Class A Upper State Third Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final four in Class A Upper State offers two matchups both in Greenville County with contrasting histories between the teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>County rivals St. Joseph's and Southside Christian will face each other for the second time this season. The Knights are seeking their first state title, while the Sabres has won three state titles (2015, 2020, 2021).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the city of Greenville, the other Upper State semifinal pits two teams who have each won six state titles in Blackville-Hilda and Christ Church. The common threads end there as the Hawks and Cavaliers will meet for the first time on the gridiron.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a preview of the two games:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 3 St. Joseph's (10-2) at No. 2 Southside Christian (8-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sabres have won seven of the last eight meetings. The lone win during that span by the Knights took place in last year's playoffs by a 29-28 score. Last week, they got an inspiring defensive effort to shock top seed and previously undefeated Lewisville 7-0 in the second round. A 4-yard touchdown run by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013066' first='Brayden' last='Johnson']</strong> and PAT on the opening drive was the lone score as the Knights posted their second shutout of the season. Senior linebacker <strong>John Jaraczewski</strong> had a team-high 10 solo tackles and lineman <strong>Walker Wolfram</strong> accounted for two of the team's four sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sabres also won on the road in the second round. They defeated top seed Calhoun County 21-7. <strong>Silas Robertson</strong> rushed for two touchdowns and Southside Christian recovered two fumbles by the Saints. Quarterback <strong>Paul Cobin</strong> threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to <strong>Kolby Sentelle</strong> to open the scoring. The Sabres defeated St. Joseph's 35-14 on Sept. 22.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 2 Blackville-Hilda (10-2) at No. 1 Christ Church (10-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The current defending champion Cavaliers are riding an eight-game winning streak. In the 43-21 second-round win over McBee, quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013068' first='Tucker' last='Hendrix']</strong> threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012637' first='Jackson' last='Repp'] </strong>caught three of the scores and finished with 182 receiving yards. Defensively, linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997188' first='Jake' last='Good']</strong> had 11 tackles to increase his season total to 95 and two sacks in the win. Running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267466' first='Dashun' last='Reeder']</strong> had only 38 yards and a touchdown but is 10 yards shy of 1,400 yards on the season to go with 20 touchdowns on the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blackville-Hilda is seeking their first state title since 2007. It's coming off a 28-0 shutout over Wagener-Salley. [player_tooltip player_id='315319' first='Tamari' last='Daniels'] scored for the second straight week, this time on an 83-yard punt return. Defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036784' first='Kaiden' last='Aiken']</strong> (pictured) had a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown and<strong> Samari Williams</strong> threw a 37-yard touchdown to [player_tooltip player_id='448590' first='Jamarien' last='Priester']. It was the only pass completed by the Hawks. Leading rusher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605527' first='Jaquel' last='Holman']</strong> had a quiet night in a season where he's rushed for 1,610 yards, had nine 100-yard games and scored 20 touchdowns. Linebacker <strong>Kedric Sabb</strong> had nine tackles and a touchdown run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->