With the Region 8 champs decided last Friday, Latta and Lake View will be looking to secure playoff spots this Friday in varsity football action.
Latta struggled in non-conference play early in the season, but opened region play by holding the undefeated Hemingway Tigers to just six points, making the Vikings the only team to keep the Tigers to just one touchdown all season. After a 41-0 shut out from local rival Lake View, Latta picked up a 29-6 win over Creek Bridge and last week the Vikings battled the Carvers Bay Bears to a 17-14 win in overtime.
Now sporting a 3-6 record overall, the win improved the Vikings to 2-2 in the region, giving them a shot at making the Class A playoffs. Last season, the Vikings competed in Class A, Division I, but fell 14-8 to Allendale-Fairfax in the first round. Carvers Bay is also 2-2 on the season heading into Friday’s football action, when the Bears will face the Tigers.
Latta will be hosting Green Sea-Floyds this Friday, and should be able to secure a win over the 0-9 Trojans.
The Vikings have been led by Tyquan Porter, Jackson Williams, Kartilus McFadden in recent games. Porter scored on a 57-yard kickoff return against Creek Bridge and scored on an 18-yard pass from Kel Williamson against Carvers Bay last Friday. Williams had two touchdowns against the Warriors and an 8-yard touchdown against the Bears, and McFadden rushed for a 25-yard touchdown against Creek Bridge. Aaron Autry has been delivering on the extra point kicks, and kicked the game winning field goal on Friday night to secure Latta’s win over Carvers Bay.
Green Sea-Floyds made their strongest showing of the season in their 36-26 loss to Lake View in the region opener. Jacquez Geralds carried for 67 yards in that game and completed 13 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown, and Shaquawn McGill scored a touchdown and carried 19 times for 91 yards. Shaquille Jordan caught six passes for 76 yards in that game, and Wyatt Upchurch caught five for 61 yards through the air.
Since then, the Trojans have only had one touchdown, which came in their 32-8 loss to Hemingway on October 17.
Meanwhile, Lake View’s Wild Gators will host Creek Bridge on Friday night. The Gators have secured a spot in the Class A, Division II playoffs and although they slipped out of the top 10 again this week, the Gators could make another strong run in the playoffs. Last season, Lake View advanced all the way to the lower state championship, where they fell 56-14 to Timmonsville.
The Gators have had a good season so far and hold a 6-3 record heading into Friday’s game with a 3-1 record in the region. The Gators battled Hemingway last Friday and fell by just four points as Xavier Weaver ran for two touchdowns and a conversion run.
Lake View’s Christian McDaniel and Reco Brown continue to lead the Gator offensive, with McDaniel adding two touchdowns last Friday. McDaniel has carried over 100 times this season for just over 800 yards and eight touchdowns. Brown has carried over 60 times for 822 yards and seven touchdowns, and he scored on a conversion run last Friday night. Duane Nichols has also been earning some impressive numbers for the Gators, and ran for 57 yards on 15 carries against Hemingway last week. Weston Rogers has more than 370 yards through the air this season at quarterback, and also scored on a conversion run against the Tigers, and Jeremy Moody leads the Wild Gator defense with over 56 tackles.
Creek Bridge is 2-7 headed into the game, and 1-3 in the region. The Warriors were shut out against Carvers Bay and Hemingway, and only managed six points against Latta before earning their only region win, going 30-0 against Green Sea-Floyds last Friday.
In the statewide polls this week, Hemingway was the only Region 8-A team to make the list, once again ranked at third behind Christ Church and Allendale-Fairfax. Christ Church is the defending Division I champ, while Allendale-Fairfax defeated Hemingway and battled Carvers Bay for the lower state title last season.
Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Lamar, McBee, Williston-Elko, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, Estill, and Calhoun County rounded out the rest of the top 10. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler is the defending champ in Division II, and Lamar was the upper state runner-up last season in Division I.
In Class 2A, Dillon held on to the number one spot in the state, followed by Timberland, Woodruff, and Fairfield Central. Chesnee and Loris were tied for fifth, with Batesburg-Leesville in seventh. Newberry, Cheraw, and Barnwell rounded out the top 10. Dillon will enter the playoffs as the defending Division I champion, while Batesburg-Leesville is the defending champion for Division II.
The Wildcats have already clinched the Region 8-2A title with an undefeated 4-0 record. Dillon has won 18 straight games and 29 straight region games, and will likely pick up another win over Waccamaw this Friday. Loris should easily secure second place, while Aynor, Waccamaw, and Marion will be playing for a spot in the playoffs. Aynor and Waccamaw are both 2-2, while Marion is 1-3. Aynor is set to face Loris this week, and Marion will be at Mullins.
Dillon continues to dominate on the field, with Avery McCall leading the charge in last week’s 49-7 win over Loris with 315 yards in the air on 27 completed passes for four touchdowns, and 107 yards on the ground on 13 carries for two touchdowns. McCall has over 2,000 yards this season with 26 touchdowns.
Johnny Allen and Jamison Chapman each have over 600 yards rushing for the Wildcats with a combined total of 21 touchdowns, and Eri’Reon hayes has over 800 yards receiving with 14 touchdowns. Kicker Drew Covington ran his total to 55 out of 60 for the season on last Friday night with seven straight extra point kicks.
Jermaine McDaniel leads the Wildcat defense with over 60 tackles and Randal Davis lead the team in interceptions with five. Davis was chosen for the South roster in the 2014 Touchstone Energy Bowl.
In SCISA action, the Dillon Christian School Warriors will be wrapping up region play as they host Holly Hill Academy.
The Warriors are 7-2 heading into the game with a 4-1 record in SCISA Region 1-A, while Holly Hill is 6-3 and 3-2 in the region.
The Warriors are led by TeShaun Lane, who has run for 1,258 yards so far this season for 18 touchdowns on 157 carries. Jim Car has completed 65 passes for 1,055 yards through the air and 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions. Luke Price also caught seven passes for 151 yards last week against Florence Christian, and Red williams caught three for 79 yards with both adding touchdowns. Ellison Rourke also caught four passes for 31 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles.
On defense, the Warriors are led by Luke Price and Thomas Evans, each with almost 90 tackles to their credit on the season. Matthew Price has made nine sacks with Jake Boykin making five, and Michael Minges has made five interceptions for the Warriors.
Holly Hill shut out Christian Academy 42-0 last week and earned a 35-7 win over Pee Dee and a 42-19 win over Trinity-Byrnes, but fell 28-14 to Williamsburg and 14-7 to Robert E. Lee Academy.
