Class 1A Lower State Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a fascinating season in Class 1A, and this year's playoffs might be as wide open as we've seen. With five different teams receiving first-place votes in the most recent media poll, we could be in line for a hectic and unpredictable November. It all starts on Friday with a busy opening round, so let's run through the upcoming matchups in the Lower State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Military Magnet at Johnsonville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Flashes have raced through their regular-season schedule with a perfect record and are deservedly ranked as Class 1A's top team. They should have no trouble with a Military Magnet squad that has lost three straight and scored just 14 combined points in those games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Johnsonville</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Latta at Bamberg-Ehrhardt </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a down year for Bamberg-Ehrhardt's standards, but the Red Raiders won three consecutive games in shutout fashion followed by a strong 21-3 victory over Whale Branch to close out their Region 7-1A schedule. Sophomore wideout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464885' first='Chanston' last='Crosby']</strong> has been a breakout playmaker for the Red Raiders, and they've found their groove on defense and should find a way to stymie Latta and athletic Vikings quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448981' first='Kartrell' last='Townsend']</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Bamberg-Ehrhardt</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Allendale-Fairfax at Lamar </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lamar's terrific defense led the Silver Foxes to the Region 6-1A crown, allowing less than 10 points in three of its last four wins. The home side should ride its defense early with stud linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91146' first='Roshad' last='McAllister']</strong> against a Tigers group that has been shut out for three straight weeks.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Lamar</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Scotts Branch at Baptist Hill</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baptist Hill picked up a shutout win over St. John's in Week 10 and will look to ride the momentum with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='340393' first='Harold' last='Gathers']</strong> who should be in the lineup after battling injuries midway through the season. <strong>Kaleb Brown</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='336153' first='Kevin' last='Townsend']</strong> provide a dangerous one-two punch in the Bobcats' passing attack. The Eagles have a balanced offense led by running back <strong>Ernie Calloway</strong> and wideout <strong>RJ Gibson</strong>, but Baptist Hill's <strong>Omarion Waring</strong> could be tough to contain at linebacker.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Baptist Hill </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hannah-Pamplico at Estill</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maybe the biggest surprise in Class 1A, the Estill Gators have surged to an impressive 9-1 record on the strength of quarterback <strong>Xaviar Garvin.</strong> The Raiders are one of the better four-seeds to come out of their regions, but a strong performance from the Estill offensive line should be enough to ignite the run game led by Garvin and <strong>Jamil Bobean</strong> to secure an opening-round win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Estill</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. John's at Carvers Bay</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a clinical last three weeks for the Bears' defense, which has surrendered just eight points over three region wins thanks to senior veteran <strong>RJ Bromell</strong>. The first round matches up well for Carvers Bay against an Islanders squad averaging just over 10 points scored per game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Carvers Bay</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>East Clarendon at Cross</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been an impressive turnaround for the Trojans in 2022, who pulled off an 8-2 season after winning just two games a season ago. Their defense was dominant in region play, allowing just six total points on the strength of electric freshman safety <strong>Caden Ramseyn</strong> and senior linebacker <strong>Damion Haines</strong>. The Wolverines put up a strong effort against top-ranked Johnsonville in Week 8 and will need to dig in defensively if they want to pull the upset.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Cross</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Whale Branch at Lake View</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whale Branch has dealt with some tough injury luck this year with running backs <strong>Mason Griffin </strong>and <strong>Clifton Major</strong>, but <strong>Jakhi Pusha</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996905' first='Keith' last='Chisholm']</strong> are more than capable of sparking some of their own heroics for the Warriors. Jerry Hatcher's squad should stay in it with some tough defense from <strong>Bradford Thompson</strong> and company, making it crucial for Pusha and Chisolm to produce against a Lake View defense that gave up 32 to Hannah-Pamplico. This one should be up for grabs, but expect the Gator defense to rebound and feed off their home crowd.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Lake View </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->