Class 5A Lower State Third Round Preview
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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…
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Continue ReadingIt’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?
Here a rundown of the four games in the Class 5A Lower State bracket this week:
No. 2 SUMTER (9-3) AT NO. 1 WHITE KNOLL (12-0)
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 Landon Sharpe Landon Sharpe 5'11" | 180 lbs | QB White Knoll | 2025 State SC is the catalyst with his 2,319 yards and 28 touchdown passes with just four interceptions. He’s been missing Hasan Lee the last several weeks, but Austin Cunningham Austin Cunningham 6'0" | 175 lbs | ATH White Knoll | 2024 State SC has returned from injury to catch 25 passes for 303 yards and six touchdowns. Add in Evan Henderson (48 catches, 666 yards and 4 TD’s) and CJ Earl CJ Earl 5'11" | 160 lbs | ATH White Knoll | 2025 SC (31 catches, 536 yards and 7 TD’s) and White Knoll is prolific in the passing game. Freshman RB Tiyon Fanning Tiyon Fanning 6'0" | 170 lbs | RB White Knoll | 2027 State SC has 742 yards rushing with Sharpe adding 367 yards. Defensively, this might be the best unit in the state. Demenco Banks (98 tackles), Jaiden Kimble Jaiden Kimble 6'1" | 190 lbs | LB White Knoll | 2024 State SC (95 tackles. 19 tackles for loss) and Connor Burgess Connor Burgess 5'9" | 195 lbs | LB White Knoll | 2025 SC (91 tackles) are sound and rarely find themselves out of position. Mondo Domench doesn’t get the headlines, but he has 83 tackles. Lincoln Illunga has added 66 tackles but has 10 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Caleb Geronomi Caleb Geronomi 6'0" | 160 lbs | DB White Knoll | 2026 State SC leads the secondary with four interceptions. James Smith James Smith 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB White Knoll | 2027 State SC and Devin Geronomi Devin Geronomi 6'0" | 160 lbs | DB White Knoll | 2025 State SC provide plenty of support.
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 John Peeples John Peeples 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB Sumter | 2025 State SC having 1,457 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns. Kam Fortune has also contributed 704 yards on the ground with eight scores. QB Pate Merchant Pate Merchant 5'11" | 190 lbs | QB Sumter | 2024 State SC has thrown for 1,456 yards and just two interceptions in 195 pass attempts. The trio of Jamie Tedder, Dazaun Jackson Dazaun Jackson 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Sumter | 2024 State SC and Jamireh Bey 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 AJ Bracey, Bruce Allen, Terrance Burgess and Jauron Bennett Jauron Bennett 5'11" | 175 lbs | DB Sumter | 2024 State SC have combined for 13 of the 19 interceptions by the Gamecocks. Anthony Addison Anthony Addison 6'3" | 210 lbs | DL Sumter | 2025 State SC , Jahiem Rose, and Tymaries Durant all have over 80 tackles.
NO. 1 SUMMERVILLE (12-0) AT NO. 1 CAROLINA FOREST (9-3)
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. Kalil Johnson Kalil Johnson 5'7" | 160 lbs | RB Carolina Forest | 2024 State SC is a big reason for that with 1,467 yards but QB Ethan Hamilton Ethan Hamilton 5'10" | 175 lbs | QB Carolina Forest | 2024 State SC (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. Chris Livingston and Jaryn Fox each have over 427 yards rushing this season. Phil McLean and Christian Huynh Christian Huynh 6'3" | 275 lbs | OL Carolina Forest | 2025 State SC will be a key up front. Defensively, Carolina Forest will need big games from Jonathan Rivas (71 tackles), Charles McCray (53 tackles) and Jamauri Davis Jamauri Davis 6'3" | 180 lbs | DB Carolina Forest | 2024 State SC (4 interceptions) to try and slow Summerville. Errol Ximines will also be a key for a defense that hasn’t allowed over 21 points in a game since September.
Summerville has scored at least 33 points in 11 of 12 games. Transfer QB Jaden Cummings Jaden Cummings 5'11" | 195 lbs | QB Summerville | 2025 State SC is over 3,000 yards passing and has plenty of weapons at his disposal. Yannick Smith Yannick Smith 6'3" | 190 lbs | WR Summerville | 2024 State SC 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 Kemori DeWeese as the Green Wave scored on five of its first seven possessions. Quintrelle Pettiford Quintrelle Pettiford 5'11" | 170 lbs | WR Summerville | 2024 State SC , Keon Washington and Sheldon Glenn are all capable of making big plays too. Trae Green Trae Green 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB Summerville | 2024 State SC went over 1,000 yards rushing on the season as well. Defensively, look for LBs Omarion Tucker, Ike Rutherford, Kayden Gaddist Kayden Gaddist 5'10" | 205 lbs | LB Summerville | 2024 State SC and Evan Howell-Smith to play big factors. Jacob Cotterill up front and Ryland Mitchell in the secondary will also be a key in run support against the Panthers.