Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Week 7 preview/wk 6 recap

High school football gets into its most important part of the season starting this week for the 4A schools. Region play begins. Last week was a very interesting week in high school football. Stratford escaped over Summerville, 30-28, in what was probably the best game of the year so far. Fort Dorchester came back from being down 21-0 at West Ashley to win.

Berkeley got a big win over James Island. Colleton County earned their second win of the year, beating Cane Bay during their homecoming. Hilton Head stayed unbeaten, and Hanahan went into Orangeburg-Wilkinson and beat the Wolverines in what was regarded as one of the biggest games in years there. Ashley Ridge upset West Florence 20-0 in Florence. Have they turned the corner?

Here is this week's schedule:


Some interesting games this week.

Quick clips: Augusta Christian (2-4) at Porter-Gaud (2-5) (Thursday): Augusta Christian makes the long trip from Martinez, GA to Charleston to face Porter-Gaud on Thursday Night Lights. After starting 2-1, PG is on a four-game losing streak.

Woodland (6-0, 3-0) at Battery Creek (2-4, 1-2): Undefeated Woodland heads to Burton to play Battery Creek. The Dolphins played well against BE last week, but were shut out, 17-0. What will we see this week from them?

Goose Creek (6-0) at Carolina Forest (1-5): Goose Creek tries to continue their undefeated streak as they head to Carolina Forest. They gave then undefeated Beaufort a run for their money before falling 49-35 at home. This is the Gators last game before region play.

James Island (1-5, 0-1) at Hilton Head (6-0, 1-0): Hilton Head tries to continue its undefeated streak against the Trojans. Region 8-3A is one of the best in the state; three teams are currently ranked in the top 10 in 3A (Hanahan, Hilton Head and OW).

Bishop England (4-2, 3-0) at Burke (0-6, 0-3): Bishop England heads to Burke to try and continue their winning ways. Burke has only scored 20 points in 6 games. The most they've scored in ANY game was 8 last week at Woodland.

Cross (3-4, 1-0) at St. John's (3-3, 1-0): A big game in 1A on Johns Island Friday night. Cross beat Military Magnet last week, while St. John's traveled to Baptist Hill and won. The winner will take control of Region 6-1A.\

Bluffton and Beaufort also have a very important game in Beaufort starting their region play.

My top 5:

5. Stratford (6-0) at Cane Bay (0-6): Region 7-4A play starts this week, and Stratford is coming in after a extremely emotional two-point win last week over Summerville, one of the best games of the year, and now they head up US 176 to Cane Bay. They have never hosted the Knights before, and there will be a raucous crowd for this one.

Will Stratford be in for a possible trap game? Jacob Park was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and he threw for two TDs last week in the win over the Green Wave. Every region game is important, but especially in Region 7-4A, where one slip-up probably means you're out of the race with just four region games.

4. Colleton County (2-4) at Ashley Ridge (2-4): This game has suddenly become very important at the beginning of Region 8-4A play. The winner of this one will have a lot of momentum headed into the rest of the season. Both teams had big wins last week, and the Cougars have steadily improved throughout the season since their upset over Wando.

Kenny Walker's team has won two straight since being left for dead after an 0-4 start. The winner of this game will be 3-4, and 1-0 in region play heading into a tough stretch. That's why this game is big.

3. West Ashley (4-2) at Wando (2-4): West Ashley has stumbled, losing their last two after starting 4-0. Wando had a bye week last week, much needed after a 41-13 loss against Fort Dorchester two Fridays ago. This rivalry is one of the bigger ones in the Lowcountry, in both football and basketball.

As we start region play, this is a huge game. If Wando wants to start a turnaround and head back to the playoffs, they have to do it here. West Ashley and Bobby Marion on the other hand, need a win. They do not want to start on one of their late-season swoons which have perplexed them in the past few seasons. Add in the atmosphere of West Ashley students traveling over the bridge, and it should be fun.

2. Berkeley (3-3, 1-0) at Hanahan (6-0, 1-0): A huge game in Region 8-3A, one of the stacked regions of the state. Slicker and the Stags fans were very happy last week as Berkeley went into The Backyard and beat James Island 40-14. Hanahan has remained one of the best teams in the area all season.

Channel 5 named this game as their game of the week, and I don't blame them. Berkeley has won two straight, and their offense has started to click with all of their options running the ball. Hanahan has stayed steady all season with QB Mason Schwerzler. Only a junior, he should get some looks from several Division I colleges in the next year or so. He threw 3 TDs at Orangeburg-Wilkinson. This will be a very interesting ball game. The team who takes care of the ball will come out on top.

1. Summerville (4-2) at Fort Dorchester (4-2): This may be the biggest rivalry in the Lowcountry. Both schools hate the other. Fort Dorchester hasn't beaten Summerville since 2001. This year may be as good a chance as any. Summerville just finished an emotional game against Stratford, while Fort Dorchester is surging.

The Patriots have won two straight, including a comeback from 21-0 down to West Ashley. They will be improved as they face their biggest rival. QB Kobe Garrett is not Kobe Bryant just yet, but he's steadily improved throughout the season and will be one of the best QBs in the Lowcountry next season. A win here would be huge for Fort Dorchester's students, players, and their morale, and probably would put them as the Region 8-4A frontrunner.

It will be a great game in North Charleston.

Hope you enjoy all the games!

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