Class 4A State Championship Preview

Brandon Stockdale November 30, 2021 @ 05:53 PM

South Pointe comes into Thursday night’s 4A State Championship after defeating Greenville, 24-14 in the Upper State Semifinal last Friday. Beaufort, on the other hand, upset Myrtle Beach in the third round before defeating West Florence, 42-10 last week to punch their ticket to Columbia. For the Stallions, you’ve heard us talk about [player_tooltip player_id="200727" first="Zay" last="McCrorey"] and Waymond Jenerette in previews all season, which will be key on Thursday. But you’ll want to keep an eye on the running game duo of Ja’Quan Thompson and Caleb Sims. Both of them compliment each other well and can take the pressure off the passing game, like they did last week against Greenville. They’ll face a challenge with Beaufort’s [player_tooltip player_id="89341" first="Eamon" last="Smalls"] and [player_tooltip player_id="200665" first="Alvin" last="Wilson"], who can clog up run lanes as they are first and second on the team in tackles. LB James Dennison will be a guy to watch as he has 97 tackles on the year. [player_tooltip player_id="89319" first="Tyler" last="Haley"] (pictured) and Amarie Morris will lead the offensive attack for Beaufort. Morris scored four touchdowns in last week’s win over West Florence, while Haley threw for 123 yards and one touchdown. Haley can sling it and has thrown for over 2,000 yards this year. He’ll be tested against the defensive front of the Stallions of A.J. Miller and Tenarrious Rhinehart, as both combined for 12 tackles last week. South Pointe allows 18 points per game defensively, while Beaufort allows 10 points per game. The bottom line is whoever walks out of Charles W. Johnson Stadium on Thursday night with the 4A crown will win the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball and have a nice mix of run and the pass.