Class 5A Lower State Third Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's the final four in the Class 5A Lower State Bracket and there are two very intriguing games on tap. You have a couple of blue bloods in Sumter and Summerville still alive with Carolina Forest and White Knoll playing in mostly unchartered territory. Will the bright lights and pressure of November be too much?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here a rundown of the four games in the Class 5A Lower State bracket this week:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 2 SUMTER (9-3) AT NO. 1 WHITE KNOLL (12-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Timberwolves look like a state title contender. The offense is scoring 38.6 points per game but put up 50 in the second round win over Fort Dorchester. The defense is still salty and allowed 7 points in two playoff games and are giving up an average of 6.4 points per game. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe']</strong> is the catalyst with his 2,319 yards and 28 touchdown passes with just four interceptions. He's been missing <strong>Hasan Lee</strong> the last several weeks, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448995' first='Austin' last='Cunningham']</strong> has returned from injury to catch 25 passes for 303 yards and six touchdowns. Add in <strong>Evan Henderson</strong> (48 catches, 666 yards and 4 TD's) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='994939' first='CJ' last='Earl']</strong> (31 catches, 536 yards and 7 TD's) and White Knoll is prolific in the passing game. Freshman RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning']</strong> has 742 yards rushing with Sharpe adding 367 yards. Defensively, this might be the best unit in the state. <strong>Demenco Banks</strong> (98 tackles), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='911089' first='Jaiden' last='Kimble']</strong> (95 tackles. 19 tackles for loss) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1083060' first='Connor' last='Burgess']</strong> (91 tackles) are sound and rarely find themselves out of position. <strong>Mondo Domench</strong> doesn't get the headlines, but he has 83 tackles. <strong>Lincoln Illunga</strong> has added 66 tackles but has 10 tackles for loss and nine sacks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025815' first='Caleb' last='Geronomi']</strong> leads the secondary with four interceptions. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172353' first='James' last='Smith']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012621' first='Devin' last='Geronomi']</strong> provide plenty of support.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sumter's three losses have come to three teams still playing – Summerville and Carolina Forest that is on the other side of this bracket, and Crestwood, who is still playing in the Class 3A playoffs. The Gamecocks rely heavily on the run with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809744' first='John' last='Peeples']</strong> having 1,457 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns. <strong>Kam Fortune</strong> has also contributed 704 yards on the ground with eight scores. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997237' first='Pate' last='Merchant']</strong> has thrown for 1,456 yards and just two interceptions in 195 pass attempts. The trio of <strong>Jamie Tedder,</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997395' first='Dazaun' last='Jackson']</strong> and <strong>Jamireh Bey</strong> combined for 97 receptions for 1,326 yards. Defensively, Sumter is going to have to lean on a talented back seven to try and slow the Timberwolves. In the three losses, Sumter allowed an average of 30 points per game but 47 of that came against Summerville. The foursome of <strong>AJ Bracey</strong>, <strong>Bruce Allen</strong>, <strong>Terrance Burgess</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1146267' first='Jauron' last='Bennett'] </strong>have combined for 13 of the 19 interceptions by the Gamecocks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='595702' first='Anthony' last='Addison']</strong>, <strong>Jahiem Rose</strong>, and <strong>Tymaries Durant</strong> all have over 80 tackles. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 1 SUMMERVILLE (12-0) AT NO. 1 CAROLINA FOREST (9-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These teams met on August 25 with the Green Wave claiming a hard-fought 33-26 victory. This has all the makings of a repeat, especially if the Panthers can find a way to throw the ball a little bit better. In that first meeting, Carolina Forest only completed 1-of-9 passes with one interception. But that isn't their strong point as they have 3,585 yards rushing this season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267465' first='Kalil' last='Johnson']</strong> is a big reason for that with 1,467 yards but QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142820' first='Ethan' last='Hamilton'] </strong>(pictured) has 1,046 yards on the ground. Hamilton has also thrown for 767 yards. Those two combined for 286 rushing yards and four TDs in the first meeting. <strong>Chris Livingston</strong> and <strong>Jaryn Fox</strong> each have over 427 yards rushing this season. <strong>Phil McLean</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253897' first='Christian' last='Huynh']</strong> will be a key up front. Defensively, Carolina Forest will need big games from <strong>Jonathan Rivas </strong>(71 tackles), <strong>Charles McCray </strong>(53 tackles) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771040' first='Jamauri' last='Davis'] </strong>(4 interceptions) to try and slow Summerville. <strong>Errol Ximines</strong> will also be a key for a defense that hasn't allowed over 21 points in a game since September.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Summerville has scored at least 33 points in 11 of 12 games. Transfer QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='367350' first='Jaden' last='Cummings']</strong> is over 3,000 yards passing and has plenty of weapons at his disposal. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771065' first='Yannick' last='Smith']</strong> does a little bit of everything. In the 34-14 win over Berkeley last week, Smith caught TD passes from 53 and 47 yards and threw a 33-yard TD to <strong>Kemori DeWeese</strong> as the Green Wave scored on five of its first seven possessions. &nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='998693' first='Quintrelle' last='Pettiford']</strong>, <strong>Keon Washington</strong> and <strong>Sheldon Glenn</strong> are all capable of making big plays too. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589013' first='Trae' last='Green']</strong> went over 1,000 yards rushing on the season as well. Defensively, look for LBs <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> to play big factors. <strong>Jacob Cotterill </strong>up front and Ryland Mitchell in the secondary will also be a key in run support against the Panthers. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->