Week 8 Games To Watch: Pee Dee & Lowcountry

Week 8 Games To Watch: Pee Dee &#038; Lowcountry

Ian Guerin October 12, 2021 @ 11:59 AM

We’re in the thick of it now. Up and down the coast, a few Class 5A and 4A regions might as well call this moving week. Games are being played for de facto region championships and the playoff positioning that comes along with it. We’ll have plenty more of those games along the way, but few will separate the contenders from the next best quite like these. Hartsville (2-4, 2-1) at South Florence (6-1, 3-0) When South Florence quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="146356" first="LaNorris" last="Sellers"] went down a few weeks back, there were questions about how much this Bruins team could still compete for a Region VI-4A title. Replacement signal caller [player_tooltip player_id="208353" first="Quincy" last="Rhodes"], running backs Trey McWhite and Malik Terry and receiver Evin Singletary have proved this offense could still be highly effective. Drew Marlowe’s team scored 76 and 38 points in its first two full games with Rhodes behind center. Now comes the more difficult part. Can the Bruins’ offense produce against a much more difficult opponent in Hartsville? The Red Foxes will offer a bigger test than the last two foes (Darlington and Wilson) and could make Sellers’ absence felt for the first time since his injury. May River (5-2, 2-0) at Beaufort (6-1, 2-0) We knew Beaufort was going to be loaded heading into this year. But we weren’t quite sure on May River, which was replacing a ton of its best players. What we’ve seen develop is arguably one of the more fun positional match-ups we’ll see this year. May River quarterback Garvin Douglas has been lights out, freelancing his way to nearly 1,200 rushing yards (and 12 TDs) to go along with another 400-plus passing yards. But can he be himself with top-flight Beaufort defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id="89341" first="Eamon" last="Smalls"] and [player_tooltip player_id="200665" first="Alvin" last="Wilson"] staring him down? Whomever gets the leg up in that battle pushes themselves to the Region VII-4A drivers seat. Sumter (5-1, 1-0) at Carolina Forest (3-3, 1-0) Carolina Forest’s redemption tour started last week, when it was able to reverse course on two ugly non-region losses against region foes (the region elected to double up this year in an effort to preserve games). But Khalil Johnson, [player_tooltip player_id="89329" first="Luke" last="Janack"], [player_tooltip player_id="202739" first="Scott" last="Saylor"] and the rest of the Panthers taking down Conway in the rematch would be peanuts compared to what a win against Sumter would do. The Gamecocks, led by quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="92207" first="Ryan" last="McCants"], running back Keion Brown and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="89303" first="Jabari" last="Tiller"], are a massive bunch with eyes on a second straight region title. If they win this game, there’s little standing in their way. Cane Bay (6-1, 2-0) at Goose Creek (4-3, 2-0) The Region VII-5A crown comes down to - you guessed it - this game right here. Cane Bay is hot, having won five straight thanks in large part to sophomore running back TJ Wright. Last week, the 5-foot-10, 177-pounder notched two touchdowns against Stratford, including the go-ahead score in the closing minutes. Wright has played well, but you better believe the other running back in this game may just have himself a night, too. Goose Creek’s [player_tooltip player_id="61071" first="Demetri" last="Simmons"] has already gone for 1,400 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. Last week against Fort Dorchester, he put up 400 total yards. And that was against the No. 2 team in Class 5A. Somehow, it wasn’t enough for a win. But that non-region loss will be forgotten if the Gators win the more important region one.