Class 5A Lower State Final Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Around midseason, people began thinking Summerville and White Knoll could be on collision course for the Class 5A Lower State Championship. The Green Wave have been ranked No. 1 since early in the season. White Knoll began the season outside the top 10 and steadily climbed the rankings to sit at No. 2. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams featured a high-powered offense. It's going to be fun to watch a Summerville offense that is averaging 47 points a game go against a White Knoll defense that is allowing just over 6 points a game. The Green Wave haven't scored less than 28 points in any single game this season while the Timberwolves defense hasn't allowed more than 15 points in any game. It's a classic offense vs defense matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It might come down to the White Knoll offense, which is averaging 38 points a game, against a Summerville defense that has allowed an average of 20 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 1 SUMMERVILLE (13-0) at No. 1 WHITE KNOLL (13-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Time:</strong> 7:30 p.m., Friday</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>About the Green Wave: </strong>RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589013' first='Trae' last='Green']</strong> had a playoff game for the ages last week. He rushed for over 268 yards and five touchdowns to help Summerville score on nine of 10 possessions. The Green Wave had over 400 yards rushing. But it's been like that nearly every week for the Green Wave. Transfer QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='367350' first='Jaden' last='Cummings']</strong> is well over 3,000 yards passing and his arsenal of weapons is impressive. There might not be many wide receivers in the state better than <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771065' first='Yannick' last='Smith']. </strong>The senior is near 1,500 receiving yards and over 2,000 all-purpose yards on the season. But he isn't the only wideout that can make plays. <strong>Kemori DeWeese, [player_tooltip player_id='998693' first='Quintrelle' last='Pettiford']</strong>, <strong>Keon Washington</strong> and <strong>Sheldon Glenn</strong> might round out the best wide receiver bunch in the state. Defensively, the Green Wave have allowed some points, but the unit has several playmakers. The linebacker group of <strong>Omarion Tucker</strong>, <strong>Ike Rutherford</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='140607' first='Kayden' last='Gaddist']</strong> and <strong>Evan Howell-Smith</strong> will have to play a solid game to slow the Timberwolves. <strong>Jacob Cotterill </strong>up front and <strong>Ryland Mitchell</strong> will be counted on to cover the Timberwolves host of receivers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15270225/655a2337da5b5a082c83c6ec' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-655e750155ffb"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>About the Timberwolves: </strong>When you talk about White Knoll, you have to start with the defense. Anytime you have three players with over 100 tackles, that's pretty impressive. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142518' first='Demenico' last='Banks'] </strong>(108 tackles), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1083060' first='Connor' last='Burgess']</strong> (101 tackles) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='911089' first='Jaiden' last='Kimble']</strong> (100 tackles) are a fast and physical linebacking group. Kimble has 19 tackles for loss and six sacks. <strong>Lincoln Illunga</strong> leads the team with nine sacks and has added 11 tackles for loss. <strong>Mondo Domench</strong> is another name to know for a unit that has allowed 161 yards of offense per game. They've also only allowed four rushing touchdowns and 10 total touchdowns. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe']</strong> is the one that makes the offense go. The junior has thrown for 2,465 yards and rushed for another 400 yards. He's accounted for 35 touchdowns. WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448995' first='Austin' last='Cunningham']</strong> (pictured) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='994939' first='CJ' last='Earl'] </strong>combined for 65 receptions for 938 yards. Add in the 52 catches for 690 yards from <strong>Evan Henderson</strong> and White Knoll is prolific in the passing game. Freshman RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning']</strong>,<strong> Sean Evans</strong>,<strong> Kimble </strong>and<strong> Banks </strong>will all be counted on in the running game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11712584/655132e70660b50598ac7995' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-655e750156024"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Matchup: </strong>This will be the toughest test of the season for the Timberwolves defense. If the front limits Green in the rushing department, it will be up to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025815' first='Caleb' last='Geronomi']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172353' first='James' last='Smith']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012621' first='Devin' last='Geronomi']</strong> to control the Summerville ariel attack. That group has allowed just 1,012 yards passing this season and has 13 interceptions. One of the keys is to limit the yards after catch. The Green Wave have feasted on the big play this year and if they have to use 8,9 or 10-play drives, it will be to the White Knoll advantage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>X-Factor: </strong>The offensive line for the Timberwolves might be the difference in this game. <strong>Mason Gravlin</strong>, <strong>Ty Bennett</strong>, <strong>Hayden Hohlwein</strong>, <strong>Donovan Sims</strong>, and <strong>Thomas Disbrow</strong> must protect Sharpe when he drops back to pass. Maybe more importantly, they will need to provide running room against a talented Summerville front seven. If White Knoll reaches 150 yards rushing in the game, they are likely to advance to its first-ever state championship appearance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->