.E. Murray (3-2) at Cross (2-2) This is a huge game for a number of reasons. For one (not to discount the Mr. T Haircuts or Scott’s Branch), the winner emerges as the favorite to win the region. Last week, C.E. Murray gave Hemingway the only real test they’ve had so far this season but still fell 56-35. Elijah Bey threw for 279 and four scores, Darius Rush scored because of course he did, but they’re now saddled with two losses (though none in the region). Cross bounced back from a last-second, why does the universe hate and curse us, loss to Baptist Hill with a blowout of lake Marion last week. This will be another contrast of styles match-up, with the War Eagles increasingly (and effectively) going to the air and Cross just going the physical violence rout, slamming Nate Davis and a bevy of other backs at you and daring you to stop them. This one has big implications and should be enormously entertaining. Green Sea-Floyds (3-2) at Lake View (4-1) This is an opportunity for GS-F to do as the Chitlinmen and Baptist Hill have done in recent weeks. The Trojans have rolled over three not-very-good teams and lost agonizingly close to two pretty good AA teams. They have Shaquille Johnson who recently scored five touchdowns IN A DADGUM QUARTER and an excellent rushing attack in general. They’ve allowed only 33 points in five games. The defending state champ Wild Gators have been efficient and have played well since the opening loss to Latta, but aren’t putting up the kind of stats they did last year, where you are certain a drunk person stole Joe Hughes’ phone and was just tweeting silly, made-up stuff. For either team this is a quality win, but for Green Sea, it can be the signature win they’ve been looking for for a while. Creek Bridge (0-5) at Hannah-Pamplico (3-2) H-P has been a little up-and-down this year, but this figures to be one of the “up” weeks. East Clarendon (0-5) at Hemingway (5-0) Not to be ugly, but can you start a game with a running clock?
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TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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