Calhoun Falls Charter (0-6) at Dixie (4-2)
This will be the first public school Dixie has played in nearly a month after playing a pair of small private schools and having an off week last Friday. Let’s be polite to the Flashes, since they’re showing up to play every week with 13 kids, and say they struggled to contain Mataeo Durant last week (he had over 200 yards and five touchdowns on 10 carries). I don’t think anyone from Dixie will put up those sort of numbers, but this seems like a good opportunity for them to notch their fifth win. McCormick (3-3) at Ware Shoals (1-6) So last week, Durant looked like Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson…if it was possible for poorly animated video games characters to play wearing a jetpack and swinging a giant scepter. The thing this, those numbers didn’t come about just because of the opponent, Durant is legitimately that good. Ware Shoals lost to Whitmire last week 26-20. After struggling mightily on offense for a while, the Purple Hornets have cracked 20 in three of the past four games, but they’ll need more than this week to keep pace with Durant and company. A lot more than that. Lewisville (6-1) at Lamar (6-0) This is the game of the week in the state, not just 1A. You have the top-ranked, unbeaten Silver Foxes facing the third-ranked Lions. The winner of this one has the inside track on the region title and a number one playoff seed. Lewisville is fresh off a 66-12 whoop down (I just made that up) of McBee. That one had to feel especially good, since the Panthers had beaten them five straight times, usually by wide margins, including twice in the playoffs. Rhett Cox was efficient (10-of-13) but also made big plays (278 yards on those 10 completions). He has grown into the QB role very well and has developed into a threat with his legs. He has a bevy of weapons to throw to including Mikial Fourney (who is as good at playing receiver as he is safety, which is really saying something) and Johnny Courtney (a criminally underrated talent, in my opinion). Quentin Sanders comes to the field each week intent on breaking your will to compete in athletics and he succeeds, having run for nearly 1,100 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. The defense is playing really well, really brings a lot of heat and is forcing a lot of turnovers. Lamar, spreads the sugar out in terms of the running game a little more with the speed of Jacquez Lucas and Tyrik Herion and the battering ram, Lord don’t let him run to my side of the field, brute strength of Jeblonski Green. Rashard Coleman has improved a great deal as a passer this season, which gives Lamar balance, which makes them scary and unpleasant to deal with. I’ve heard that their line is very young and may not be quite to last year’s quality, but dang if that’s actually revealed itself yet as they crank-smacked AAA and AAAA teams earlier in the year. Defensively, Lamar doesn’t do anything very fancy. Not a lot of blitzing or exotic coverages. They play you straight up, fly to the ball and hit you hard enough to make pee leak out of your toes (no clue why I just wrote that). Oddly, Lamar has had its off week, the week before playing Lewisville every year since the two have been region mates. They’ll be well-rested and should be healthy. I can’t wait to see this one (follow along at @CNR_Sports on Twitter). Timmonsville (4-3) at McBee (0-6) If I’d told you at the start of the season that McBee would be winless at this point and essentially playing for its playoff life, you’d have pointed and laughed. You would probably point and laugh at me anyway because of that whole having a third eye thing, but still…I saw McBee in person last week. Tyrece Wright and Shane Hammonds are dynamic players. Wright, in particular, has excellent patience, an explosive first step and the speed to run away from anybody. The problem, at least last week, was that they got overwhelmed at the line of scrimmage by Lewisville, particularly in the second half. Defensively, they give up a lot of big plays, a product of having graduated so many good players and being so young on the back end of the defense now. I know fans are impatient, but I hope they realize how young the team is and how the past three years were, in fact, the golden age of Panther athletics. Having said that, if they lose this one, they have almost no hope of making the postseason and a win would be considered an upset. Timmonsville is playing very well right now. Quarterback Jamaric Morris is throwing the ball well enough to give them some balance and Tyquan Eaddy is a stud at running back. The defense is improved over last year too. They’ll end up being a tough out for anybody, I think. Great Falls (0-5) at Andrew Jackson (2-4) The Red Devils lost to Timmonsville 56-0 last week. They have some talent, but they have a sophomore at QB, a freshman getting a lot of time at RB, a sophomore starting at WR and some underclassmen who’ve had to play up front. Give them some time and wins will come. A.J. has obviously fallen off from last, but do run the ball pretty well. Bout all I got for you on this’n, Hoss. Ridge Spring-Monetta (3-3) at Blackville-Hilda (2-4) I’ve had to re-examine my assessment of Blackville-Hilda a bit. I’ve been saying that physically, they pound people into a jelly-like substance, spread them on loaf bread and eat them. That was the formula last year and a few of their early games led me to think they were on that same track, but those early wins, with some reflction, don’t look quite as good now. They got boat-raced by HKT last week. RS-M, by comparison, has won three-of-four, with the only loss being a competitive one to Williston-Elko. This is usually when they hit their peak, just sayin’… Estill (2-4) at Denmark-Olar (1-5) Denmark has the biggest skeeters I’ve ever seen. Thus ends the relevant information I can offer on this contest. St. John’s (4-2) at Baptist Hill (5-0) The game of the week in the lowcountry. Trust me on this…if you’re team is off or is playing a walkover game, do yourself a favor and get yourself to the greater Hollywood, Peters Point area for this game. On one hand, you have St. John’s, who has torched AAAA and AAAAA teams this year. The two losses both came to bigger schools and once they actually played their first Class A opponent last week, they laid down a 42-6 stomping. Kam Smiley is an underrated, terrific QB, they run the ball well and have a big-time receiving threat at tight end. The Bobcats are unbeaten and have maybe the most productive player in the state in QB Corey Fields. He isn’t a one-man band, though, he has some terrific weapons to work with in Richard Bailey and Jay Burnell among others. So this could be a shootout…but both teams play real, physical defense. So maybe it won’t be. The only thing I’m sure of is that the winner is the likely region champ and it will be immensely entertaining either way. As an added bonus, here is a breakdown on the match-up by St. John’s coach Josh Harpe. Sadly, the very long open road to Lamar beckons, so everyone else gets the “in other action” treatment… Charleston Charter Academy for Scholastic Achievement and Pants at Palmetto Christian Bethune-Bowman at Scott’s Branch Cross at Branchville Green Sea-Floyds at Creek Bridge Lake View at East Clarendon Hannah-Pamplico at Hemingway
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TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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