Class 2A Upper State Second Round Preview

If you like watching teams run the football, have we got some playoffs for you.   Of the eight winning teams in the opening round of the Class 2A Upper State playoffs, five of them ran for at least 250 yards last Friday. Two of those that didn't only needed 24 and 22 offensive snaps, respectively, to record blowout wins, while the other took care of business through the air.   Here's a look back at some of last week's action as we look ahead to this week's round two.   NO. 2 CHESTER (5-5) AT NO. 1 CLINTON (8-2)   Don't let the records here fool you. This game should look more like a matchup between the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams in Class 2A in the preseason, which these two were, and less like a .500 team against a top seed. On a night when Clinton leading rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1161156' first='Javen' last='Cook'] had a solid 40 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, Pelion's focus on him opened the door for other Red Devils to run wild last Friday. Nobody else had more than three carries, but Clinton piled up 343 yards on the ground in a 56-0 win. Khari Vance ran three times for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while DJ Clark took both of his carries to the end zone on runs of 57 and three yards, respectively. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1012830' first='Tushawan' last='Richardson'] ran twice for 59 yards, while [player_tooltip player_id='1603772' first='Rhett' last='Gilliam'] had 43 yards on three carries.   While Clinton loves to run and does it well, it can be sneaky, little devils when it comes to passing. After stopping Pelion on fourth down deep in Red Devils' territory with less than a minute to play in the first half, a handoff to Cook on first down could've given the impression that Clinton would settle for a 35-0 lead at the break. But on second down, Devin Swindler took off down the field and Richardson hit him in stride for a 72-yard touchdown. That gave the Red Devils a 42-0 lead and a running clock the rest of the way. Defensively, [player_tooltip player_id='1592507' first='Luke' last='Young'] had 10 tackles and Kason Copeland had nine to lead the shutout effort.   Chester went from No. 1 in the preseason to unranked after an 0-3 start, but injuries played a role in those losses - none of which were by more than seven points. Last Friday was kind of a metaphor for the Cyclones' season. They trailed Strom Thurmond 16-14 at the half and 23-22 late in the third quarter. Chester came back with a go-ahead score on the final play of the third quarter, then added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth for a 44-23 win. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='457973' first='Trooper' last='Floyd'] (pictured) commanded the Cyclones' big night offensively as he completed 15-of-21 passes for 161 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, while also rushing eight times for 40 yards and another score. Chester leading rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1592278' first='Hudhaifah' last='Taylor'] had 79 yards on 12 carries. So how did the Cyclones run for 301 yards as a team? Well, that's where sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1603999' first='Caleb' last='Feaster'] comes in. Of Feaster's five carries, three reached the end zone and he finished with 176 yards for a nifty 35.2 yards per carry average. All that running didn't seem to tire out Feaster, as he also made 13 tackles (one tackle-for-loss) on defense. [player_tooltip player_id='1165099' first='Darriyarn' last='Baxley'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1592591' first='Zy' last='Whitlock'] each had 18 tackles to lead Chester, while [player_tooltip player_id='1578828' first='Zeke' last='Evans'] had an interception to push his team-leading total to six this season.   X-FACTOR: On the rare occasions Clinton puts the ball in the air, the Red Devils will have to be aware of where Chester junior defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='816734' first='Terry' last='Radford'] is lurking. Radford had 12 tackles last Friday and recorded the Cyclones' lone sack adding to his monster total this season. For the year, Radford has 105 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss, 17 sacks and 17 hurries.    NO. 3 ANDREW JACKSON (4-7) AT NO. 1 BATESBURG-LEESVILLE (11-0)   Batesburg-Leesville was one of the three teams who didn't rush for 250 yards Friday, but the Panthers needed just 24 offensive snaps to knock off Columbia, 42-6. Batesburg-Leesville finished with 194 yards rushing on 19 attempts as a team and would've likely gotten to 250 if some of its defensive players could've been tackled. Half of the Panthers' six touchdowns came on interception returns. After Columbia took a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter, [player_tooltip player_id='1592414' first='KD' last='Whitt'] ended its next drive with an 81-yard interception return for a touchdown. Batesburg-Leesville's final two scores came on an 85-yard pick-six by Hansel Discua and a 36-yard interception return for a score by Tyler Classen. Those defensive scores lightened the load for [player_tooltip player_id='1267286' first='Amadre' last='Wooden'] as he ran for 176 yards on 13 carries and had two touchdowns. He's rushed for 1,719 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. Tanner Watkins completed 2-of-5 passes, but one of those was caught by [player_tooltip player_id='1574124' first='Jamerius' last='Clark'] for a 66-yard touchdown. Watkins has 17 touchdowns and four interceptions this season, while Clark leads the team with 26 receptions for 566 yards. He's also caught eight touchdowns.   Of all the big rushing nights in Class 2A last Friday, none were bigger than Andrew Jackson's and [player_tooltip player_id='1394996' first='Damias' last='Seegars'] was the reason why. The junior ran 21 times for 294 yards and two touchdowns as the Volunteers rolled over Liberty, 42-17, for their first playoff win on the road since 2012. Bryce Peterson ran seven times for 50 yards and two scores, while Q Hall had 41 yards on three carries as Andrew Jackson finished with 386 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, quarterback Logan Neal had a solid night as he completed 7-of-12 passes for 118 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Both touchdown throws were hauled in by Jy'Kevius Johnson, who had four receptions for 94 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1395000' first='Kamron' last='McGill'] had 13 tackles to lead the Volunteers defensively. McGill has a team-high 11 sacks out of his 98 total stops, while [player_tooltip player_id='1395004' first='Jase' last='Fair'] is their leading tackler with 119.   X-FACTOR: The pick-six on Friday allowed Whitt to add another touchdown type to his personal scoreboard this season. Whitt has a team-high nine touchdown receptions, four touchdown runs and a punt, a kickoff and now an interception return for a touchdown. Whitt has caught 22 passes for 433 yards this season and averages 11.5 yards per carry with 12 for 138 yards. He and Clark share the team lead in interceptions with four apiece.    NO. 2 CHESNEE (6-5) AT NO. 1 FAIRFIELD CENTRAL (10-1)   While many teams enjoyed big wins last week, Chesnee's 26-21 victory over Ninety Six might have been the grittiest. The two teams combined for 610 yards, with 592 of those on the ground. The Eagles had 298 of those 592 and nearly two-thirds came on two possessions. An interception on the third play of the game set up Ninety Six at the Chesnee 19, but the Eagles responded with a goal line stand. Chesnee's offense responded by never putting the ball in the air on its ensuing drive, marching 99 yards on 17 plays - all runs. The seven-minute possession ended when Jayden Williams ran 23 yards for a touchdown. Chesnee doubled its lead when its do-it-all senior, Kjay Proctor, scooped up a fumble and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. The North-South All-Star later scored on a one-yard run to push the lead to 20-7. With his team trailing 21-20 and less than five minutes remaining, Proctor scored the game-winner on a four-yard touchdown run. That capped a 13-play, 94-yard drive which once again featured no passes. Proctor helped seal the win on defense with a third-down sack on Ninety Six's final possession. Williams finished with 112 yards, while Proctor had 111 and [player_tooltip player_id='1820171' first='Kale' last='Thrift'] ran for 67. In addition to the offensive numbers, the scoop-six and the sack, Proctor had eight tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble. Hayden Webb and Thrift also had seven tackles apiece for Chesnee.   Fairfield Central averaged more than 12 yards per carry last Friday, but couldn't quite reach 250 yards rushing as a team because it only took 22 snaps in its 60-6 win over Chesterfield. [player_tooltip player_id='1012718' first='TyDarion' last='Grier'] led the way for the Griffins with eight carries for 114 yards. His third and final touchdown of the game came on an 80-yard run midway through the second quarter that pushed Fairfield Central's lead to 40-0. Grier has 1,600 yards rushing and 30 rushing touchdowns this season. Sophomore Kenyan Douglas ran five times for 59 yards and a score, while Kaden Diggs and Kamauri Jones also each ran for a touchdown as the Griffins rushed for 222 yards on 18 attempts. Sophomore TyQuarius Shannon hauled in a 50-yard touchdown pass. [player_tooltip player_id='1578741' first='Chauncery' last='Turner'], who leads the team in tackles (99), tackles-for-loss (15) and sacks (5), had six stops, two tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in the victory.   X-FACTOR: Junior defensive back Dre Walker had a monster game for Fairfield Central last week. He had a team-high 10 tackles, two interceptions and a pass breakup. After Grier opened the scoring with a rushing touchdown, Walker returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown and then threw the 50-yard touchdown to Shannon to push the Griffins lead to 19-0 midway through the first quarter. For the season, Walker has 92 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss and three of the Griffins' 13 interceptions.      NO. 2 SALUDA (9-1) AT NO. 2 CENTRAL (9-2)   Saluda's offense typically makes it way on the ground, but Mid-Carolina seemed focused on making quarterback Drew Arant beat them last Friday and that's what he did. Arant completed 16-of-30 passes for 253 yards with one touchdown and one interception as Saluda defeated the Rebels, 24-0, to set up a meeting of nine-win teams this week. Josh Uhlar caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, while Victavis Gaines had 71 yards on five receptions for the Tigers. Standout [player_tooltip player_id='617664' first='Brayden' last='Williams'] was held to 47 yards rushing on 17 carries but did get Saluda on the board with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Tristan Daniels, who had 41 yards on nine carries, scored from nine yards out in the second quarter to extend the lead to 14-0. That was enough cushion for Saluda's defense as the Tigers recorded their fourth shutout this season. Saluda held Mid-Carolina to 26 yards rushing and forced four turnovers. Nick Butler led the Tigers defensively with an interception and a fumble recovery.   Central had the most balanced offensive showing last week as the Eagles ran for 254 yards and got 192 yards passing from sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1664364' first='Dwayne' last='Louallen'] in a 36-26 win over Landrum. Louallen completed 11-of-17 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The no interceptions was vitally important as Central had to overcome losing four out of six fumbles on offense. [player_tooltip player_id='1639753' first='Aiden' last='Short'] ran 15 times for 81 yards and caught a 36-yard touchdown, while [player_tooltip player_id='1639669' first='Ashten' last='Wilson'] ran four times for 65 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 29 yards. Short and Wilson lead Central in rushing with 654 and 646 yards, respectively, this season. If you're going to lose four fumbles on offense, it helps to have a defense force five turnovers like the Eagles did. Eric Maddox had 12 tackles and one of Central's three interceptions to lead the defense. Central's defense has 11 interceptions, led by [player_tooltip player_id='1592629' first='Taveon' last='Moore'] with five, and 15 fumble recoveries, led by Kobe Davis with five, for the season.   X-FACTOR: While Central had plenty of contributors to Friday's win, none shined quite like [player_tooltip player_id='1254093' first='Tray' last='Wilson'] did. Wilson ran 10 times for 86 yards and two scores, caught five passes for 115 yards and another score, and had a 39-yard interception return on defense. He had the biggest play of the night when he turned a screen pass into a 91-yard touchdown. For the season, Wilson has 411 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns, and 591 yards receiving and five scores.

If you like watching teams run the football, have we got some playoffs for you.