Top-seeded South Pointe football among Rock Hill-area teams opening playoffs Friday

After starting the season 0-1 with a 14-10 loss to N.C. power Hough, South Pointe coach Bobby Collins didn’t panic.

He knew the level his team could get to, and since then, the Stallions have rattled off nine straight wins, beating tough opponents like West Charlotte (No. 3 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 rankings), rival and defending state champ Northwestern and A.C. Flora (9-1).

“I think we have the No. 1 defense in the state of South Carolina,” Collins said, “in my opinion. I think offensively, we have multiple weapons that have been proving that all year long, and we’ve been doing a really good job on special teams. So, I think what we have to do right now is to focus on South Pointe more than anything else. We have a bunch of guys that are not me (first), everybody’s putting the team first. They’re humble, and hungry, and that’s giving us a chance to be successful.”

Through the final five games of the season, the Stallions shut out three opponents and gave up just one score in the other two games. This Stallions’ defensive unit has been one to reckon with for any offense that lines up on opposite side. That effort has been spearheaded by 2025 Mr. Football finalist J’Zavien Currence.

“J’Zavien Currence has been our guy at the quarterback and safety spot all year now,” Collins said. “He excels not only on the field but also from a leadership standpoint, making sure the guys on both sides of the ball know the standard and making sure all the guys are lined up every play so we can be as successful as we need to be.”

South Pointe opens the SCHSL playoffs with Beaufort (3-7). Collins said the main message he is giving his players right now is to not get ahead of themselves. They all know internally that if they play their best football, they can win a state title. But, it is when you overlook a team is when slip-ups happen.

“Right now, for us, we are taking this thing one day at a time,” Collins said. “Daniel (high school) is playing solid football. They are 9-1 and have one of the best offensive lines in the game of football right now. Westside is back winning, I think six or seven in a row. I would put 4A football up against any 5A, both divisions. South Florence is down there doing what they do best, running the football and winning games. So, there are a lot of competitive teams. The state title for 4A is December 6 at 12 p.m. So, the sun’s going to be out, and it’s going to be a lot of fun. But, right now our focus is solely on Beaufort.”

South Pointe opens the postseason at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Beaufort.

Rock Hill-area football teams in Friday’s playoffs

5A Division I

No. 5 Rock Hill vs. No. 12 Spring Valley, 7:30 p.m. Friday: The Rock Hill Bearcats finished the regular season 6-4 and earned a home playoff game to start the postseason. They host a Spring Valley team that is 2-8 and has failed to score in four of 10 games played. No win in the playoffs is an easy win, but if the Bearcats’ offense — led by quarterback Jonah Young with 11 touchdown passes on the year — gets rolling, it could set up a second-round clash with No. 4 James F. Byrnes.

5A Division II

No. 8 Catawba Ridge vs. No. 9 Fort Mill, 7:30 p.m. Friday: This is a rematch of one of the best defensive games played all year in the upper state. These two region foes met in mid-September and the Copperheads ended Fort Mill’s unbeaten season. Catawba Ridge won that game with its defense. Since, Fort Mill has only won one game, the last game of its regular season against Nation Ford. Expect nothing more than another defensive struggle when these two clash again.

No. 7 Greenville vs. No. 10 Nation Ford, 7:30 p.m. Friday: The Nation Ford Falcons had a roller coaster of a season. The Falcons lost the season opener, won three in a row, lost three in a row, won and then lost twice to end the year 4-6. They travel to face a hungry Greenville team which lost its regular-season finale in one of the most dramatic ways possible to T.L. Hanna. The Red Raiders (6-4) had the Yellow Jackets beat when senior Caden Morrell took back a 78-yard kickoff for a score to win as time expired.

No. 1 Northwestern: The Trojans earned the top seed in 5A Division II upper state and will get a week to rest and prepare for the winner of No. 8 Catawba Ridge and No. 9 Fort Mill. The Trojans know the formula to beating both the Copperheads and Yellow Jackets. Northwestern defeated Catawba Ridge, 56-20, and defeated Fort Mill, 56-40, in the regular season. Not to say upsets aren’t more likely to happen in the playoffs, but if the Trojans’ high-powered offense is status quo, Northwestern should get through to the third round.

No. 3 Indian Land: The Warriors finished the regular season 9-1 with their only loss coming to top-seeded Northwestern in the regular-season finale. Indian Land has had one of the best defenses in the state all season, despite struggling against Northwestern. The Warriors get a week to study and prepare for either No. 6 Hillcrest or No. 11 Riverside. Hillcrest went 7-3 in the regular season while Riverside was 4-6. Hillcrest scores 38.3 points per game while Riverside scores 26.2 per game. On paper, all signs point to a second-round battle between Indian Land and Hillcrest.

4A

No. 5 A.C. Flora vs. No. 12 York, 7:30 p.m. Friday: The York Cougars have quite the test ahead of them. York finished its regular season at 4-6 while A.C. Flora’s only loss was to top-seeded South Pointe. The Falcons average 40 points per game to the Cougars’ 16 and have three receivers in Charlie Scott, Kendall Byrd and Josh Davis who each average over 50 yards per game receiving. The Cougars have some quality wins against Dreher and Lancaster but a few shutout losses as well.

No. 4 Seneca vs. No. 13 Lancaster, 7:30 p.m. Friday: Lancaster has had its fair share of struggles this season, finishing the year 2-8 but gaining a playoff spot. The opponent awaiting the Bruins is a Seneca Bobcats team which is 9-1 with the only loss coming to No. 2 seed Daniel in late September. If the Bruins have any chance of winning, the defense will have to have its best game of the year guarding the run. Seneca senior running back Amari Verner averages 171.9 yards rushing per game and leads the team with 22 total touchdowns.

2A

Region 4 No. 1 Andrew Jackson vs. Region 2 No. 5 Ninety-Six, 7:30 p.m. Friday: The Andrew Jackson Volunteers quietly put together a solid regular season, going 6-4 and finishing 4-1 in region play. Thanks to having the tiebreaker with Central, the Volunteers earned the Region 4 top seed. They will host a Ninety-Six team which is 3-7 and has struggled to start games fast, averaging just 7.4 points in the first two quarters of games. Volunteers coach Jeremy Smith will likely fall back on what he has all year and that is the running game of Jvon Kelly and Damias Seegars, who account for 17 total touchdowns on the season.