By far the biggest surprise (which many of the pundits picked) was Marlboro County going into Hanahan and ending their perfect season by a score of 7-6, on a defensive touchdown. Hanahan was picked by many to be the state champion in 3A. They didn't make it past their second game in the playoffs. Anything is possible when turnovers dilute the home field advantage.
The 4A teams did well last week. Goose Creek blew out a 3-8 Wade Hampton team 76-0. Stratford beat up Nation Ford 41-6 in a game that was looked at as an upset possibility. Summerville beat Ashley Ridge in a 21-7 final which was very competitive, just like their previous battle which ended 39-33 in favor of the Greenwave. Beaufort beat Blythewood by a 23-15 final. All four teams that were expected to win won last week.
In 2A, Timberland shut out Aynor 41-0, while Lake Marion did away with Waccamaw locally. BE shut out Andrews 30-0 while Garrett lost to Bamberg-Ehrhardt. Those two face off this week in a big game. Woodland travels to top-seeded Silver Bluff.
In 1A, we are in the state semis, as Carvers Bay hosts Allendale-Fairfax, and Lamar hosts Christ Church in D1, while all local teams are out of the D2 bracket. SCISA finishes up this weekend. Colleton Prep and Hilton Head Christian are the only local teams playing for state titles at that level. Both title games are Saturday at Benedict College. HHC plays at Noon, Colleton Prep at 3:30.
Here is the schedule for everyone:
4A: Boiling Springs (8-4) at Summerville (10-2): The Green Wave host Boiling Springs from the Spartanburg area in the second round of the playoffs. Boiling Springs upset Gaffney last week, spoiling a Gaffney match-up that many were predicting. Boiling Springs is good in its own right. They have one of the best offenses in the state. They've scored 528 points on the year, including 70 against Mauldin, 34 against Byrnes, 54 in a regular season game against Gaffney, and 45 against York.
The problem is all those games were losses. Summerville has their usual grind-it-out style under Coach John McKissick. Amazingly, it has been six seasons (2007) since Summerville made the state semifinals in 4A, back when A.J. Green was still playing. That year they made it to the state finals. Can Summerville stop their later-round playoff blues?
South Pointe (10-2) at Goose Creek (12-0): A juicy game from John Fulmer Field in Goose Creek. Goose Creek dominated out manned Wade Hampton last week 76-0. A newspaper report said that the Gators used over 100 players in this game. Coach Chuck Reedy basically went through the JV rosters and played everyone. It will be different this week. South Pointe does not have Jadeveon Clowney (like they had in the 2009 and 2010 playoffs) but they still have a lot.
South Pointe has gone a perfect 6-0 on the road this year. Their best road win was at former Stallions coach Bobby Carroll and York, 27-10. They have a very balanced offense. Anthony Johnson has scored 12 TDs as a WR, but four other players have at least three on the year. Marveon Mobley leads the defense with seven interceptions. Can South Pointe make it a game and perhaps pull a major upset?
Stratford (10-2) at South Florence (12-0): Ray Stackley has been known as a good scheduler for several seasons to try and boost up points for playoffs. Scheduling South Florence in the regular season was big. Both teams came in perfect for the November 1 game in Florence. South Florence came out on top in the rain, 26-14. Three weeks later, they will meet again.
Stratford QB Jacob Park had his worst game of the year there, only completing 11 of 35 passes for just 130 yards. The Knights are coming in three weeks later with a game plan, having just practiced for the Bruins a few weeks ago. Can South Florence's potent defense shut down Stratford like they did three Fridays ago? That's the key.
Beaufort (9-3) at North Augusta (11-1): Beaufort draws one of their longest road trips of the year for their second-round playoff battle at North Augusta. This year they've already beaten Aiken and Carolina Forest on very long road trips. It will be different against a North Augusta team that only lost to Lexington 18-14 October 11.
Last week, they beat Laurens 42-11, as WR Keyon West had 147 receiving yards and two TDs. They rushed for 177 yards and passed for 204. Beaufort has been a surprise for a lot of the season. Can they pull an upset? It's possible.
2A: Loris (9-2) at Timberland (9-2): Timberland heads into this third-round game in the 2A playoffs with a lot of confidence. They have found their stride in their first two playoff games, winning by a combined score of 92-0. They have won six games in a row after starting 3-2. Loris is a better team than the two previous ones they've faced. They shut out Ridgeland/Hardeeville last week. Amazingly, five of their last six games have been shutouts. The only non shutout was a 28-12 win over Aynor the final game of the regular season. This will be a good one in St. Stephen.
Woodland (10-1) at Silver Bluff (10-1): This will be a battle as the Wolverines make the trip to the east side of Aiken to face Silver Bluff. This will be a good game to watch, as Silver Bluff hasn't lost since their opener against Strom Thurmond, and has been known as one of the best teams in the state in 2A. Can Woodland upset the Bulldogs and head to the state semifinals?
Bamberg-Ehrhardt (6-5) at Bishop England (9-2): Bamberg-Ehrhardt beat Garrett 43-0 last week, but they face a tougher challenge against Bishop England. They got a bye in the playoffs due to their good region record. Bishop England has won nine straight this year, not losing since the second game of the year. Except for 26 against Garrett, in their last 7 games they've allowed 0, 0, 0, 7, 13, and 0 points respectively. That's pretty good at any level. Can the Battling Bishops hold serve at home?
We will find out a lot this Friday. Prayers to John F. Kennedy and his family as this Friday is the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Dallas. I hope everyone enjoys the games.
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