Class 4A Lower State First Round Preview

The race to Orangeburg out of the Class 4A Lower State bracket is tentatively scheduled to go through Hartsville.   And while the Red Foxes have home-field advantage and more momentum than anyone else in the bracket, the sheer amount of knowledge the 16 teams have about one another can't be ignored. There are two guaranteed region rematches in the opening around and two more possible in the second.   The film's been exchanged. And the practice plan's in place.   On Friday, we think the Class 4A Lower State postseason will open and we'll see how well the seeds can hold.   NO. 16 BEAUFORT (2-8) AT NO. 1 HARTSVILLE (8-1-1)   Injuries early and often prevented the Bobcats from really getting out of the gate in 2024. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1254143' first='Samari' last='Bonds'] and tailback Elias Johnson each missed time, as did sophomore receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1036774' first='Amare' last='Patterson'] and two-way starter Jaemin Odom. Meanwhile, Hartsville is looking exactly like a No. 1 overall seed. The Red Foxes have blending new starters at quarterback ([player_tooltip player_id='1578854' first='EJ' last='Smith']) and running back ([player_tooltip player_id='1592473' first='Kylif' last='Miller']) alongside returning ball carrier [player_tooltip player_id='1012592' first='Hakeem' last='Watters'] (1,053 yards, 17 touchdowns). Meanwhile safety [player_tooltip player_id='272699' first='Da'Marion' last='Coe'] has thrived again, [player_tooltip player_id='1578873' first='Coleman' last='Radcliff'] and [player_tooltip player_id='922400' first='Jackson' last='Chavis'] are game changers and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1012620' first='Web' last='Barnes'] is a light-you-up type of linebacker.    X-FACTOR: Hartsville receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1592487' first='Tristian' last='Spann'] could be a problem for Beaufort, as he's got excellent speed on the outside and has already used it to put up 366 yards and four touchdowns - numbers that don't reflect how good he is given the number of blowouts produced by this run-first offense.    NO. 9 MIDLAND VALLEY (5-5) AT NO. 8 DARLINGTON (5-5)   Ball control and moving the sticks on the ground will be the name of the game when Midland Valley heads to Darlington. The Mustangs have continued to us [player_tooltip player_id='272712' first='Preston' last='McNair'] (895 yards, seven touchdowns) while mixing in freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1615063' first='Preston' last='Smith'] (437 yards, five touchdowns) and sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='644030' first='Xavier' last='Geter'] (327 rushing yards, 784 passing yards). It's a display of the combined effort to replace 3,000-yard rushing Traevon Dunbar after last year. Not-so-coincidentally, Darlington slugged its way to a 5-5 regular season with a nearly identical philosophy. While quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1411101' first='Jaylen' last='Augustus'] threw for 788 yards, it was his 1,051 yards and 14 ground touchdowns along with anther 911 yards and three touchdowns from [player_tooltip player_id='1592270' first='Troy' last='Hailey'] that signaled the Falcons' continue rise up the charts.    X-FACTOR: Senior receiver Jamascus Brown has been a relatively infrequent weapon for the Falcons who has done damage in bursts. He's got 39 carries for 200 yards and three scores and has caught another 19 passes for 349 yards and another two touchdowns.    NO. 12 CRESTWOOD (5-5) AT NO. 5 HILTON HEAD (8-2)   Roster depletion didn't do Crestwood any favors. And while the future looks bright for freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1467823' first='Jayden' last='Martin'] (578 combined offensive yards, pictured) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='1394990' first='Ladamien' last='Belton'] (537 rushing yards), the Knights are still in a rebuild mode on offense. Defensively, younger players like linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1664603' first='Ahmadre' last='Ricks'] are simultaneously getting their trial by fire. That's key because Hilton Head brings some serious physicality to the game behind tailbacks [player_tooltip player_id='1013024' first='Troy' last='Timko'] and Thaddeus Czarneck - who have rushed for a combined 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns. They tend to run behind powerful linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1271255' first='Hayden' last='Crockett'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1253895' first='Evan' last='Wilder'] and are getting downfield before minimal first contact.   X-FACTOR: Knights senior [player_tooltip player_id='1291891' first='Jeremie' last='Richardson'] put up a big junior season but hasn't had the same type of quarterback throwing to him this year. As such, Crestwood has found that handing him the ball can be an effective as trying to throw to him. He's averaging 5.7 yards per carry and has a rushing touchdown in back-to-back games.    NO. 13 BROOKLAND-CAYCE (4-6) AT NO. 4 SOUTH FLORENCE (7-3)   [player_tooltip player_id='860400' first='Drevon' last='Dopson'] has been a major player at Brookland-Cayce this year. He's thrown for 1,246 yards and 13 touchdowns (against just three picks) and rushed for another 278 yards and 10 touchdowns. The junior and senior tailback Tyronne Jackson (668 total yards, nine touchdowns) give the Bearcats some pop in bursts. They'll have to be in sync early, as South Florence's defense has given up more than 19 points in a game just once in the last two months, and that was against No. 1 seed Hartsville. The Bruins' defense is often typecast as defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='809742' first='Amare' last='Adams'] and everyone else. But linebackers William Kennedy, [player_tooltip player_id='816736' first='Terry' last='Gordon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1157897' first='Cameron' last='Coe'] have been stout in the back half of the year.   X-FACTOR: Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1574090' first='Lennix' last='Valarie'] has looked at time to be the top receiver at South despite sharing a position with an SEC commit. He's got home run capability but also is adept at catching the ball in traffic. Clearly, the Bruins know [player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers'] is drawing most of the attention, and they're OK with that.     NO. 11 LOWER RICHLAND (5-5) AT NO. 6 GILBERT (6-4)   Lower Richland linebackers Sergino Samuels, [player_tooltip player_id='1267324' first='Ophir' last='Hill'] and Daniel Gee have each had pretty remarkable seasons. Both of them are over 60 total tackles and are playing very well together. Against Gilbert, they're going to have to pull double-time. The Indians have clearly hit a few bumps in the road in the first year under Ozzie Exume. But they also still have tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1249788' first='Connor' last='Gooding'] (521 yards, four touchdowns) and tailbacks [player_tooltip player_id='1036777' first='Trevon' last='Williamson'] (678 yards, five touchdowns, 165 receiving yards, four touchdowns) and [player_tooltip player_id='1012653' first='Jaylen' last='Jay'] (505 rushing yards, nine touchdowns) in uniform. This is a team built to break down defenses from the inside out and the type of players we've seen do just that not all that long ago.   X-FACTOR: Gilbert linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1043170' first='Wynn' last='Meetze'] is a sure-fire tackler. Fellow linebacker Knox McFarland isn't far off when it comes to his own numbers. The senior has piled up 87 total tackles and can get into the backfield as well as he can stop ball carriers. If they both get going, it could be a long night for Lower Richland.    NO. 14 SOUTH AIKEN (6-4) AT NO. 3 BISHOP ENGLAND (8-2)   Bishop England won Region VI-4A crown by staving off more of the onslaught than their cohorts. However, the Bishops were susceptible to strong rushing teams. We mention that first because one of the very best tailbacks in the state is coming to town. [player_tooltip player_id='272702' first='Jevon' last='Edwards'] has already rushed for 2,300 yards and 27 touchdowns. Combined with his 139 receiving yards, he's accounting for 67 percent of the Thoroughbreds' offense in 2024. [player_tooltip player_id='1172361' first='Matthew' last='Ponkow'] and Co. will have their hands full. But there will also be plenty of opportunities for quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1592310' first='Quinn' last='Mahoney'] and the offense to put up points, too. South Aiken allowed 31 points per game on the field this fall. Don't be surprised if this turns into a shootout.    X-FACTOR: It's hard to say South Aiken lulls you into a false sense of security by running Edwards so much and has so much production. But teams can't sleep on sophomore receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1036785' first='Kyson' last='McLeod'] this year, either. He's caught 36 passes for 521 yards and six touchdowns, two of which came from 70-plus yards away.     NO. 10 MAY RIVER (7-2) AT NO. 7 BLUFFTON (6-4)   Two weeks ago when these teams met, Bluffton didn't exactly shut down a high-powered May River rushing attack. Andrew Jackson had 75 yards and two touchdowns, and [player_tooltip player_id='1592230' first='Sean' last='Mitchell'] added 153 yards and a score. But those totals did look paltry compared to what the Sharks had been doing throughout most of the rest of the year. Leading the charge in that game was [player_tooltip player_id='1574112' first='Kaleb' last='Gadson'] and his career-high 15 tackles. The Bobcats also made sure to limit May River's offensive but rushing for 117 yards on 20 carries. It helped keep those two Shark running backs and [player_tooltip player_id='1574079' first='Asa' last='Haskins'] from doing more damage.    X-FACTOR: Bobcats junior receiver [player_tooltip player_id='402486' first='Carnell' last='Warren'] has already surpassed his 2023 production - numbers that were already pretty good, mind you. More impressively is that he's done it with a handful of off nights. He's been held under 30 yards in three games this year. On the flip side, he's got three 100-yards games and two more a sneeze short of that. Warren is dangerous.    NO. 15 AIRPORT (2-8) AT NO. 2 NORTH AUGUSTA (9-1)   It was of little surprises that Airport was going to go all in on freshman quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1467834' first='Jay' last='Eady'] this season. The youngsters' passing numbers haven't been great, but he's balanced that off by leading the Eagles with 572 rushing yards and a team-high five touchdown runs. It's part of a bigger plan, sure, but one that would need to come together in a hurry against the Yellow Jackets. Tailback [player_tooltip player_id='402503' first='Michael' last='Doe'] has 1,366 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman'] has thrown for 1,624 yards and 18 touchdowns. And Doe and [player_tooltip player_id='1013040' first='Connor' last='Brown'] have teamed up to each catch more than 300 yards worth of passes. Airport doesn't want to go touchdown for touchdown with that collection of skill guys, not to mention a strong offensive line.   X-FACTOR: Airport is probably going to need some turnover help, and that's where [player_tooltip player_id='1157982' first='Montrelle' last='Keys'] could rear his skill set. The senior linebacker leads the Eagles in interceptions (two) and one of the team's two defensive touchdowns on the year.

The race to Orangeburg out of the Class 4A Lower State bracket is tentatively scheduled to go through Hartsville.