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
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November 2021
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