Week 2 Lowcountry Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sometimes in life, you're thrown for a loop and have to adjust on the fly. With a hurricane's impact wiping away valuable practice time across the state, it'll be up to the players to come prepared and ready to go on Friday night. Who will be ready and who will be scrambling to keep up? We'll find out tonight as we look through the biggest games in the Lowcountry in Week 2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Whale Branch (1-0) at Ridgeland (2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who would have thought the Jags' record would still be unblemished after two games? After a big overtime rivalry win over Battery Creek, Rodney Barr and the Ridgeland Jaguars have a very strong Whale Branch team now in their sights. But the Warriors have high-end talent for a 1A team, including terrific defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996905' first='Keith' last='Chisholm'] </strong>and D-line anchor <strong>Bradford Thompson</strong>. The Jags are surging with confidence and will need more big plays from quarterback and two-way sensation <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997210' first='Maurice' last='Brown'], </strong>who turned in both a touchdown run and a pick-six last week. <strong>Xavier Plowdeniz</strong> will have some work to do on defense to hold down a speedy and efficient Whale Branch ground game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Beaufort (0-2) at Hilton Head (2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A surprisingly 0-2 Beaufort Eagles side comes to the island to face off against BJ Payne's up-and-coming Seahawks. Beaufort's hung right with the likes of 5A schools Cane Bay and Fort Dorchester, but they weren't able to finish either of them off in the fourth quarter. Friday gives quarterback<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1254143' first='Samari' last='Bonds'] </strong>a chance to prove himself against a hungry Seahawk defense led by star defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448980' first='Shaikh' last='Thompson']</strong>. Payne's offense has been fueled by power running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013024' first='Troy' last='Timko'],</strong> who put up a cool 234 yards and two touchdowns on Claxton. If he and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464809' first='Jackson' last='Bibee']</strong> can get going quickly, he can put pressure on a desperate Beaufort team looking for a win. But linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809756' first='Will' last='Codding']</strong> and a hungry Eagle defense will have something to say about that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lee Academy (1-0) at Patrick Henry Academy (2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A big one in the SCISA 1A ranks between the defending champion Cavaliers and a team that could dethrone them in November in the Patriots. Patrick Henry has a veteran group that plays hard both ways including <strong>Mikell Tucker Mathis</strong> who ran for four touchdowns and added a pick and fumble recovery last week. The Cavaliers rolled to a perfect 12-0 season in 2022 but should be tested on the road in Estill. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West Ashley (2-0) at Cane Bay (1-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two Class 5A schools with strong starts will battle against each other this Friday in Summerville. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208366' first='Terry' last='Grant']</strong> and a hard-nosed Wildcat defense shut down the Sharks a week ago and will look to bring the same effort on the road against <strong>DeShawn Thompkins </strong>and a Cane Bay team that loves to run the football. A strong performance from the West Ashley defensive line could have a big say in forcing the Cobras off their game at home.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oceanside Collegiate (1-1) at Carolina Forest (1-1) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After taking a big punch against a tremendous South Florence team, the Landsharks will hit the road for another tough matchup with Carolina Forest on Friday. Oceanside will have to deal with athletic senior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267465' first='Kalil' last='Johnson']</strong>, but big defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139300' first='Ben' last='Britton'] </strong>will be looking to create havoc and assert his presence against the Panthers' ground game. Watch for two-way standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='285449' first='Kyle' last='Baldwin'] </strong>and versatile playmaker <strong>William Virgilio<em> </em></strong>look to make plays in the open field to ignite an impressive Landshark offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->