Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Week 1 Preview/Week 0 Review

Week 0 was a week that had some very good games with smaller schools, and a couple larger ones. Most schools in the area prepped by playing in the Sertoma Football Classic.

Here are the Sertoma results from WCIV: http://www.abcnews4.com/story/22397951/matchups-set-for-2013-sertoma-classic

Timberland had one of the biggest wins of the week, 18-13 in St. Stephen against Manning. This is a big win as they started their season on a high note. Timberland scored on their first drive of the game, and led the entire game, but Manning made it very interesting.

Hanahan, after shutting out Wando Thursday night at Sertoma, dominated on Friday night, tearing apart Military Magnet by a final of 67-14. They look like a powerhouse in their 3A region. Wando though, bounced back in a big way, winning 39-12 at home against James Island.

Bluffton, even after losing their top WR to a broken collarbone, won 44-0 at Whale Branch. Hammond beat Hilton Head Christian 49-23, while Dorchester Academy's match-up with Trinity-Byrnes was canceled for rain. Colleton Prep won 15-7 at Dillon Christian, a game that was overshadowed by the top team in NC, Mallard Creek, heading to Dillon and winning by just 6. Georgetown upset Conway 24-18.

Here are the rest of the scores from the SCSportsSource website: http://www.scsportssource.com/index.php/high-school/item/909-high-school-football-scoreboard-week-0-8-23-13

This week will be an interesting week in high school football. There are several good football games on the docket. Everybody starts regular season play this week. I will list some games in quick one-liners, then write more on my top 5 games.

Quick hits: St. John's at James Island- Former Goose Creek coach Brad Bowles visits James Island in the battle of the Islands.

Carolina Forest at Fort Dorchester- A good game between two teams that have played the last several seasons. This time, the game is in North Charleston. Will Fort D improve this year?

Wando at Beaufort- Wando has their first tough road trip of the year, heading to Beaufort to face an Eagle team that missed the playoffs last year.

Garrett at Lincoln- People are actually excited for football in McClellanville under new Lincoln coach James Waring. Will the 47 game losing streak end?

Military Magnet at North Charleston- A battle of 0-1 teams that had tough losses last week. Who will win?

Stall at Baptist Hill- Baptist Hill had a nice start last week, blowing out Bethune-Bowman. Now, can they beat a 3A school?

Bishop England at West Ashley- A sneaky good game. West Ashley did very well in Sertoma last week, even though St. John's had a game the next night. Bishop England played Summerville very hard in its quarter of action. Can West Ashley start strong? (3 of first 4 at home) This will be a good watch.

My top 5 games of the week. In parentheses will be a feed of the game if you can get it:

5. Goose Creek at Ashley Ridge (online?). It will be interesting to see Ashley Ridge under Kenny Walker this year. Will he bounce back from last year's losing season? Goose Creek is Goose Creek. The Gators torched Berkeley during Sertoma, scoring 34 points in just two quarters of action. This is a road game, so the Gators needs to be prepared for the loud crowd of students that attend Ashley Ridge home games.

4. Woodland at Colleton County: This is a barometer game in the Lowcountry. Woodland is one of the best teams in the area at the 2A level, while Colleton County hopes to end their losing streak. The Cougars last win was October 30, 2009. College students that are seniors right now were seniors in high school the last time Colleton County won a regular season game. It was 2008 the last time Colleton County won a home game. This game will be interesting to see where the Cougars are at before they go into their region schedule.

3. Cane Bay at Summerville (Thursday, WMMP): While most of you will be watching North Carolina and South Carolina Thursday night, Summerville and Cane Bay will be playing their opener. This is an important game for many reasons.

Last year, Cane Bay upset Summerville in their first home game. Cane Bay was helped by a couple of errant chain measurements, but they won 10-3. John McKissick begins his 62nd year at Summerville with one of his best teams in the past few seasons. Also, being the first locally televised game of the year will be important for the home fans at Summerville. We'll see what the Greenwave are made of quickly.

2. Berkeley at Stratford (WTUA 106.1 FM): This is an important game in Berkeley County. Will Berkeley come back from back to back losing seasons? The fans in Moncks Corner, even Cityslicker, are mad about this. They demand a bounce back year from their Stags. It will be tough though against a stout Stratford offense.

If there wasn't any question that QB Jacob Park is the best in the Lowcountry, and probably the state, he ended it last week at Sertoma. He threw for over 250 yards in two quarters against James Island. If he does something like that frequently against 4A competition, the Knights will be tough to beat. An interesting battle. This is Channel 5's game of the week.

1. Timberland at Hanahan: I've changed my picks on GOTW before, but this game clearly is the best of the lot this week. Timberland beat a game Manning team last week 18-13 in St. Stephen. For a school that has been state championship contenders for the past few seasons, that is very important. You want to start a season on the right foot.

Hanahan did as well with their blowout over Military Magnet. That leads to a game between two very good teams which could both win their regions. The offensive battle will be one to watch, with QB play. The QB that plays better will determine who wins. Channels 4 and 2 have this as their game of the week.

Enjoy the games! I will have a recap post late Friday night.

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