Class 2A Upper State Final Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last year, Oceanside Collegiate was the unbeatable behemoth in Class 2A, destined for a state title. Abbeville derailed that train in the title game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year, Gray Collegiate is undefeated in-state, at least in part because Gray's entire region elected not to play them. The War Eagles sought games out-of-state, played well, and are hitting on all cylinders in the playoffs, ripping through the bracket and piling up points and yards along the way. They look like a pretty good bet for the 2A crown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Across the field on Friday, though, are the defending 2A champs in Abbeville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stop me if you've heard this before.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So, what's in store for the matchup between the team everyone expected to dominate 2A this year, and the team that's dominated the classification for the better part of a decade? Let's take a look.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 1 Abbeville (12-1) at No. 1 Gray Collegiate (14-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friday, 7:30 p.m.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>About the Panthers: Abbeville is about what you'd expect. The Panthers run the ball extremely well, are efficient when they throw it, and make you fight for every yard. Nowhere was that more evident than last week against Silver Bluff. The Panthers held the usually potent Bulldog offense to negative-6 yards in the first half, turned them away at the goal line twice, blocked a field goal, and generally created defensive havoc in the win. There are a ton of playmakers on that side of the ball for the Panthers, with <strong>Jae Harris</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779609' first='Mikhelyn' last='Bowie']</strong> leading the way. Offensively, Abbeville really found their stride mid-season when <strong>Demarcus Leach</strong> was inserted at QB. He runs the Panthers' famed A-Bone offense to perfection, with <strong>Altavious Patterson</strong> and <strong>Jha'Louis Hadden</strong> doing a lot of the heavy lifting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>About the War Eagles: Gray Collegiate at the heart of things, is also the type of team that you'd typically see at this stage of the 2A playoffs. There's not much flash, and plenty of substance. The War Eagles run the ball, don't make a lot of critical mistakes, and play strong defense. They spread the wealth offensively, and last week they rode the hot hand of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605529' first='BJ' last='Montgomery']</strong> (pictured). The junior rushed for 192 yards and three scores in a third-round win over Strom Thurmond. He's far from the only weapon, though. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272707' first='Caleb' last='Ford']</strong> has contributed nearly 500 yards on the ground, while QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232668' first='Tyler' last='Waller']</strong> has thrown for more than 1,300 and rushed for 335, with 16 total touchdowns.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='139316' first='Zai' last='Offord']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158010' first='Zion' last='Job']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='91353' first='Jamarious' last='Lockett']</strong> are all dangerous on the outside. Defensively, it starts with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997269' first='Kaine' last='Williams']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473010' first='Michael' last='Boulware']</strong>. Both have more than 130 tackles, both have a bunch of tackles for losses, and both play with an angry, physical streak.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Matchup: [player_tooltip player_id='1249809' first='Karson' last='Norman']</strong> RB, Abbeville vs. Gray's defensive standouts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Norman, just a junior, is a tremendous weapon for the Panthers. With a talented stable of runners, Norman seems to get the call more often than normal when Abbeville has GOT to get a yard. He provided a pair of game-winning two-point conversions in critical early victories. He rushed for 123 yards and both Abbeville TDs, including a 52-yard dagger in the fourth quarter, to help ice the third-round win last week. He's the Lakelands Player of the Year in an area full of standouts. He's got more than 1,500 all-purpose yards, and if he can have a big night, the Panthers' offense will fall into place around him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15237154/65088bc5176ce30fc4aba442' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-655dfc46b43c3"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='1359229' first='Trequan' last='Singleton'] DL, Gray Collegiate</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's easy to get lost on a defense when Boulware and Williams are putting up the numbers they routinely record. But Singleton is an outstanding defensive lineman, and he could be one of the keys to the game. He's got 54 tackles, five tackles for loss, four sacks, a fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles. Singleton is able to eat up blockers, clog running lanes, and harass the QB. If he can control the dive and help frustrate Abbeville's interior rushing attack, yards will be harder to find outside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16284690/654fa46e2347750598500827' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-655dfc46b43f3"} /-->