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.
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November 2021
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