Class 1A Lower State Second Round Preview

We're down to the final eight teams in the Class 1A Lower State Playoffs and boy do we have some heavyweights remaining. Bamberg-Ehrhardt and Carvers Bay are both undefeated and the defending Class A runner-up Cross is sitting there with one loss. Scotts Branch and Johnsonville make for an intriguing second round matchup. Bethune-Bowman, Lake View and Latta hope to throw the bracket into chaos.   Whatever happens, Friday should be a good night of football. Let's break it all down for you right here.   BETHUNE-BOWMAN (4-7) AT CROSS (9-1)   We get a rematch from October 24 when the Trojans went on the road for a relatively easy 66-14 victory. Cross then defeated Baptist Hill in the regular season finale and earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Mohawks responded to that loss with a thrilling first round win over Ridgeland last week, giving the school its first playoff win in over 25 years. It was a lot of the [player_tooltip player_id='1691901' first='Maurice' last='Dawson'] show as the junior had 103 yards rushing and another 190 yards receiving and three total touchdowns. He added seven tackles and an interception on defense. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1691963' first='Jaedon' last='Bell'] had a big night, with 323 yards passing and four touchdowns. Linebacker John Mason contributed 13 tackles and two sacks. Look out for senior [player_tooltip player_id='1825552' first='Malik' last='Darden'] on the offensive and defensive lines. Cross does it with defense, having allowed just 5.5 points per game with four shutouts. And they get contributions from a lot of different players. Linebacker Willie Grant, safety [player_tooltip player_id='473021' first='Caden' last='Ramsey'], linebacker Jimmy Smith and defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1422604' first='Jailyn' last='Broughton'] each have over 40 tackles and can be disruptive in their own ways. Grant and Smith play the entire field and can make plays from sideline to sideline. Ramsey is a noted ballhawk and has five interceptions. Broughton helps hammer down the line of scrimmage and makes his share of the plays there. [player_tooltip player_id='1172364' first='Mah'ky' last='Green'] plays both sides of the ball but his nearly 1,200 yards rushing is noted. [player_tooltip player_id='1819661' first='Tyler' last='Harris'] completes 68 percent of his passes and has 15 touchdowns to go with just three interceptions and his 1,277 yards.   X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='1639807' first='Michael' last='Bennett'] plays both the offensive and defensive line for Cross and he makes plays from both sides of the ball. He paves the way for an offense that has over 3,000 yards on the season but defensively might be where he shines the brightest. The senior has 71 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and seven sacks from his defensive tackle spot. The Mohawks didn't have an answer for him last time they played but must slow him down this time.    JOHNSONVILLE (8-2) AT SCOTT'S BRANCH (9-2)   The Flashes received stellar defensive play in limiting Branchville to less than 100 yards of total offense in winning 48-14. [player_tooltip player_id='1820195' first='Bricen' last='Howell'] is a three-year starter and brings a lot of solid qualities to the table. [player_tooltip player_id='1824804' first='River' last='Chambers'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1816257' first='Jaiden' last='Miles'] will play key roles as well. Dlyan Smith anchors both the offensive and defensive lines. Offensively, [player_tooltip player_id='1822707' first='Zaghe' last='Davis'] had 190 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries. [player_tooltip player_id='1304767' first='Larkin' last='Powell'] threw for 117 yards and two touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id='1824664' first='Takhari' last='Ross'] caught a 58-yard TD pass. [player_tooltip player_id='1738847' first='Jason' last='Brigham'] will be a key on the offensive line.  Scott's Branch won a playoff game for the first time since 2011. Injuries have become a problem for the Eagles with starting quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1823516' first='Jaiven' last='Conyers'] out for the season and several other players went down last week. But one who didn't is [player_tooltip player_id='1821438' first='Quintin' last='Jackson'], who rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns, including a 94-yard yard sprint. [player_tooltip player_id='1824634' first='Keith' last='Rogers'] added a 29-yard TD reception. [player_tooltip player_id='1824145' first='Christian' last='Green'] is another viable option in the passing game. Both Rogers and Green added interceptions on defense. Nyzaiah Richardson played well on defense. If either [player_tooltip player_id='1821439' first='Danny' last='Ragin'] or J'Den Dixon can return this week, it will be a bonus.   X:Factor: Scott's Branch's [player_tooltip player_id='1821436' first='JoJo' last='Jackson'] has taken most of the snaps at quarterback recently and he's played well. He was 7-of-13 for 122 yards last week. He has some dynamic receivers, so he needs to get them the ball and let them go to work. A big passing night against Johnsonville will be helpful.     LAKE VIEW (6-4) AT CARVERS BAY (11-0)   This will be a rematch of a region contest from October 10 in which the Bears claimed a 32-7 victory. The Wild Gators advanced to the second round with a 28-6 win over Hardeeville. QB Chase Price threw for two touchdowns and ran for the other two. Jamere Atkinson and Jaylen Clarke are going to be other options on the offensive side of the ball. [player_tooltip player_id='1732669' first='Seth' last='Deese'] is a linebacker that must be good against the Bears running game. Carvers Bay will run behind [player_tooltip player_id='1817515' first='Xavier' last='Fredrick'] and [player_tooltip player_id='402516' first='Zyon' last='Guiles'] on the offensive line. [player_tooltip player_id='1820181' first='Kenard' last='Heyward'] ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game last week and the Bears never looked back. Receiver Marvin Young will be counted on to make plays in the passing game. [player_tooltip player_id='1025821' first='Zyrion' last='Reed'] is a two-way player that will be a key on defense. Defensive end Ky'jaeh Moore is an edge player that can be disruptive in the backfield.   X-Factor: Carvers Bay QB [player_tooltip player_id='1822697' first='Christian' last='Simmons'] is not going to be asked to throw the ball often, but he is able to make plays when needed. He has a quick release and has a couple of bigger receivers on the outside that can go up and get the ball.    LATTA (8-2) AT BAMBERG-EHRHARDT (11-0)   This one is going to feature the running of Latta's [player_tooltip player_id='1822831' first='Fischer' last='Richardson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1817523' first='Adrian' last='McDonald'] against a Red Raiders defense that is allowing less than five points per game. Richardson scored four rushing touchdowns last week and is able to run behind an offensive line of [player_tooltip player_id='1738835' first='Zack' last='Page'], [player_tooltip player_id='1822830' first='Logan' last='Byrd'] and Javontae Kollock. Xy ‘Mari Bethea will do a lot of different things for the Vikings. Freshman QB [player_tooltip player_id='1824362' first='Luke' last='Huggins'] and receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1738838' first='Jayden' last='Alford'] have made a great connection all season long. The Bamberg-Ehrhardt defense has been so good this season, they only allow 95 yards per game. Brian McMillan and [player_tooltip player_id='1822454' first='Rocky' last='Walker'] each have four interceptions, and Darion Sease leads the way with 88 tackles. [player_tooltip player_id='1817744' first='Chris' last='Washington'] is not far behind with 74 stops. [player_tooltip player_id='1530765' first='Darius' last='Walker'] is second on the team with 5.5 sacks. The defense might get the headlines, but the Red Raiders offense is just as good. McMillan is 41 yards away from having 3,000 passing yards on the season. He also has 34 TD passes. McMillan (17) MJ Cann (14) and [player_tooltip player_id='1196428' first='Jalen' last='McGraw'] (10) are all in double figures in rushing touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id='1585670' first='Charles' last='Williams'] is the leading receiver with 39 receptions for 1047 yards and 15 touchdowns.   X-Factor: B-E's [player_tooltip player_id='1196428' first='Jalen' last='McGraw'] (pictured) likes to play in the opposing team's backfield. The senior leads the team with 14 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He comes off the edge quickly and can read and react to making plays. This will be one of the biggest challenges for the defense but the Red Raiders come in with four straight shutouts and only one game in which a team scored two touchdowns.

We're down to the final eight teams in the Class 1A Lower State Playoffs and boy do we have some heavyweights remaining. Bamberg-Ehrhardt and Carvers Bay are both undefeated and the defending Class A runner-up Cross is sitting there with one loss. Scotts Branch and Johnsonville make for an intriguing second round matchup. Bethune-Bowman, Lake View and Latta hope to throw the bracket into chaos.