Class 5A, Division II Lower State First Round Preview 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Irmo, Myrtle Beach, Berkeley and West Florence earned a fast pass to the second round of the Class 5A, Division II playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who they'll play and their chances to move on to the third round will be determined this Friday.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The eight lowest seeds in the Lower State field each have their own reasons to believe this isn't the end of the line. We've got established quarterbacks, stout defenses, long-time standouts and relatively fresh faces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are the keys to all four games.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 9 GOOSE CREEK (5-5) AT NO. 8 CHAPIN (5-5)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season the Gators were hoping for took a couple of wrong turns, beginning early in the year when <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473027' first='Meliq' last='McGowan']</strong> went down for a chunk of the fall with an injury. The star tailback made his return on Lucy Beckham in mid-October but has yet to have that monster game of old on the ground. However, he has caught eight passes from quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402499' first='Kymani' last='Clary']</strong> during that stretch. Clary has also found freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1507618' first='Teru' last='Davis']</strong> to be a big threat. In the loss to Stratford last week (one of two defeats to end the regular season), the receiver caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Goose Creek hasn't really had a bad defensive game this year other than a lopsided loss to Powerhouse Summerville. However, Chapin's offense might be the next most-electric bunch the Gators have faced. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272715' first='Brady' last='Albro']</strong> (2,507 yards, 22 touchdowns, pictured) and top targets <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149052' first='Khalen' last='Bostick']</strong> (835 yards, 10 touchdowns) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='568697' first='Stone' last='Furrey']</strong> (639, six) can get streaky in a hurry.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-FACTOR:</em></strong> Junior tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592297' first='Cole' last='Martin']</strong> has fit in nicely with Chapin's offense. He's caught 40 passes for 394 yards. He's also the team's primary ball carrier, piling up 762 yards and eight scores. He's topped 100 yards in two of the last three games and has reached the end zone in three straight contests.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17953889/671162068d158bcbc0fe2d87' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67315653edfcb"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 12 LUCY BECKHAM (4-6) AT NO. 5 NORTH MYRTLE BEACH (3-6)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The North Myrtle Beach defense is going to have to pivot quickly after last week's game against run-first, run-second Carolina Forest to playing against a Lucy Beckham defense that is much more balanced. Granted, a lot of that balance revolves around senior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253938' first='Chalmers' last='Ballard']</strong> - who is leading the Bengals in both passing yards (1,560) and rushing yards (691). He spreads the ball around pretty evenly to seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360340' first='Trevor' last='Reynolds']</strong> (426 yards, four touchdowns), <strong>Talmage Askins</strong> (328 yards, three touchdowns) and <strong>Aidan Lentsch</strong> (305 yards, one touchdown). But make no mistake, Ballard is an evasive runner who makes quick decisions when he elects to tuck it an run. That will put the onus on Chiefs linebacker <strong>Sloan McIntyre</strong> (74 tackles, six tackles for loss) and safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1738840' first='Bricey' last='Gore']</strong> (55 tackles, four tackles for loss) to keep their eyes on Ballard at all times.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-FACTOR: </em></strong>North Myrtle Beach senior defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809755' first='DJ' last='Gause']</strong> was relatively quiet last week against Carolina Forest. But we've already seen what he's capable of both on defense and special teams (seriously, just watch the clip). He leads the Chiefs in sacks (four) and has tie for the team lead in tackles for loss (eight). He could change the dynamic of this game in a hurry if he gets hot.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16136240/672a85216b236b5c50a5a446' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67315653ee020"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 11 SOCASTEE (4-6) AT NO. 6 WESTWOOD (5-5)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westwood was a couple of single-digit, region losses from being a higher seed. Either way, the Redhawks are still hosting and will have every opportunity to advance if tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603902' first='Angelo' last='Rios']</strong> has the type of night we've already seen him produce this year. Junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734561' first='Carrington' last='Carter']</strong> has come a long way this season, too. But the story on this Westwood squad starts with its defensive production. From senior end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346188' first='Dekontee' last='Mack']</strong> to defensive back <strong>Justin Washington</strong>, the Redhawks have looked stout in six of their last seven games. The same can be said for Socastee. The Braves either won or played everyone but Region VI-5A champ Carolina Forest close the last two months. And, again, the reason why has been Socastee's defense. Linebackers <strong>Daniel Devaux</strong> and <strong>David Covalli</strong> solidify the middle of the field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158009' first='Jonathan' last='Goswick']</strong> is a really good safety (who is also the team's second-leading receiver) and <strong>Brayden Bollinger</strong> seems to be everywhere all the time.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-FACTOR:</em></strong> Junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1429140' first='Christian' last='Royals']</strong> isn't putting up eye-popping numbers. And while he's struggled with interceptions at times and has been sacked 14 times, his mobility prevents opponents from stacking the box. A few well-timed runs from him could be the difference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17470300/672ee79e8c52bf923859df19' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67315653ee051"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 10 LUGOFF-ELGIN (4-6) AT NO. 7 WHITE KNOLL (5-5)</strong>&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's no secret to this game is whether or not Timberwolves quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe']</strong> will play. He missed last week's loss to Chapin with an injury and his 1,500 passing yards and 630 rushing yards (and 20 combined touchdowns) were clearly missed. If that wasn't enough, sophomore tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning']</strong> was also held out and is being further evaluated. White Knoll's defense, led by middle linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1083060' first='Connor' last='Burgess']</strong> (118 tackles) and defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172366' first='Tyrone' last='Jennings']</strong> (who was also out last week), is still pretty talented. If that side of the ball is all back, it will attempt to create madness for Lugoff-Elgin sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1515057' first='Aiden' last='Fitzgerald'] </strong>(1,324 yards, 19 touchdowns). The Demons will likely try to go tempo with receivers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603854' first='Eric' last='Richardson']</strong> (593 yards) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267277' first='Shamil' last='Saadiq']</strong> (470) to keep the Timberwolves off-balance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-FACTOR:</em></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025815' first='Caleb' last='Geronomi']</strong> was already known commodity on defense after last year's run to the state championship game. This year, we're also seeing him lead the Timberwolves in receiving. In addition to his 26 tackles and two pass break-ups, he's hauled in 736 yards and four touchdowns worth of passes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18518620/67134e88fd2dd1992d0865c2' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67315653ee080"} /-->