Midlands First Round Game Balls

It's playoff time and each time out could be the last. That usually sees players coming in more focused and that in turn makes the performances much more important and crucial as we move forward deeper into the postseason.   Here is a glance at the top performances across the Midlands this past weekend.   [player_tooltip player_id='1344583' first='Brayden' last='Moore'] QB, River Bluff   The sophomore came off the bench in relief of [player_tooltip player_id='464884' first='Parker' last='Murray'] and completed 13-of-22 for 242 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-6 victory over Mauldin in the first round of the Class 5A, Division I playoffs. Both TD passes went to [player_tooltip player_id='464880' first='Stephen' last='Collier'], one for 73 yards and another from 42 yards. Collier finished with 140 yards receiving on six catches to go along with 10 punt return yards.   Bradley Thomas RB, Ridge View   Thomas ran for two touchdowns and the Blazers pulled away from Spring Valley in the second half to claim a 55-14 victory in the first round of the Class 5A, Division I playoffs. Ridge View also received a pick-six from Markeith Thomas to go along with a rushing and passing TD from Nevan Gaither in the second half.   [player_tooltip player_id='1360035' first='Tanner' last='Short'] LB, Chapin   Short was all over the place for the Eagles in their 17-16 win over Goose Creek in the first round of the Class 5A, Division II playoffs. The senior linebacker totaled 17 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks for a loss of 21 yards. He also added a rushing touchdown to help Chapin jump to a 17-0 lead before holding on for the victory.      Cameron Bennett WR, Westwood   The Redhawks received a kickoff return touchdown and a receiving score from Bennett in a 34-14 win over Socastee in the first round of the Class 5A, Division II playoffs. Westwood also added a defensive score when Jayce Rios returned a fumble for a TD. QB Carter Carrington threw two touchdown passes.     [player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe'] QB, [player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning'] RB and Shquez Montgomery RB, White Knoll   The Timberwolves rushed for 408 yards and these three did the heavy lifting in a 41-18 victory over Lugoff-Elgin in the first round of the Class 5A, Division II playoffs. Sharpe returned from missing the regular season finale and ran for 160 yards with Fanning chipping in 143 yards and a touchdown. Montgomery ran for two touchdowns.      [player_tooltip player_id='1356028' first='Solomon' last='Kelson'] RB, AC Flora   Kelson came off the bench and provided a spark in the running game in the Falcons 40-20 win over Emerald in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. He ran for 168 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown run of eight yards. Kelson first played late in the second quarter, and he accounted for 71 yards on a nine-play, 72-drive that tied the score 20-20 at the half.     [player_tooltip player_id='1575400' first='Wyatt' last='Thompson'] QB, Camden   Thompson ran for 168 yards on just seven carries and ran for a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1165092' first='Tylin' last='Drakeford'] to help the Bulldogs to a 43-17 victory over Pickens in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. Drakeford had four catches for 120 yards and two TD receptions.      Cooper James QB, Gilbert   James threw for three touchdowns and guided the Indians offense to 439 yards of offense in a 41-20 victory over Lower Richland in the Class 4A playoffs. He was 13-of-19 for 229 yards. All three TD passes went to [player_tooltip player_id='1809066' first='Chandler' last='Guthrie'], covering 18, 17 and 56 yards. Guthrie finished with five catches for 111 yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='272698' first='Will' last='Wilson'] QB, Richland Northeast   Wilson fully recovered from a midseason knee situation and the NC State commitment accounted for 421 yards of total offense in a 22-20 win over Seneca in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. He was 18-of-26 passing for 223 yards and a touchdown pass to [player_tooltip player_id='591391' first='Blake' last='Betette'], who finished with eight catches for 122 yards. Wilson rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns.     [player_tooltip player_id='1267311' first='Julian' last='Senn'] LB, Newberry   The Bulldogs returned a shutout in a 48-0 victory over Georgetown in the first of the Class 3A playoffs and Senn was right in the middle of it. He recorded nine total tackles with five tackles for loss, one quarterback pressure, a pass breakup and a blocked punt. [player_tooltip player_id='473022' first='BJ' last='Jones'] paced the offense with two rushing scores and a receiving touchdown.    [player_tooltip player_id='1422608' first='Hunter' last='O'Neal'] ATH, Keenan   Honestly, it was hard to pick just one in the Raiders 58-8 Class 3A first round playoff victory over North Charleston, but we gave the nod to the sophomore athlete. O'Neal finished with 115 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries while adding a tackle and a pass breakup defense. Keenan jumped to a 44-0 halftime lead and ended up holding the Cougars to a negative 5 yards of total offense.     Tyler Classen, Hansel Discua and [player_tooltip player_id='1592414' first='KD' last='Whitt'] DB, Batesburg-Leesville   The Panthers returned had a total of four interceptions and Classen, Discua and Whitt returned three of them for touchdowns in a 42-6 win over Columbia in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. Whitt have Batesburg-Leesville the lead for good with an 81-yard pick-six with 1:49 remining in the first quarter. Discua added an 85-yard return and Classen closed out the scoring with a 36-yard return in the third quarter.   Dre Walker ATH, Fairfield Central   Walker threw a touchdown pass and added an interception return for a score to help the Griffins win their 10th game in a row with a 60-6 shellacking of Chesterfield in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. That performance aided the efforts of TyDarion Grier, who ran for three touchdowns.   Nick Butler LB and Devon Wallace DL, Saluda   The Tigers pitched a shutout in a 24-0 win over Mid-Carolina in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs and Butler and Wallace led the way. Butler finished with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery while Wallace added seven tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.     Ben Muela Kiser ATH, Hammond   The Skyhawks backup quarterback got things started quickly when he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to lead Hammond to a 55-7 victory over Augusta Christian. The Skyhawks advance to their eighth state SCISA state championship game appearance. Preston Springs added an interception return for a score and Hammond rushed for five touchdowns.

It's playoff time and each time out could be the last. That usually sees players coming in more focused and that in turn makes the performances much more important and crucial as we move forward deeper into the postseason.