State Semifinals Game Balls

The Weekend of Champions starts Thursday. And the six-pack of title games would look awfully different if it wasn't for some huge Upper State and Lower State performances.    The players below each made sure their respective teams were playing for a state title this coming week. Huge offensive totals, mainly from some standard bearer quarterbacks. Turnover and tackle machines doing their thing. Excellence in the form of consistency.   Friday's state semifinals showed us plenty of all of it.    CLASS A   [player_tooltip player_id='473021' first='Caden' last='Ramsey'] DB/WR, Cross   [player_tooltip player_id='473021' first='Caden' last='Ramsey'] was likely going to lead the state in interceptions anyway. He locked in that honor with three more Friday night in the win against Lake View. With the game tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Ramsey picked off a Gator pass and took it back 100 yards for a touchdown. He wasn't even close to done impacting the game. He added two more picks in the second half. Ramsey also recovered a fumble after halftime and added a one-yard touchdown run. His final stat line for the night? Eight total tackles, three interceptions, one fumble recovery, one rushing touchdown and four receptions for 63 yards.    CLASS 2A   [player_tooltip player_id='1012830' first='Tushawan' last='Richardson'] QB, and [player_tooltip player_id='1578907' first='Austin' last='Boyd'] DB, Clinton   While Richardson had two teammates join him in hitting triple digits on the ground, his 103 and a touchdown (in the fourth quarter) were exactly what the Red Devils needed to top Fairfield Central. The senior also completed three-of-five passes for another 104 yards and two scores. Boyd, meanwhile, did his biggest damage in the first half. With Clinton leading 13-7, he picked up a fumble and returned it 80 yards for a score. The Red Devils led 19-7 at halftime and never trailed the rest of the way.     CLASS 3A   [player_tooltip player_id='605525' first='Marquise' last='Henderson'] RB, and Colby Bates, DB, Belton-Honea Path   Henderson was again doing Henderson things, as the Clemson commitment rushed 21 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns against Mountain View Prep. The senior also added four receptions for 64 yards and another score. The only knock on him was his third and fourth fumbles of the year, but that wasn't enough to help MVP, especially after Bates picked off two passes and broke up a third. He also had three tackles against the high-powered Stars offense.    [player_tooltip player_id='1094944' first='Aiden' last='Manavian'] QB, Oceanside Collegiate    Manavian has put up so many impressive outings in his young career that we often don't blink at them. We blinked at what he did against Loris. The sophomore was 21-of-27 for 314 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. He hit [player_tooltip player_id='1578702' first='Peyton' last='Shaw'] from 5 yards out four minutes into the game for his first. Then back-to-back to [player_tooltip player_id='1592182' first='Terence' last='Johnson'] (32 yards, 10 yards). After that, he found Shaw for a 36-yarder and then connected with [player_tooltip player_id='809757' first='Will' last='Virgilio'] midway through the third quarter (24 yards) to push the Landsharks' lead to 42-0 and force a running clock and an even quicker path to the state championship.     CLASS 4A   [player_tooltip player_id='272705' first='Armoni' last='Weaver'] ATH, Westside   Weaver transferred from Byrnes with the intent of playing for a state title. And thanks in large part of his effort against South Pointe, he'll get his wish. The senior picked off a pass and took it back for a touchdown with a little over 5 minutes left in the first half to give the Rams a 21-7 lead and give Weaver his fifth straight game with a touchdown. Then, just before halftime, he caught a long pass from [player_tooltip player_id='346189' first='Cutter' last='Woods'] to set up another score. The two senior then linked up again near the end of the third quarter from yards out to push Westside's lead to four touchdowns and propel the Class 4A defending state champs back to another title game.    South Florence defense   What [player_tooltip player_id='272717' first='Tre' last='Leonard'] did against North Augusta in a 27-20 victory was big. The Bruins senior rushed for 189 yards and a score on 19 carries. What the South Florence defense did was even better. After the Yellow Jackets scored two defensive touchdowns early and then hit on a 70-yard pass on a busted covered, the Bruins defense flexed. [player_tooltip player_id='1592462' first='Willie' last='Kennedy'] had 11 tackeles. Avan Rosado picked off a pass and broke up three others. [player_tooltip player_id='809742' first='Amare' last='Adams'] finished with seven tackles, four tackles for loss, three QB hurries and a sack. [player_tooltip player_id='816736' first='Terry' last='Gordon'] had three tackles for loss and a sack to go along with seven stops. [player_tooltip player_id='1267265' first='Amare' last='Reaves'] went for five tackles, three pass break-ups and a pick. And [player_tooltip player_id='1157897' first='Cameron' last='Coe'] had a touchdown-saving tackle, four additional stops, three quarterback hurries and a sack. After that long touchdown pass in the opening quarter, North Augusta failed to reach the end zone again.     CLASS 5A, DIVISION II   [player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] QB, Northwestern    The Gardner-Webb signee ensured he'd have one more game in a Trojan uniform by leading this high-powered offense to another stellar showing in the 58-40 win over Gaffney. Polk (pictured) finished 24-of-41 for 339 yards and five touchdowns through the air while adding another 17 carries for 94 yards and a sixth score. It was the seven time this season the senior has accounted for at least five touchdowns in a single game and sixth time Northwestern has scored at least 50 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='755914' first='Jaiden' last='Bryant'] DL, and [player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand'] QB, Irmo   White Knoll figured out how to slow down Brand with his arm. The Timberwolves couldn't contain Brand's legs. The Yellow Jackets senior rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries to go along with his 91 passing yards and a fourth score in the 29-25 win. All of it was important for Irmo's cause, as was how effective Bryant was in knocking White Knoll out of rhythm for much of the game. As you can see in the sophomore's film, he spent most of his time on the field in the Timberwolves' backfield. He was getting to the quarterback, knocking down passes, tackling ball carriers and even had a hand in a fumble off a would-be punt attempt.    CLASS 5A, DIVISION I   [player_tooltip player_id='1267290' first='Ethan' last='Offing'] QB, [player_tooltip player_id='1360308' first='Boykin' last='Bickley'] WR, and [player_tooltip player_id='1012706' first='Josh' last='Smith'] LB, Dutch Fork   The Silver Foxes' quarterback, top receiving threat and biggest college signee all showed out in the 24-0 win over Spartanburg. Smith, who inked with South Carolina two days prior, finished the game with 10 total tackles, three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Offing tacked on 93 rushing yards and a score onto a night that also included a 15-of-21, 267-yard, two-touchdown performance. And of those passing yards, 164 went to Bickley, who hauled in four of his eight targets, none bigger than his 71-yard touchdown reception 59 seconds into the game.    [player_tooltip player_id='1639684' first='Tyree' last='Patton'] LB, and [player_tooltip player_id='1578901' first='Melvin' last='Teal'] DB, Summerville   Patton and Teal made sure the 163 yards and two touchdowns from [player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams'] and three total touchdowns from [player_tooltip player_id='367350' first='Jaden' last='Cummings'] stuck. Patton, a junior linebacker, finished the 35-6 win over Sumter with 17 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Teal was equally active throughout. The senior safety ended the Lower State title game with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a pair of pass break-ups.

The Weekend of Champions starts Thursday. And the six-pack of title games would look awfully different if it wasn't for some huge Upper State and Lower State performances.