Class 4A Lower State Second Round Preview

In the final South Carolina High School Football Media Poll that was released on November 4, Class 4A was full of teams that had won at least seven games during the regular season.    After one week of playoff games, only one of the 11 teams (10 ranked, one receiving votes) has been booted from the postseason. And this week in the Lower State bracket, four teams in the overall top seven are fighting for a chance at the third round.   Bishop England-South Florence, Gilbert-North Augusta, Hartsville-Gray Collegiate and Wilson-Hilton Head includes seven teams with at least seven wins, with Gilbert needing to best a region foe that thrashed it two months ago to join the ranks. The Indians already have one road upset in terms of seeding, so another one wouldn't be the biggest shock in the state.    Regardless of what happens on Friday, though, the second round is where the thick of the race to Orangeburg really begins.   NO. 8 BISHOP ENGLAND (8-3) AT NO. 1 SOUTH FLORENCE (10-1)   Another team is already dug in on breaking down all things South Florence, trying to take down the most successful Class 4A team in the state over the last four seasons. But figuring out how the Bruins have gone 51-5 over that span isn't as linear as some might think. This year's strengths are a bit different than last year, and so on and so forth. But one of the biggest reasons 2025 has gone so well for Drew Marlowe's team is a defensive secondary that is giving up next to nothing. [player_tooltip player_id='1267265' first='Amare' last='Reaves'] has four picks and 11 break-ups. [player_tooltip player_id='1743671' first='Gerkiem' last='Hall'] (two picks, three breakups), [player_tooltip player_id='1820911' first='Johnquis' last='Johnson'] (one interception) and [player_tooltip player_id='1259789' first='Will' last='Wilson'] (two) have been effective, too, and each of them have significant return yardage attached to those turnovers, meaning they're really flipping the field by jumping routes or tracking down floaters. Bishop England quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id='1592310' first='Quinn' last='Mahoney'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1664589' first='William' last='Donato'] didn't throw a ton of them during the regular season - Mahoney had six in 166 attempts and Donato had two in reserve duty (46 attempts) - but South has made its mark by breaking down teams who otherwise were otherwise pretty stellar. The Bishops are going to have to get more out of primary ball carriers [player_tooltip player_id='1822192' first='Mitchell' last='Plaisance'] (478 yards, eight touchdowns during the regular season) and [player_tooltip player_id='1592547' first='Brody' last='Tonon'] (440, seven). Because if the Bishop England defense has to become one-dimensional to keep pace with an early South Florence lead, we've seen how that story has typically played out of the last four seasons.    X-Factor: Bishops tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1819312' first='Ben' last='Turner'] has developed into one of the most notable first-year seniors in the Palmetto State. He's caught 30 passes for 347 yards and four touchdowns. And that's important, but it's only part of his value to this team. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder is a menacing blocker whether he's starting closer to the tackle or stretched outside. He's got no issue letting his reach do the work against linebacker or pursuing defensive backs downfield.     NO. 12 GILBERT (6-5) AT NO. 4 NORTH AUGUSTA (10-1)   While it remains to see how much things can change in two months will be enough to change the result, this clearly isn't the same Gilbert team that had to make a bus trip home from North Augusta on Sept. 19 after getting throttled 56-14. Getting Kitt McLauchlin up to speed at quarterback after he hadn't played football since eighth grade helped, as it allowed some of the players who'd been filling in after an injury to get back to their more comfortable spots. Guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1043170' first='Wynn' last='Meetze'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1734581' first='RJ' last='Kearse'] and others, though, held on to much of what they took in terms of expanding the offensive playbook, not to mention be more available on defense. It showed Friday during the Indians' 38-21 first-round win at Bluffton. But what we also know is that North Augusta is not Bluffton. All-everything tailback [player_tooltip player_id='402503' first='Mike' last='Doe'] (1,771 yards, 22 touchdowns) will be back after getting banged up and then held out of the Yellow Jackets' first-round thumping of Midland Valley. Doe is the main event, but much like Gilbert did while it was searching for a solution to its quarterback problem, we saw reserve tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1827481' first='Jayden' last='Hatcher'] make use of his opportunity, too. He went for 135 yards and three touchdowns, something that made the decision to hold Doe out after two early touches much, much easier. With both teams reloaded, the rematch looks much more entertaining than it did two months ago.   X-Factor: Gilbert receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1809066' first='Chandler' last='Guthrie'] (pictured) hasn't had the element of surprise in months. The fact that he put up four receptions for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first-round win against Bluffton was further evidence of his growing connection with McLauchlin and how much better this offense looks when it has a viable passing attack. Guthrie can also take wildcat snaps or come out of a wings package. Translation: He's a priority for both programs.    NO. 6 HARTSVILLE (7-4) AT NO. 3 GRAY COLLEGIATE (9-2)   Scrap a couple losses to Class 5A, Division-I playoff teams James Island and Gray's still rolling perfect in 2025. [player_tooltip player_id='1036777' first='Trevon' last='Williamson'] has been picking up steam, topping 200 yards twice in the Eagles' last three games. Quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id='232668' first='Tyler' last='Waller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1623307' first='Xavier' last='Wright'] have developed a nice rhythm while splitting series. [player_tooltip player_id='1647592' first='Corey' last='Gleaton'] has been booming at receiver. Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='473010' first='Michael' last='Boulware'] may ultimately lead the state in tackles. And fellow linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='473012' first='JP' last='Sweatt'] has exploded in his first year concentrating on that side of the ball. But don't expect Hartsville to be shaking heading into this one. The Red Foxes give up too many points for their liking, but the defense was also replacing a ton of firepower and much of what got exposed early in the year has since been cleaned up considerable. Safety [player_tooltip player_id='1578291' first='Rodreon' last='Cranford'] (81 tackles, six tackles for loss), defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1639746' first='Chris' last='Price'] (61 tackles, 22 TFL) are leading the way. But the improvement for guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1822983' first='Kayson' last='Dawson'] (three interceptions) and defensive back Ziyon Mason (67 tackles, two fumble recoveries) have extended the primary faces the staff can depend on in tight situations.    X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='1615056' first='Ford' last='Wallace'] has had a pretty good sophomore season. It's not a great one, but the signs for his longterm development and ability to orchestrate what is still a run-heavy offense isn't always easy from the quarterback's perspective. But his 1,395 yards and 16 touchdowns have been on the mid of every defensive coordinator since the start of the season. The Hartsville receiving corps will need to find ways to get open in a hurry when their number is called. He's thrown six touchdowns in his two playoff games, and no one should forget that he's capable of doing exactly that again.    NO. 10 WILSON (7-4) AT NO. 2 HILTON HEAD (10-1)   The theme of Wilson's first-round win over May River was stopping the Sharks just enough to give the offense a chance. The plan worked, but this time around, the Tigers are going to be contending with a completely different style. The Seahawks are still run-first, but their first-round win over South Aiken also brought about another rarity. Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1664222' first='Derrick' last='Raniszewski'] threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns on a 14-of-16 throwing performance. It was by far his best passing game of the season and his career. The same can be said for [player_tooltip player_id='1822847' first='Kaden' last='Stewart'] (four receptions, 168 yards, two touchdowns last week). Was it all part of a long-term play to not only win the game, but put more on film for this week? Possibly. But if it becomes a pattern fans could be in for a heck of a game. Wilson defensive backs Davon Bowman and [player_tooltip player_id='1623916' first='Brian' last='Wilson II'] have meshed well into the established defenders from last season. And if Hilton Head goes back to his base plans with [player_tooltip player_id='1422535' first='Jayvin' last='Risher'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1603740' first='Thaddeus' last='Czarnecki'] keeping the bulk of the offensive snaps on the ground, the Wilson defense is one that held some pretty good rushing attacks just enough in check to give quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1734485' first='Tristen' last='Howard'] (1,868 yards, 19 touchdowns) enough slack to keep his own rhythm.   X-Factor: Tigers freshman tailback Zyier Lyde saw his first varsity action on October 9 in a region loss to Lower Richland. His second appearance was the four-touchdown loss to South Florence a week later, and that didn't go so hot (for anyone on the Wilson roster). In the last two weeks, though, Lyde has shown why the staff wanted him in the mix. He put up 87 yards and a touchdown against Darlington in the regular-season finale and then last week he popped off for 120 yards and another score. He's a big body who can take traditional or wildcat snaps and make them count.

In the final South Carolina High School Football Media Poll that was released on November 4, Class 4A was full of teams that had won at least seven games during the regular season.