High school football roundup: South Pointe, Lewisville fall in regional finals
Northwestern will be the Rock Hill area’s sole survivor in next week’s S.C. High School League state football championship games.
The Trojans outscored Gaffney in the Class 5A/Division 2 Upper State finals, but a pair of local teams — South Pointe and Lewisville — fell in their regional final contests.
South Pointe’s season came to an end at the hands of defending 4A state champ Westside, by a 35-14 score.
And Lewisville fell to Abbeville 42-18 in the 1A Upper State championship.
CLASS 4A: WESTSIDE 35, SOUTH POINTE 14
Westside (13-0) won its 27th game in a row, by limiting the effectiveness of South Pointe senior running back Mason Pickett-Hicks and by converting on some big-yardage scoring plays.
The Rams, defending 4A state champs, advanced to the finals by scoring 28 straight points against the Stallions (11-3).
One week after Pickett-Hicks rushed for 485 yards and six touchdowns, he was held to two scores Friday night.
Westside scored just 35 seconds into the game, on a 47-yard run by Sharode Richardson. But South Pointe tied the game with 3:23 left in the first quarter, on a 4-yard pass from Cam McMillon to Pickett-Hicks.
Westside answered with a quick scoring drive, going 80 yards in two minutes and taking a 14-7 lead on Richardson’s 7-yard run.
The big play of the game came with 5:26 left. Westside’s Armoni Weaver stepped in front of a McMillon pass at the South Pointe 15-yard line and scampered down the sideline for a touchdown. The Rams made it 28-7 with 1:45 left in the half on a 1-yard run by quarterback Cutter Woods.
Woods connected with Weaver on a 30-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter, and South Pointe finished the scoring when Pickett-Hicks finally broke open, running 48 yards for a touchdown with 2:02 to play.
It was the 30th touchdown of the season for Pickett-Hicks, an S.C. State commit.
CLASS 1A: ABBEVILLE 42, LEWISVILLE 18
Lewisville jumped to a 10-0 lead, but Abbeville (12-1), which has won eight state championships in the past 14 seasons, outscored the Golden Lions (12-2) 42-8 the rest of the way.
Lewisville took a 7-0 lead just 1:28 into the game, when Jordan Strong scored on a 9-yard run and Marcel Fee added the point after. The Golden Lions extended the lead to 10-0 on a 33-yard field goal by Fee with 4:19 left in the quarter.
Demarcus Leach scored for Abbeville on a 1-yard run late in the quarter, and the Panthers really got going in the second quarter, scoring twice for a 21-10 halftime lead.
Abbeville continued to pull away, building a 42-10 lead before Strong scored on a 7-yard run with 2:52 remaining.
Lewisville was playing in the Upper State regional championship for the first time in more than two decades, although the Golden Lions are 33-6 over the past three seasons.
Playoff scores, schedule
CLASS 5A / DIVISION 1
Regional finals
Upper State
Dutch Fork 24, Spartanburg 0
Lower State
Summerville 35, Sumter 6
Friday’s state championship
(at S.C. State)
Dutch Fork (12-0) vs. Summerville (13-0), 2
CLASS 5A / DIVISION 2
Regional finals
Upper State
Northwestern 58, Gaffney 40
Lower State
Irmo 29, White Knoll 25
Saturday’s state championship
(at S.C. State)
Northwestern (13-0) vs. Irmo (12-1), 6
CLASS 4A
Regional finals
Upper State
Westside 35, South Pointe 14
Lower State
South Florence 27, North Augusta 20
Friday’s state championship
(at S.C. State)
Westside (13-0) vs. South Florence (11-3), 7:30
CLASS 3A
Regional finals
Upper State
Belton-Honea Path 30, Mountain View Prep 22
Lower State
Oceanside Collegiate 42, Loris 7
Saturday’s state championship
(at S.C. State)
Belton-Honea Path (13-1) vs. Oceanside Collegiate (10-3), noon
CLASS 2A
Regional finals
Upper State
Clinton 32, Fairfield Central 21
Lower State
Barnwell 37, Manning 14
Thursday’s state championship
(at S.C. State)
Clinton (11-2) vs. Barnwell (13-1), 2
CLASS 1A
Regional finals
Upper State
Abbeville 42, Lewisville 18
Lower State
Cross 36, Lake View 7
Thursday’s state championship
(at S.C. State)
Abbeville (12-1) vs. Cross (11-2), 7:30
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 8:45 AM.