Class 2A Lower State Second Round Preview

Remember November. These eight teams have already won one playoff game and know they need four more to capture the goal. The opening round of the Class 2A Lower State playoffs only saw one of the eight road teams come away with a victory. We have a bunch of evenly matched teams playing in the second round.   Here's a look at the four second round matchups and what to watch as we continue on the march to the Weekend of Champions.     NO. 2 TIMBERLAND (8-3) at NO. 1 BARNWELL (10-1)   The Warhorses rolled to a 42-0 win over Academic Magnet in the first round while Timberland survived a 20-15 victory over Lake City. Barnwell is on a seven-game winning streak and the defense has played a huge factor in that. They're allowed an average of 8.4 points per game in those games. Logan Sturkie is at the top of the list with 55 tackles and five sacks. William Robinson (74 tackles) and Damajahi Devoe (67 tackles) are the leading tacklers with Devoe snagging four interceptions. Nehemiah Brown leads the ground attack with 815 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='272720' first='Cameron' last='Austin'] threw for five touchdowns and 320 yards last week on 18-of-20 passing. That gives him 13 passing TDs on the season. Sturkie caught two of those touchdowns with William Robinson, Kahzeer Wesley and Jaquan Peeples each adding one. Running backs Deontae Cleveland and Montez Addison will key the Wolves rushing attack. Quarterback Malyk Goodman will hurt you more with his legs than his arm. Timberland likes to wear other teams down behind a massive offensive line. Ethan Milligan and Josh Ham are two defensive stalwarts that will be counted on to slow a Barnwell attack that is averaging just over 30 points per game.   X-FACTOR: Jakari Simmons will be counted on to try and slow the Barnwell offense. He's excellent in coverage and can come up to support in the run game as well. Simmons will be counted on in several different ways and his success will be critical to Timberland's success.    NO. 2 EAST CLARENDON (8-3) at NO. 1 CHERAW (9-2)   Cheraw blanked Edisto 45-0 last week and Eat Clarendon escaped with a 14-12 win over Andrews. Kaiden Thomas threw for 201 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. Deshaun Drake caught two of the TD passes and [player_tooltip player_id='1271257' first='Nick' last='Gordon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1172365' first='Crawford' last='Poole'] caught the other two. Deman Ellerbe plays in the middle and makes a lot of calls and adjustments as well as accounting for 50 tackles and 12 tackles for loss. Poole leads the team with 15 tackles for loss to go along with 36 tackles. Javheon Marshall is right in the mix as well with 46 tackles. Defensive backs Robert Brown and Gordon have four interceptions each. Mike Woods (51 tackles, nine tackles for loss) and Darius McCray (34 tackles and 11 tackles for loss) will be key for the Wolverines. [player_tooltip player_id='1140501' first='Xavier' last='Smith'] has two forced fumbles and 29 tackles. Jay Webb leads East Clarendon with over 700 rushing yards, and he will need big games from Tyquan Wilson and Takoda Cornelius to help the offense move the football.     X-FACTOR: Outside linebacker Hunter Mixon leads the Wolverines defense with at least 20 tackles for loss. He has a knack for getting into the backfield and making plays in crucial situations. Cheraw will have to account for him on every play and try to minimize his effectiveness on third and maybe even fourth downs.    NO. 2 HAMPTON COUNTY (8-2) at NO. 1 MANNING (9-1)   Manning made quick work of North Central in the first round in a 55-0 thrashing while Hampton County doubled up Woodland 42-21. The Monarchs rushed for over 300 yards and recorded their third shutout of the season. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1360053' first='JaRae' last='Mitchell'] and running backs [player_tooltip player_id='1574049' first='Jeffery' last='Ceasar'], Joshua Cooper, Lovell Stevenson and [player_tooltip player_id='1592198' first='Jontavious' last='Canty'] are the main threats running the ball. Look for Jeremiah Dingle and to provide leadership on both the offensive and defensive line. Hampton County recorded 13 tackles for loss in its win last week. [player_tooltip player_id='1592587' first='CJ' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='809743' first='Mandrell' last='Sanders'] had three each with Cautey Taylor and [player_tooltip player_id='1422535' first='Jayvin' last='Risher'] added two each.  [player_tooltip player_id='1165165' first='Jaylen' last='Singletary'], Tarell Grant and Malik Terry each added seven tackles to lead the effort. Singletary and Risher did the bulk of the work on the offensive side of things as well. Singeltary ran for 175 yards and a touchdown with Risher adding 104 yards and two touchdowns. The Hurricanes ran for 295 yards.   X-FACTOR: Hampton County QB Chris Terry only threw eight passes but one went for a TD to [player_tooltip player_id='1656629' first='Tyler' last='Davis'] from 39 yards. Terry is 53-of-100 for 762 yards on the season but he's going to have to be effective to keep the Manning defense honest. He has 10 passing touchdowns and he's at his best when getting the ball to Singletary and Risher.    NO. 3 KINGSTREE (5-6) at NO. 1 PHILIP SIMMONS (9-2)   If this bracket has an underdog remaining, it's Kingstree. The Blazers rolled to 382 yards rushing in knocking off Whale Branch 34-18 in the first round. They ran the ball 52 times and attempted three passes with [player_tooltip player_id='1592634' first='BJ' last='Washington'] catching two passes for 72 yards from QB Makhi Shaw, a freshman. Chiquan Giles ran for 108 yards with Shaw adding 52 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1036769' first='Maleek' last='Dukes'] recorded six tackles and a tackle for loss while Heavis Morris added four tackles and two tackles for loss. Kingstree limited Whale Branch to 28 yards rushing but allowed 245 passing. That might be an issue against the Philip Simmons attack. [player_tooltip player_id='502413' first='Tavien' last='Orellana'] threw for five touchdowns in a 45-13 victory over Mullins. Kolten Kellerman (pictured) caught five passes for 78 yards and three touchdowns, giving the senior 11 TD receptions on the season. Cooper Webb and Ashton Kellerman also caught scoring passes from Orellana. Darriel Porcher led the ground attack with 61 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1271262' first='Alex' last='Tchoryk'] recorded three sacks and added three tackles for loss. [player_tooltip player_id='1578771' first='Daniel' last='Scarth'] recorded eight tackles and a tackle for loss to pace the defensive effort.   X-FACTOR: [player_tooltip player_id='473015' first='Tyleek' last='Dukes'] was a workhorse and got it done on both sides of the ball last week. The junior ran for 221 yards and four touchdowns and added two tackles and an interception on defense. Dukes is a bruiser that will run over guys first and run around them if that doesn't work. He will be a key to Kingstree keeping the ball away from an explosive Philip Simmons offense.

Remember November. These eight teams have already won one playoff game and know they need four more to capture the goal. The opening round of the Class 2A Lower State playoffs only saw one of the eight road teams come away with a victory. We have a bunch of evenly matched teams playing in the second round.