First of all, an apology for the lack of BLAWGS last week. You may have noticed there was a major news event last Tuesday and covering that for my “pay the bills…or pay on the bills and swear we’ll get caught up next month” job had to take precedent, unfortunately. I know some people like how last Tuesday turned out and others are threatening to move to the moon or some such, but I think we can all agree the biggest tragedy brought about by the election was a lack of Class A updates. Well, I’ve checked and there isn’t another election between now and the state championships, so we’re good to go from here on out. ON TO THE PICKIN’!!!!
Wagener-Salley (8-2) at Lewisville (8-2) We begin with the best match-up of the week. The Stump Whooped All-Stars have the best record of any road team in the Class A playoffs. I’ve been talking up W-S all season as one of the season’s “feel-good, they used to suck but now they don’t” stories. Coach Willie Fox started laying the groundwork last season, milking four wins out of a team that went 1-9 the year before he arrived. The team converted to a power look on offense, going with a Wing-T behind a good-sized line that stepped on the faces of opposing school children. They’ve carried that forward to this season. Tyquan Williams, a converted wide receiver, has run for more than 1,000 yards this year, but the team from Chitlin Town has a couple of other backs right at 500 yards. They rarely throw it, but can lull you to sleep, or beat you into a stupor, with that power game and bust you over the top with a big play once in a while. Defensively, they run an aggressive 4-3 and come after the quarterback. They allowed only 13 points a game, but it does have to be noted they didn’t play the toughest schedule. They beat a pair of six-win teams (Bethune-Bowman and Ridge Spring-Monetta) but their other six wins came against teams with 19 combined wins. They played two upper-end teams (Blackville-Hilda and Williston-Elko) and got trucked by both. In Lewisville’s last game, they were within three points of top-ranked, unbeaten Lamar (15-12) but two late scores boosted the Silver Foxes to a win. This team is oozing with talent. Quarterback Trey Keels, running back Quentin Sanders, receiver/running back/single-wing quarterback Mike Hill, lineman Josh Belk, linebackers Jene Thompson and Darryl Manning, cornerback Chase Yoder and other are among the best in the state at their positions. They have two distinctly different offensive sets (a spread and a single-wing) and are effective running both. The defense makes a lot of “splash” plays in terms of sacks and forced turnovers. Though they lost that Lamar game, they showed a lot in the way of toughness that night, going toe-to-toe with one of the state’s most physical and intimidating teams. They don’t really have a kicker to speak of, which may be an issue later on down the line. This should be a great one, but based on the Lions’ tougher schedule, overall talent and the fact that they have a few more marquee wins (Andrew Jackson and Blacksburg) I say the feel-good story and my references to chitlins ends. The Pick-Lewisville Estill (1-9) at McBee (7-3) I was considered “The Class A points guy” last year and in seasons prior, when we had a points system that determined who made the playoffs. That ranks somewhere between “guy who hangs out at Lil’ Cricket and mumbles to himself” and “dude with really hairy ears” on the prestige scale. Anyway, I was considered somewhat of an authority on the points system, but I have no clue how the at-large teams that made the playoffs were decided. My pick would totally NOT have been 1-9 Estill. Not sure how they got the nod over Timmonsville (2-8) and Ware Shoals (3-7). A few weeks back I jokingly said the left tackle for each team should face off in a biscuit-eating contest to decide the at-large bid. Maybe they actually did it? Them fellas from Estill can throw down some Hungry Jacks, I guess. Anyway, their one win came in the last week of the season against Denmark-Olar. The Fighting Gators actually aren't awful on defense this year (26.5 points a game) but they only scored as many as 14 points three times. McBee, since recovering from a spate of injuries, is 5-1, the only loss was to top-ranked Lamar in overtime and they’ve gone over 40 four times. They have, I’m not making this crap up, three stud running backs all with the last name of “Wright” their defense is among the most physical and aggressive in the state and…you know, this is probably not going to end well for Estill. The Pick-Duh. Ridge Spring-Monetta (6-4) at Dixie (6-4) It seems like every year, Ridge Spring-Monetta gets off to a slow start, but really finds their groove down the stretch and makes a nice run in the post-season. The Trojans were 3-4 at one point this season, but won their last three games, including a nice victory to close the year over Blackville-Hilda. RS-M is a hard-hitting team that typically chews up the clock with a wishbone offense. I think they employ the same system, but in that win over B-H, quarterback Tyson Bettis threw touchdown passes of 50 and 68 yards. They also had a punt return for a score by Rocky Isreal, which is just an incredibly bad ass name. Also, he has nine interceptions this year, which ties him with Chester’s Quay Hardin for the second-most in the state. Anyway, Dixie has struggled in terms of wins and losses for a long time. They eased up on the schedule quite a bit this year, playing three non-SCHSL teams. Against everybody else they were 3-4, with the three wins coming against two-win Calhoun Falls Charter and three-win Ware Shoals twice. I think their scheduling was smart…it’s one of the things that jump-started Whitmire a few years back. There’s no shame in lining up a few teams you figure to beat when you’ve be down for a long time. It builds confidence, gets some enthusiasm and confidence going etc. They’ve genuinely improved this year too, as evidenced by their slightly more competitive losses. Any further progress will take place next year, though, I’m afraid. Remember at the start of this, I said RS-M starts slow and finishes strong…but I also mentioned something about winning playoff games. History repeats. The Pick- Ridge Spring-Monetta. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (4-6) at Whitmire (4-6) I’m a little torn on this one. HKT finished up the season by delving out a grade 1 rootin’ to Denmark-Olar last week 42-8. Whitmire hasn’t played since October 28 when McCormick left marks on them in a 50-6 blowout. HKT has a dynamic quarterback in Davonte Scott, but I’ve read he’s been limited with injury in a lot of games. If I knew he was healthy and a full go, this pick would be a little easier. Charlie Jenkins (no relation) has done a fantastic job at Whitmire. Seriously, few have done better. That he cobbled together four wins after graduating 18 seniors last year is an impressive feat…when you consider that 18 kids is about 15 percent of the school student body. They have Devin Vo, a workhorse back, to make their scrum offense go. I expect them to take a big step forward next year. The Wolverines are just young at a lot of spots. I can see a scenario where they play keep-away and win this close if they don’t turn the ball over, something that’s bit them a few times this year. Because they’ve had that long, layoff, though (which makes a real difference) and because HKT has big-play potential, I’ll unfortunately go against the folks behind the brick wall, next to the public course in the Pearl of the Piedmont. But if there’s a game on this list I’ve gotten wrong, I’ll bet this is it. The Pick- HKT. Hemingway (7-3) at Scott’s Branch (5-5) The Tigers are more up-and-down than a fat kid on a see-saw. They beat C.E. Murray, then had to hang on for an 8-6 win over one-win East Clarendon the next week. They gave unbeaten Lake View perhaps their toughest game of the year (losing only 22-14) then lost the next week to Hannah-Pamplico. Quantaye Singletary is a very good running back and Hemingway, generally, has played some very manly defense this year. Scott’s Branch has lost three of its last four and have allowed more points than they’ve scored this year. It may be close, because that’s how these Tigers roll this year, but I expect them to do just enough to move on and face St. John’s next week. The Pick- Hemingway. East Clarendon (1-9) at Cross (7-2) Hey, so sometimes you blather on when you pick games and you need to look for a place to save some space…found it. The Pick- Cross. Green Sea-Floyds (5-5) at Military Magnet (1-9) This game provides the best evidence imaginable on why pre-set brackets are a terrible idea that is terrible. Not to pick on Military Magnet at all, but they won one game, that coming in a fairly close game against the winless Charleston Carpentry Academy and Bovine Fertility Clinic. Most of their other losses were blowouts (they yielded 41 points a game). Yet, because they finished third in a four-team region and it was decided ahead of time the third place finisher from that region got a home game, here they are, not only in the playoffs but hosting a game. Green Sea-Floyds lost a lot of games close this year, but have a nasty one-two punch at running back with Mahammud Graham and Akil Gause and will get a shot at C.E. Murray (who got a bye) next week. The Pick- Green Sea-Floyds Bethune-Bowman (6-4) at Baptist Hill (8-2) These were two of the aforementioned warm fuzzy feel-goods this season, with neither team having been good in a while. The Mr. T Haircuts have an athletic quarterback (Braxton Wedgeworth) and a running back (Makial Simmons) who is kind of like a bowling ball on rocket skis with anger management issues. However, after starting 5-1 against a just OK schedule, they went 1-3 down the stretch and got blisted by C.E. Murray (40-12) and Cross (60-6). Baptist Hill has quarterback Corey Fields, one of the state’s top passers. They are 8-2 and score a lot of points but mainly have done so against people who don’t hit back much. When they played two really good teams (Cross and St. John’s) they walked funny for a few days. They also struggled to put away Military Magnet in their regular season finale. So neither team finished strong. Hard to get a strong feel on this one either way, but I’ll roll with Fields making one or two plays that make the difference. The Pick- Baptist Hill. First-round byes- McCormick, Blackville-Hilda, Lamar, Williston-Elko, St. John’s, Hannah-Pamplico, C.E. Murray and Lake View.
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November 2021
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