Class 4A Semifinal Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One team is looking to win back-to-back state championships.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One team is aiming for its second state championship game in three years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One team is gunning for its first state championship since 2021.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One team hasn't won a state championship since 1989.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The four teams remaining in Class 4A have a combined total of seven losses this season. They are all similar in the aspect that they score an abundance of points. Any one of the four teams could put up a 50-spot on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each and every team have absolute stars on both sides of the ball that have propelled their success, so let's dive right into who those guys are and what to expect on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 3 SOUTH POINTE (11-2) AT NO. 1 WESTSIDE (12-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pointe outlasted Daniel and came away with a 49-35 victory in a game that was full of points. The star of that game was undoubtedly South Pointe running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157761' first='Mason' last='Picket-Hicks']</strong>. He finished the night with 486 rushing yards and six touchdowns. One of the best performances in the history of high school football in the state of South Carolina. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473002' first='Cameron' last='McMillon']</strong> threw for 109 yards and a touchdown. <strong>Sean Young</strong> was the leading receiver with three catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, South Pointe racked up ten sacks, including seven from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157988' first='Aakil' last='Brown']</strong>. The seven sacks from Brown upped his season total to 21. Sophomore <strong>Kadin Vassell</strong> was good in the secondary with three pass deflections. <strong>RJ Bufford</strong> added three pass deflections as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westside rolled once again, with a 49-7 victory over Camden. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346189' first='Cutter' last='Woods']</strong> threw for five touchdowns in just the first half before not coming back into the game for the second half. Running back <strong>Dreson Evans</strong> was quite productive as he had two carries for 64 yards and a touchdown. Evans, as well as<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='272708' first='Chamarryus' last='Bomar']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272705' first='Armoni' last='Weaver']</strong> all had receiving touchdowns in the 42-point first half for Westside. <strong>Jaylon Hall</strong> was the leading tackler for the game with 10 total tackles. Bomar collected an interception, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='809749' first='RJ' last='Livingston']</strong> recovered a fumble for the Rams defense. Slowing an offense down that is averaging 51 points per game in the playoffs will be tough. South Pointe knows they will need to capitalize on any small mistakes that Westside may make.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We just need to minimize our mistakes and capitalize off their mistakes," Pickett-Hicks said. "We know they aren't going to make many so when they do, we have to make it count."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Matchup Within the Matchup:</strong> </em>South Pointe has four players with multiple interceptions this season. Bufford, <strong>Zaheem Love</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='212416' first='J'Zavien' last='Currence']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271263' first='KJ' last='Burg']</strong> have each picked off multiple passes this season. Westside's Woods has just 23 interceptions over his entire four-year varsity career, so he is more than aware of knowing not to put the ball in harm's way. South Pointe will need to secure extra possessions and let Hicks pound the ball on the ground and control the time of possession. If anyone in the South Pointe secondary can intercept a pass from Woods, that could give the Stallions the extra possession and momentum needed to knock off the defending state champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20560653/66f61bbd01778ef4b7d5dfb8' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675093e3829d6"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Underclassman Impact:</strong> </em>Westside linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664575' first='Malachi' last='Peterson']</strong> will be a key contributor to slowing down the South Pointe run game. Peterson has 59 total tackles on the season, as well as four tackles for loss. He is quick and can cover from one side of the field to the other. If he can help slow up the run game of Pickett-Hicks as well as limit the scrambling ability of McMillon, Westside could be well on its way to its second straight state championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NO. 4 SOUTH FLORENCE (10-3) AT NO. 2 NORTH AUGUSTA (12-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Florence routed Hartsville in Round 3, just four short weeks after Hartsville put up 54 points on it. South Florence quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1166986' first='Messiah' last='Jackson']</strong> accounted for six total touchdowns (four passing, two rushing). Three of those passing touchdowns went to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1574090' first='Lennix' last='Valarie']</strong> and the other went to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers']</strong> - who signed with South Carolina on Wednesday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272722' first='Zion' last='Gilbert']</strong> pounded the ball on the ground for 169 yards to help balance out the aerial attack. [player_tooltip player_id='272717' first='Tre' last='Leonard'] added eight carries for 43 yards and was a productive back when Gilbert needed a breather. Defensively, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592462' first='Willie' last='Kennedy']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816736' first='Terry' last='Gordon']</strong> (pictured) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157897' first='Cameron' last='Coe']</strong> were all tied for the team lead with six tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Augusta put up an impressive 59-14 victory over Gilbert in Round 3. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402503' first='Michael' last='Doe']</strong> led the ground attack with 11 carries for 118 yards and four touchdowns. <strong>Jayden Hatcher</strong> added 121 yards on eight carries and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman']</strong> had nine carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Both <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman']</strong> and <strong>Colin Tillman</strong> played quarterback. The two combined for 189 passing yards and two touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013040' first='Connor' last='Brown']</strong> was the leading receiver with five catches for 86 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1734538' first='Isaiah' last='Smith'] and <strong>Justin Sturgis</strong> were the recipient of the touchdown passes. Linebacker <strong>Alex Powell</strong> led North Augusta in tackles on Friday with 10 and he knows that stopping the ground game will be the biggest challenge on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We need to be able to stop the run because they have some talented running backs who run hard." Powell said. "I'm going to need <strong>Ty Burke</strong> to have a great game on Friday to help cover up the back end of the defense."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Matchup Within the Matchup:</strong></em> Powell said it perfectly. The battle in the trenches will be where this game is won or lost. If Gilbert and Jackson can be productive against a North Augusta defensive line that has guys such as <strong>Travon Reed</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214944' first='Davion' last='Mckinnis']</strong> and <strong>Kemauri Mathis</strong>, South Florence should have an excellent shot of coming away with the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18548133/673214b19e15beea10b70394' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675093e382a22"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Underclassman Impact:</em></strong> South Florence linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615015' first='Warnell' last='Prew']</strong> has been outstanding as a freshman this season. Prew has 74 total tackles and three tackles for loss. Prew will be an instrumental part in stopping the North Augusta ground attack of Doe, Hatcher, and Tillman. If that trio of running backs is able to focus its gameplan around Prew and have a gameplan for getting him blocked up, they will have yet another successful night of running the football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->