HS football playoffs third round Friday: which teams are left?
Forty teams are left in the high school football state playoffs, eight in each classification.
Two of those -- Lewisville and South Pointe -- come from The Herald’s coverage area. Check out which teams are left and who they play in Friday’s third round of the 2017 SCHSL football postseason:
5A
Region breakdown (for teams remaining)
Region 2, 3, 5 and 7 - 2 teams each
Upper State
▪ Greenwood (10-2) at Dorman (10-2) - Dorman was 0-2 before ripping off 10 straight wins. Their last three victories came by the combined score of 110-19 and the Cavaliers’ chances in the next few weeks are significantly boosted by their seemingly unstoppable rushing attack. Greenwood QB Dre Yarborough has also been a difficult ball-carrier to stop this fall but the question is whether the Eagles have enough beef to stop the Cavaliers’ ground attack. First playoff meeting since 1990.
▪ Gaffney (8-4) at Hillcrest (10-2) - Gaffney -- with a muscular defense and running attack -- is built for playoff football. Is Hillcrest? The Rams throw the ball around successfully but their turnover margin is even. Gaffney’s is plus-11... in the last five games alone. Oh, and Gaffney beat Hillcrest 42-7 during the two teams’ regular season meeting back in September.
Lower State
▪ Summerville (10-2) at Dutch Fork (10-1) - Dutch Fork has hummed along this season, its only loss to Fort Dorchester. The Silver Foxes are looking strong in recent weeks, especially with the return of running back Ron Hoff, who was a revelation last year as a freshman. Dutch Fork can roll with him or Bryce Thompson, a great athlete who filled in at running back, giving Tommy Knotts great options. This will be a tough one for Summerville.
▪ Spring Valley (11-1) at Fort Dorchester (12-0) - Spring Valley has the kind of team made for playoff football, like Gaffney, but so does Fort D, with an even heavier does of explosion thrown in. The Patriots scored four first half touchdowns of 45 yards or longer against Carolina Forest last week, including two pick-sixes, a punt return and a pass. The defending 5A champs are one the most complete teams in the state and have multiple game-breakers, including Gamecocks-committed QB Dakereon Joyner.
CHECK OUT this interactive 5A playoff bracket
4A
Region breakdown
Region 2- 2 teams
Region 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 - 1 team
Upper State
▪ Greenville (11-1) at Greer (11-1) - Greer’s team speed is one of its greatest strengths, while Greenville’s junior QB Davis Beville made a believer out of York coach Bobby Carroll last Friday. Greer and Greenville have split their last 12 meetings and this could be one of the state’s most interesting, evenly-contested games of the third round.
▪ Eastside (11-1) at South Pointe (12-0) - the top-four scoring teams in 4A football are Greenville, Greer, Eastside and South Pointe. The Stallions have the best defense out of that bunch, allowing less than 11 points per game against one of the toughest schedules in South Carolina. They also have the most dynamic player -- Derion Kendrick -- and best kicker -- B.T. Potter. That should be a recipe to cause Eastside, having one of its best football seasons ever, plenty of trouble Friday.
Lower State
▪ Lower Richland (7-5) at Hartsville (11-1) - Rodney Barr has done a nice job in his first season as head coach at Lower Richland, riding talented QB Tevaughn Higgins to the Diamond Hornets’ deepest playoff run since the early 1990s. Their reward is a trip to Hartsville, which is slobber-knocking opponents in the last month, including a four-touchdown win over previously 9-2 Cane Bay last week. Hartsville’s playoff experience could be a huge factor against a Lower Richland team that may (may) feel some nerves.
▪ North Myrtle Beach (12-0) at Berkeley (11-1) - Berkeley lost its first game of the season and has won 11 straight since. The Stags are blessed with great size, while the Chiefs’ best player is one of their smallest (running back Kered Class). Even Berkeley’s coach Randy Robinson has admitted his team starts slowly; that probably can’t happen against the undefeated Chiefs.
CHECK OUT this interactive 4A playoff bracket
3A
Region breakdown
Region 2 and 5 - 2 teams each
Region 3, 4, 6 and 7 - 1 team
Upper State
▪ Palmetto (9-3) at Chapman (12-0) - this is only Palmetto’s fourth trip past the second round since 1970 when the Mustangs won the 3A title. Coached by Doug Shaw Jr., whose dad has a stadium named after him in Myrtle Beach, Palmetto is an unquestioned underdog against the defending 3A state champs. The quickness with which the Panthers dispatched high-scoring Chester last week was a bad sign for the rest of 3A.
▪ Emerald (9-3) at Fairfield Central (9-3) - safe prediction: Emerald and Fairfield Central will produce a bruising affair Friday night. At this stage of the postseason, annual experience can play a role and Fairfield Central has a big advantage in that category, as well as home field advantage. That might be the biggest two differences between two evenly matched teams.
Lower State
▪ Dillon (12-0) at Gilbert (12-0) - both undefeated, this should be a great game. Dillon has been here and done it, many times, while Gilbert, the second-highest scoring 3A team, is treading in newer territory. The Indians’ rushing attack has been almost impossible to stop and receiver Manny Bright offers a dangerous enough threat to keep defenses honest. Likewise for Dillon, which is led by Jallian Williams, a North-South selection as a defensive back who excels carrying the ball for the Wildcats.
▪ Timberland (9-3) at Brookland-Cayce (8-4) - another first time meeting for two playoff opponents. Timberland lost to North Myrtle Beach, Cane Bay and Berkeley, teams that are a combined 32-4. The Wolves have allowed just 22 points in their last four contests. Brookland-Cayce has beaten two teams with winning records.
CHECK OUT this interactive 3A playoff bracket
2A
Region breakdown
Region 5 - 3 teams
Region 4 - 2 teams
Region 2, 3 and 7 - 1 team
Upper State
▪ Abbeville (11-1) at Cheraw (9-3) - in one of the longest road trips of the third round, Cheraw, led by powerhouse junior running back Quan Pittman, makes the three and a half hour trek Abbeville, the defending 2A state champs. Abbeville’s rushing attack is led by J.R. Ripley and Bryce Jackson, a College of Charleston baseball signee.
▪ Lee Central (12-1) at Saluda (11-1) - first meeting for these two schools. Saluda lost its season-opener to Strom Thurmond but has reeled off 11 straight wins since. Lee Central is making its second trip to the quarterfinals in the school’s somewhat young history, while Saluda has reached an Upper State championship game each of the last two years.
Lower State
▪ Bamberg-Ehrhardt (10-2) at Carvers Bay (11-1) - Bamberg-Ehrhardt has allowed 45 fewer points than any other 2A football team. Since losing its only game to North Myrtle Beach, Carvers Bay’s closest contest was a 20-point victory. These two teams are rolling and this should be a classic game, though it’s surprisingly their first-ever meeting.
▪ Batesburg-Leesville (7-5) at Barnwell (10-1) - these two region rivals meet for the fourth time in two seasons, with the last two games both decided by three points. The most recent of those was a 44-41 Barnwell win in early October. Batesburg-Leesville faces a strong Warhorse defense that’s shut out four opponents this season. The Panthers have won four games in a row but haven’t really beaten a team that was favored over them this year; all five of their losses were to strong teams, including several still playing.
CHECK OUT this interactive 2A playoff bracket
1A
Region breakdown
Region 2, 3 and 6 - 2 teams each
Region 4 and 5 - 1 team
Upper State
▪ Lewsiville (9-3) at Ridge Spring-Monetta (8-3) - RSM, as we’ll call the Trojans for brevity’s sake, has only allowed 35 points in nine games against 1A competition. Kenny Lipsey’s Trojans won’t have faced many teams with the chameleon offensive capabilities of the Lions, who jumped in the single-wing last week when McCormick focused all of its attention on shutting down the pass.
▪ Lamar (11-0) at Williston-Elko (9-2) - Senior fullback/linebacker Jeblonski Green is back on the field for Lamar, a terrible development for the rest of the 1A classification. Green had been injured earlier in the season but his return puts the Silver Foxes at essentially full strength. Williston-Elko is another stingy defensive team from below Columbia; will the Blue Devils have enough on offense to keep pace with the Silver Fox juggernaut?
Lower State
▪ Lake View (9-2) at Baptist Hill (8-1) - Baptist Hill, which has played two fewer games than almost every other team in the state because of weather cancellations, is led by athletic QB Corey Fields, who is headed to the North-South game. But the Wild Gators are the defending state champs and they won last year’s playoff meeting with the Bobcats by 30 points.
▪ C.E. Murray (10-1) at Hemingway (11-0) - Hemingway won these two sides’ regular season meeting 56-35 and will feel confident of repeating that result Friday. C.E. Murray will have the best player on the field in Gamecocks commit Darius Rush. The Tigers lead the all-time series 23-5.
CHECK OUT this interactive 1A playoff bracket
This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 8:34 AM with the headline "HS football playoffs third round Friday: which teams are left?."