Class 5A, Division II Lower State Second Round Preview

The Lower State field in Class 5A, Division II is split evenly between those who had earned a first-round bye and those who had to earn their ticket to the second round.    On one hand? The rest vs. rust debate. The other? Rhythm vs secrets divulged.   At the end of all of them will be whose players make bigger plays, fill voids at timely moments and do what they've been working toward for month.    Here's a look at Round 2.   NO. 8 CHAPIN (6-5) AT NO. 1 IRMO (9-1)   For as good as Goose Creek's offense can be, Chapin already knows it's about to be tested even more than it was in the playoff opener. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand'] (2,047 passing yards, 1,397 rushing yards, 39 total touchdowns) is the heart of an offense that also has an 800 yard rusher in [player_tooltip player_id='755890' first='Amire' last='White'] and a pair of top-end receiver in [player_tooltip player_id='377560' first='Donovan' last='Murph'] (991 yards, six touchdowns) and [player_tooltip player_id='1422528' first='Maleek' last='Miller'] (764 yards, six touchdowns). This offense is the real deal and has only been held in check against Dutch Fork this year.   Chapin's offense will need to produce much more than the 21 points it did against Irmo on November 1. And while quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='272715' first='Brady' last='Albro'] (2,507 passing yards, 22 touchdowns) is capable of more, the Eagles' defense is going to have to step up in a big way. [player_tooltip player_id='1360369' first='Gavin' last='Stam'] (114 tackles, 14 tackles for loss) and [player_tooltip player_id='1360035' first='Tanner' last='Short'] (73 tackles, 17 tackles for loss) will need to make the Yellow Jackets one-dimensional. Otherwise, it might be a repeat of the earlier match-up between these two teams.   X-FACTOR: Arguably the biggest player vs. player match-up to watch in this game will be how Chapin left tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1395031' first='Caden' last='Muskus'] does against such a skilled rush end. [player_tooltip player_id='755914' first='Jaiden' last='Bryant'] is only a sophomore, but he's becoming a recruiting name to watch in this class because of his explosiveness off the edge. Muskus (pictured) holding his own here gives Albro more time to do his thing.     NO. 5 NORTH MYRTLE BEACH (4-6) AT NO. 4 WEST FLORENCE (7-3)    These old region foes should get together and re-create one of the bigger slugfests in the Class 5A, Division II bracket this week. West will have [player_tooltip player_id='1360071' first='Bobby' last='Patterson'] (70 tackles) and [player_tooltip player_id='1165145' first='Clayton' last='Folse'] (62 tackles, nine tackles for loss) bringing pressure near the line while North Myrtle Beach will do the same with Sloan McIntyre (84 tackles) and [player_tooltip player_id='1738840' first='Bricey' last='Gore'] (60 tackles). What they'll be asked to stop is opposing offenses that have been dictated by run games.    Chiefs tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1574055' first='Drew' last='Prince'] has been a driving force, as he's rushed for 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns. He'll be spelled by [player_tooltip player_id='1664629' first='Jaden' last='Chestnut'] (331 yards, three touchdowns). West is a little more of a collective effort. [player_tooltip player_id='1159496' first='Terry' last='Lowery'] (529 yards, five touchdowns), Zion Hill (438 yards, one touchdown) and [player_tooltip player_id='1013062' first='Keshawn' last='Johnson'] (432 yards, eight touchdowns) have all been effective at various points of the season. If one of them isn't working, it's next man up.   X-FACTOR: Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1639826' first='JayAun' last='Perkins'] has more than twice as many receiving yards as the next best Knight, and his 586 yards and seven touchdowns have come despite such a ground-heavy attack. He's got elite speed and deep-ball capabilities, but he also catches a lot of passes very close to the line of scrimmage.     NO. 6 WESTWOOD (6-5) AT NO. 3 BERKELEY (5-5)    As expected, tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1603902' first='Angelo' last='Rios'] (102 yards) played a big part in the Redhawks' first-round win over Socastee. And while quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1734561' first='Carrington' last='Carter'] threw two picks, he also had two touchdown passes in the 34-14 victory. Tack on a defensive score (Jayce Rios - more on that below) and another on special teams (Cameron Bennett kickoff return), and Westwood was never really in danger of losing. They'll need those breaks in the second round against a much better team than Socastee.    Stags quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers'] has been dynamic again as a sophomore. He's thrown for 1,745 yards and 17 touchdowns against only four picks, has rushed for a team-high 686 yards and six more scores and keeps every defense focused on him. The problem there is he's got plenty of help. Senior receivers [player_tooltip player_id='1158021' first='Kevin' last='Boone'] (661 yards, eight touchdowns) and [player_tooltip player_id='683478' first='Kayden' last='Bash'] (478 yards, six touchdowns) and freshman tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1151306' first='Bryson' last='McGee'] (563 yards, two touchdowns) are much more prepared.    X-FACTOR: Westwood linebacker Jayce Rios played the part of spoiler against Socastee last week. He returned a fumble for a touchdown, picked off a pass and had a key pass break-up to end another Braves' drive. He moves well in space and will be largely responsible for preventing anything up the middle from becoming a chunk play.    NO. 7 WHITE KNOLL (6-5) AT NO. 2 MYRTLE BEACH (6-4)   White Knoll is a trendy lower seed to advance another week after quickly dispatching Lugoff-Elgin 41-18 in the opening round. More importantly, the Timberwolves got three key pieces back for that game. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe'] (1,571 passing yards, 631 rushing yards, 20 total touchdowns in the regular season) was behind center again. Backfield mate [player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning'] looked like his old self, breaking a bunch of tackles and reaching the end zone. And [player_tooltip player_id='1172366' first='Tyrone' last='Jennings'] was stuffing up the middle of the defensive line again.    The talk around Myrtle Beach, coincidentally, is how ready starting quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1254177' first='Gibson' last='Goodroe'] will be after getting knocked out of the team's November 1 game at North Myrtle Beach and then sitting the regular-season finale the next week at Socastee. The senior threw for 1,452 yards and 12 touchdowns prior to the injury, and while back-up Tanner Gaddy did well in relief, the Seahawks' offense has been designed this year around Goodroe. Myrtle Beach will need to use its full complement of receivers - namely [player_tooltip player_id='1603757' first='Amare' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='272701' first='John' last='Simmons'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1664545' first='JJ' last='Brown'] - to keep White Knoll's fast and dangerous defense on its toes.    X-FACTOR: Junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1592362' first='Josue' last='Esiki'] has quickly developed into one of the Timberwolves' glue guys on that side of the ball. He's second on the team in tackles (93) and has chipped in 4.5 tackles for loss, three pass break-ups, three quarterback pressures and a pair of interceptions. The best part of his game is that he doesn't miss many tackles. Yes, when you play for Nick Pelham's defense, that stat is kept alongside all the positive ones, too. If Esiki gets streaky against Myrtle Beach, changes are White Knoll will be just fine.

The Lower State field in Class 5A, Division II is split evenly between those who had earned a first-round bye and those who had to earn their ticket to the second round.