Ridge Spring-Monetta (5-4) at Timmonsville (5-5)
Before the season started, the Trojans were my pick to face Lamar for the upperstate title. They didn’t have a bad season by any means, but they had a two-game stretch against good Blackville-Hilda and Wagener-Salley teams in which they scored six whole, entire points. They also struggled to put away a couple of teams (Denmark-Olar and Williston-Elko) in games where they surprisingly surrendered a lot of points. Odd for a team that had almost everybody back on that side of the ball. Timmonsville was just’a cruisin’ along at 4-1, then struggled to a 1-4 finish in the second half of the season. They have some dynamic skill talent on offense. Jamaric Morris is very much like what you’d get if a bull and a rocket engine could somehow have a baby. He’s strong and fast is my point…which might lead you to wonder why I didn’t just say “he’s strong and fast” to start with instead of concocting that inane bull and rocket engine thing. But I digress. Fanando Jackson is an excellent running back who can break tackles but also has speed to go the distance. So, maybe he’s the offspring of an armored car and a cheetah, since I’ve already driven down Dumb Analogy Boulevard once already. For the most part, they’ve played good defense for new Coach Ron Baker this year, even during a four-game losing streak. I’ve seen them in person and they are as good 1 through 11 as anybody. I think part of their problem is that there ain’t much past 11. I only counted 19 or 20 players total when I saw them. I think depth and overall experience make the difference in this one. I expect it to be fairly low-scoring and competitive, but… The Pick- Ridge Spring-Monetta. Ware Shoals (1-9) at McBee (2-8) This playoff match-up of teams with three combined wins, brought to you by stupid preset brackets. Have I mentioned how much I hate present brackets? Have I held forth in a screed full of righteous indignation that with Class A being so much smaller after the last realignment, we should have a points system, seed the teams 1-16 and be done with it? I think I have. Anyway, Ware Shoals got in by virtue of beating Calhoun Falls Charter. I’ve seen them and they looked a little better than that 1-9 record appears. They used two QBs the night I saw them (Ben Webb and Jermarious Goodman) and had a good-sized RB who wasn’t a blazer, but was a pretty good thumper between the tackles who caught the ball pretty well. Where they’ve really labored is on defense, if by “labored” you mean “give up a metric butt ton of points.” Like Timmonsville, they don’t have a whole lot of depth either, but the kids seem to play hard and keep a good attitude. McBee started off 0-6 and since they graduated so much talent, had a new coach and a new and radically different offense, I figured it was a growing year for them. If you really look at the 0-6 start, though, you see losses to lots of good AA teams (A.J., Chesterfield, North Central, Hannah-Pamplico, Blacksburg) and a very good Class A team in Lake View. They beat Great Falls, then pulled a surprise over Timmonsville on a last-second touchdown pass before getting totally CRANKSMACKED by Lamar and Green Sea-Floyds. Jaheim and Tyrece Wright carry on the tradition of fast people named Wright who play football at McBee. Against good competition, their defense just doesn’t hold up, but they can make some big plays out of their new spread offense, they’re pretty good on special teams and that should be enough in this game. The Pick- McBee. Williston-Elko (5-5) at McCormick (2-8) “Hey guys, so um, good news, bad news. Good news is you made the playoffs. Congrats. Bad news is winner goes to Lamar next week.” That’s kind of like hearing “Hey buddy, we’re hooking you up with a free buffet. All you can eat…because we want’ you really fat and delicious for that bear we’re going to feed you to.” McCormick kind of falls into the McBee category of having played an ambitious schedule and suffered for it. When they’ve played like-sized, comparable teams, they’ve faired OK. I like Silas Cannady…not just because he’s named like a 1700’s blacksmith, but because he’s a big-time playmaker. He plays RB when they go with the I look and takes direct snaps when they flip to a quasi-wishboney looking deal. He’s not real big but he can fly and is very tough for his size. Defensively, it’s a good idea not to throw it in his direction. But outside of him, they’ve had a tough time on offense. Williston-Elko has depth and top-drawer talent like frightening man/beast TE Keshawn Toney, who is a total mismatch for most any high school defender. They too played a manly schedule early and struggled (an oddity for this program) but did win 4 of 5 down the stretch. Where they’ve run into struggles is on defense. So a struggling offense vs a struggling defense. It’s sort of like an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. Or either the opposite of that…I’m getting out of my lane of ridiculous things creating freaky offspring. Anyway, I think depth and a few more playmakers are the difference here. The Pick- Williston-Elko. Estill (1-9) at Whitmire (6-3) Let’s not drag this out. Estill is in the playoffs because, um, two other teams from their region were suddenly unable to fulfill their playoff duties. So, it’s sort of like when Ms. America gets the croup or holds up a liquor store. That runner-up gets to step in and fill the duties. Whitmire runs the scrum on offense, they have about 6 guys that can tote the ball, they throw it just well enough to keep you honest, they are surprisingly deep for a school with less than 175 students, they’re well-coached and their kids battle their tails off for 48 minutes. This probably won’t be close. The Pick- Whitmire. Branchville (6-3) at Military Magnet (1-9) Did I already mention the whole thing about how preset brackets are like having to eat a seven-layer salad made of boogers, cat poop, grass clippings, old ham, spoiled milk, Vaseline and hamster dander? We have a 1-9 team hosting a playoff game here. Military Magnet has some athletes and run a scrum-ish offense that is tough to stop if you don’t see it often. Branchville is not a world-beater, but they are senior heavy, hung in there against the Mr. T Haircuts and C.E. Murray and did win six games, though none was against a team with a winning record. Of course Military Magnet doesn’t have a winning record and Branchville already beat them once this year so… The Pick- Branchville. Scott’s Branch (3-6) at Hemingway (4-5) This year, Hemingway has been the pancakes of confusion, covered in the syrup of consternation, on the plate of unanswered question, with a side of WTH bacon. They couldn’t have looked worst in getting hammered in 3 of their first 4 games (admittedly against a rough schedule), then they up and beat C.E. Murray and an at-the-time red hot Timmonsville. Then they lost their last two to Green Sea-Floyds and Lake View. They obviously have top-end talent in Darius Taylor and Darius Williams. Williams is a big scary defensive end that frequently maims opposing school children…but he’s so athletic that run jet sweeps and stuff with him on offense. Taylor is a phenomenal athlete as well, but this team lost a ton of talent and its coach from last year, which maybe explains their up-and-down nature. Scott’s Branch also has a new coach this year in Brian Smith. I think they are on the cusp of turning things around, having won 2 of their last 3, with the loss being a nail-biter to C.E. Murray. They are dealing with some injuries, but Sean Swarnger has stepped in at QB and rushed for more than 1,100 yards. Kendrick Lesesne and Treyshawn Moore are other weapons to look for on offense. This feels like a game that could be our first surprise of the night. Since they’re at home and facing a team that’s missing some important starters, I’m going to go with the Tigers here, but don’t be surprised if it goes the other way… The Pick- Hemingway. Charleston Charter Institute for Leadership, Personal Growth and Weenie Roasts (1-8) at St. John’s (6-4) The Islanders finished the year with two straight losses, but put that aside. They had Baptist Hill on the ropes and lost in the final two minutes, then handled themselves well against The AA OC Semi-pros last week. This is a young but talented team. Coach Harpe has several guys on offense that can hurt you and seems to alter his attack on a week-to-week basis to exploit the weakness of the defense he’s facing. They can run it, they throw it pretty well, Tyrone Hicks is better than you at football etc. and so forth. Their defensive effort against Baptist Hill was phenomenal and they’ve generally played well on that side of the ball all year. The other thing that truly distinguishes them is their kicking game. It’s the best in Class A in terms of FG accuracy, kickoffs and returns. That’s a huge boost and leg up (pun fully intended) on most everyone they play. It’ll come in handy next week when they have an absolute war against Lake View. The Pick- St. John’s.
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November 2021
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