Class 5A 2nd Round Preview: River Bluff at Sumter

Of late, Sumter has been labeled as one of those teams that rolls through the regular season but can’t quite keep it going in the playoffs. The reasoning is clear: The Gamecocks have failed to go beyond the second round over the course of the last four years. Mark Barnes’ undefeated squad has every opportunity to buck that trend this week. After making quick work of Berkeley to open the abbreviated postseason last Friday, Sumter will again be at home against upset-minded River Bluff, a team that has already proved it can win on the road this year. The Gamecocks and Gators have playmakers on both sides of the ball, and answers to these three questions will deliver one of them into the Lower State finals <strong>CAN HARRIS-WAYNICK GET HIS?</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61007" first="Nathan" last="Harris-Waynick"]</strong> started his high school career in the SCISA ranks before transferring to Sumter. But the now-senior running back has made the most of his two seasons in a Gamecock jersey. He wrapped up his junior year with three straight 100-yard games and is averaging well above that plateau as a senior while closing in on 20 touchdowns. If he keeps it up against this stingy River Bluff defense, it will really mean something. The Gators give up fewer than 75 yards per game and three yards per carry on the ground. What’s more, they’ve allowed opposing players to rush for just three touchdowns all year.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> There are a lot of moving parts on the River Bluff defense that allow that to happen, but among the top names to watch are linebackers <strong>Adam Molnar</strong> (team-leading 38 tackles) and <strong>Kevin Culcleasure</strong> (22.5 tackles, five TFL). Molnar is a first-strike artist, while Culcleasure cleans up a lot of the leftovers. <strong>HOW HIGH-POWERED IS THIS SUMTER D?</strong> From top-flight defensive line prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="59292" first="Justus" last="Boone"]</strong> - ranked No. 2 in the Prep Red Zone Class of 2021 rankings in South Carolina - to fellow lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="59316" first="Miles" last="Capers"]</strong> to corner <strong>Anteon China</strong>, this Gamecock defensive is loaded with future college players.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> And outside of one rough first half against Carolina Forest (in a game that Gamecocks eventually won in overtime back in October), they’ve all continued to produce. Only Carolina Forest and first-round opponent Berkeley have scored more than nine points against Sumter.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> River Bluff is obviously comfortable in a low-scoring affair, even if its offense is capable of much more. Tailback <strong>Riley Myers</strong> (689 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns) is the centerpiece of an offense that plays with a deliberate and calm demeanor; the Gators have turned the ball over only five times this year. That’s a direct contrast to a Sumter defense that has forced an average of two per game behind all those stars. <strong>WILL AN ODDLY SCHEDULED REGULAR SEASON STILL MATTER?</strong> Just about everyone still alive in the South Carolina football playoffs has had a monkey wrench thrown into its 2020 plans - even after the season began. River Bluff was shut down to just five regular-season games (instead of the maximum allowed seven), and the Gators didn’t play their first game until Week 3. Another game was scrapped later due to a string of COVID-19 dominoes. Because of it, River Bluff faced only its four region foes prior to the playoffs. Sumter, meanwhile, sort of trudged through a relatively soft Region VI-5A slate (outside of that aforementioned game against Carolina Forest) and wasn’t so much as tested outside of that. It was just sort of the hand the Gamecocks and Gators were dealt. To their credit, they exceeded expectations, avoiding let-downs against teams they were supposed to beat while continuing to improve for this moment.