Lewisville (9-3) at Ridge Spring-Monetta (8-3)
The Lions managed to survive Mataeo's Last Stand last week, gutting out a 24-22 overtime victory at McCormick in round two. RS-M scored on a 55-yard run in the first quarter against Timmonsville and made that stick, winning 7-0. Last week, I proclaimed that C.E. Murray had the most balanced offense in 1A football. Perhaps I should have, you know, looked at everybody's stats before dropping that nugget. Lewisville has run for 2,285 yards and passed for 2,251, which is about as balanced as two fat kids on a see saw. The thing is, if you watch them, it doesn't feel that way. In round one against the Pig Innards, they threw for more than 300 and ran for less than 70. Last week they ran for more than 200 and threw for 30. Now, that was partly because of McCormick's defense and partly because they were basically playing the game in a swimming pool, but the Lions are versatile enough to take what a defense or the conditions gives them and still be productive. Not everyone is capable of doing that. Quentin Sanders, who somehow didn't make an all-star game, now has more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 34 total touchdowns. They have managed to big-play the opposition to death with he and the passing game weapons and the defense is playing at a peak level right now. The Trojans are not any of the things I just said, except for peak, you can't score on them, defensive part. They have a nice, dual-threat quarterback in Tyson Betts who has thrown for 982 yards (so juuuuust enough to keep you honest and prevent totally loaded boxes) and run for 585 yards, with 19 total touchdowns. Collier Sullivan leads the team with 852 yards and 10 touchdowns. Looking at their scores week-to-week, they don't blow up the scoreboard...they score 14 or 21 against good teams and the opponent doesn't score at all, and that's at. They allow 8.8 points-per-game overall, but narrow that to only 1A competition and the number drops to 3.8 a game with six shutouts, including three straight. The only caveat I'll throw in is that they have faced a lot of one-dimensional offenses, but there is no questioning their talent and execution on that side of the ball. I expect a very close and probably low-scoring game, but I like Lewisville's chances against a largely slow paced and somewhat one-dimensional offense more than RS-M's shot against an offense that can throw and run with equal effectiveness. The pick...In a close one, Lewisville Lamar (11-0) at Williston-Elko 9-2) Lamar, no kidding, played their starters for a quarter last week against HKT. It was already 35-0 and stuff was getting chippy so that was probably plenty. They had a bye the week before, so they should be ready to make this final push of the season. Really, they've been challenged twice this year. Once against a good AAAA team in Crestwood and once against Lewisville. They have a stable of terrific backs (Herion, Lucas, Green etc) they're good up front, Rashard Coleman has developed into an excellent quarterback and their defense seriously probably makes you question your decision to participate in contact sports. Williston had a good year, Tyran Parker is a really good two-way quarterback and the defense is good, mainly against teams that just run the ball...but they struggled to put away Dixie last week and aren't what you'd call dynamic on offense. They may hang in there for a quarter or so, but I really don't see this being close. Lamar and Lewisville rematch for upperstate next week. The pick...Lamar Lake View (9-2) at Baptist Hill (9-1) The Wild Gators trailed at halftime last week but rallied for a 32-12 win over a physical Cross team. Baptist Hill had a tough time putting away Green Sea-Floyds but finally did so 33-24. Corey Fields threw 454 yards and five touchdowns in that one. I'm not gonna carry on with a bunch of hyperbole about those numbers at this point because he basically does that every week. He'll almost assuredly pass 4,000 total yards for the season this week, made even more impressive than it seems when you consider he missed most of one game and they only played nine regular season contests. Lake View has its own run/pass/scary football robot under center in De'Ante Bridgett. They have a little more ability to line up, call a running play and execute it successfully than the Bobcats and a better defense, though honestly not by a wide margin at all. They are also deeper. Still, I'm honestly torn on this one because Fields is such a special talent and has the ability to light up any defense. For those not familiar with his work, he is not a Dinky McCheckdown that throws 50 screen passes a game. He can make every throw and is very effective on the deep ball. I'm tempted to go with the Bobcats here, but I say by a narrow margin, the depth of the defending champs makes the difference...maybe. The pick I reckon...Lake View C.E. Murray (10-1) at Hemingway (11-0) Hemingway beat St. John's last week 48-0. Let that sink in. Pretend to be a cheap steak and marinate in that for a moment. They didn't crank smack some 2-8 team that didn't belong in the playoffs, they beat a quality team that themselves beat AAA, AAAA AND AAAAA teams during the regular season. Martrell Davis, Keyshawn Davis and Micah Bryant had two TDs apiece. Quarterback Troy Singletary ran for 130 yards and is a good passer. I keep asking "well what happens when they don't score those delicious gravy TDs on special teams and defense?" It's as dumb a question as "why does it hurt when I throw lit firecrackers in my britches?" They do it every week, so there's no reason to think they'll suddenly stop. They are deep, senior-heavy and oozing with scary playmakers. The War Eagles had a closer than I figured battle with Hannah-Pamplico but there were mitigating circumstances in the form of three straight successful onside kicks by H-P. Elijah Bey is statistically one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the state and Darius Rush is one of the most explosive and versatile athletes there is. It got dinged a bit last week but the defense has generally been saltier than fatback...except when they played Hemingway in the regular season. They lost that game 56-35. I certainly think they are capable of winning this game, having proven they can score on Hemingway (no one scored as many against the Tigers), but Hemingway just punishes you for every mistake you make, they win their average game by 39 points and they feel like they're headed to state to me. The pick, in a close one... Hemingway
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TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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