Class A Upper State Second Round Preview

The state's smallest classification might have the best matchups in the second round, particularly in the Upper State. Lewisville and Abbeville have been on a collision course since the preseason. C.A. Johnson and Blackville-Hilda could be a defensive slugfest, and the Hawks are red-hot. Ware Shoals is the best 2 seed in the bracket, and HKT has been destroying teams. And upstart Wagener-Salley will try to prove that defense travels as they take on Lamar. Here's a look at the second round in Class A in the Upper State.   NO. 2 LEWISVILLE (7-4) AT NO. 1 ABBEVILLE (9-2)   Lewisville absolutely demolished Whitmire in Round one, routing the Wolverines 62-0. [player_tooltip player_id='1822769' first='Jalen' last='Culp'] threw just seven passes, completed five, and three of those were touchdowns. AJ Price, [player_tooltip player_id='1165159' first='Jordan' last='Strong'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1267330' first='Jacorreun' last='Howze'] combined for eight touchdowns for the Lions. The defense never allowed Whitmire to mount much of any kind of threat on offense, as [player_tooltip player_id='1639690' first='Eden' last='Gaston'] and Jaysean Culp had 10 tackles each. Culp had five tackles for loss as the Lions added 10 of those in total, the Lions forced three turnovers, and pretty much everything went right for Lewisville.   And now here comes Abbeville, in a showdown that a lot of folks were anticipating even before the season started. The Panthers beat Great Falls 63-0, with a bunch of players making an early impact. [player_tooltip player_id='1816946' first='Collins' last='Brown'] and MiDarius Burton scored early for Abbeville and the Panthers continued to pile on the points, leading 42-0 at the half and cruising to the win. [player_tooltip player_id='1822461' first='Jaylen' last='Baylor'] had a pick, [player_tooltip player_id='1816951' first='Jaden' last='Baylor'] provided some power in the ground game, and [player_tooltip player_id='1700046' first='Darius' last='Riley'] scored as a receiver, providing one more wrinkle for folks to deal with. Zack Jordan and [player_tooltip player_id='1818894' first='Tre' last='Jackson'] lived in the Great Falls backfield, piling up tackles for loss for the Panthers in a great all-around effort.   X-FACTOR: [player_tooltip player_id='1267330' first='Jacorreun' last='Howze'] ATH, Lewisville (pictured) - Look, we know we've been kind of singling out guys here who are a little bit under-the-radar. Howze is decidedly not. But in a big game against Class A's 500-pound monster, he's the guy to watch. He just does SO MUCH for the Lions that has to be accounted for on every play that it's dumb to have this category in this game and not include him. He's a playmaker with eye-popping speed, and plenty of power for his size. You want a difference-maker? Here he is.    NO. 3 C.A. JOHNSON (6-5) AT NO. 2 BLACKVILLE-HILDA (6-5)   The Hornets got a huge night on the defensive side of the ball in Round 1, beating Calhoun County 12-0. [player_tooltip player_id='1821479' first='Johnathon' last='Jenkins'] had 13 total tackles for C.A. Johnson, [player_tooltip player_id='1824183' first='Kwame' last='Brooks'] added nine, and [player_tooltip player_id='1824188' first='Khaled' last='Chestnut'] had eight tackles and two sacks. [player_tooltip player_id='1824184' first='Terrell' last='Golson'] made five stops and had four tackles for loss, and Jaiden Keitt had seven tackles, a tackle for loss, and an interception. Offensively, [player_tooltip player_id='1816883' first='Stacey' last='Isaac'] threw for 123 yards and tossed a touchdown to [player_tooltip player_id='1816246' first='Carter' last='Bennett'], who had 75 receiving yards on three catches. Golson added 98 yards on the ground.   The Hawks' success this season has come at the hands of their defense, and they turned in another good performance in the first round in a 15-0 win over McCormick. They got a goal-line stand turnover on downs to end the first half, [player_tooltip player_id='1856509' first='Kaiden' last='Davis'] picked off a pass in the third quarter, and the offense did enough to get the win. Davis had a couple of long gains on the ground and caught a TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1036784' first='Kaiden' last='Aiken'], while [player_tooltip player_id='1395064' first='Messiah' last='McFadden'] had a good all-around performance in the win.   X-FACTOR: [player_tooltip player_id='1856564' first='Ricky' last='Richberg'] RB/LB, Blackville-Hilda - Richberg is a thumper at LB, and he flies to the ball and makes plays. But in Round 1, he showed a little versatility, lining up in the backfield and scoring a touchdown on a power run. If Richberg can continue to bring that kind of wrinkle, he'll be huge for the Hawks.     NO. 2 WARE SHOALS (10-1) AT NO. 1 HUNTER-KINARD-TYLER (9-2)   The Hornets thumped Ridge Spring-Monetta in the first round, getting dominant performances on both sides of the ball. [player_tooltip player_id='1821508' first='Jayden' last='Johnson'] ran for 146 yards and threw for 113 more, accounting for four total touchdowns. Two of this scoring passes went to [player_tooltip player_id='1639783' first='Altavis' last='Evans'], who continued to show why he's one of the best backs in the state as he added 149 yards and another score on the ground. And the Hornets completely smothered the Trojans' offense, with 18 tackles for loss and six sacks in the game. Joshua Winbush, [player_tooltip player_id='1267314' first='Elijah' last='Brown'], and Charles Callaham all had three tackles for loss each, and six different Hornets recorded a sack.   HKT made quick work of Lee Central piling up points in a 56-14 win. [player_tooltip player_id='1824353' first='Keiondre' last='Bell'] and the offense had a big first half, and [player_tooltip player_id='1811059' first='De'Nyrion' last='Cave'] and the defense kept the Stallions in check pretty much all night. Lee Central scored 50 points in the first half and cruised down the stretch, getting a ton of guys a bunch of valuable playoff experience.   X-FACTOR: Tyrell Cunningham WR/DB, Ware Shoals - Cunningham is one of those guys you need to win playoff games. As the Hornets shine in the run game, Cunningham is one of their best blockers on the outside. He's much more than that, though, as he's also Ware Shoals' second-leading receiver, third-leading rusher, and fourth-best tackler. Oh, and he leads the team in interceptions, with two last Friday and EIGHT overall. Cunningham is a dude. He'll have an impact.    NO. 4 WAGENER-SALLEY (5-6) AT NO 1. LAMAR (9-2)   Wagener-Salley turned in an outstanding defensive performance in a Round 1 win over Dixie, limiting the Hornets' high-output offense to just nine points. They did it by holding the Hornets to just 143 total yards in an all-hands-on-deck defensive performance, with guys like [player_tooltip player_id='816739' first='Rayfield' last='Bell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1639816' first='Rayvon' last='Chandler'] helping to lead the way. The War Eagles found the going tough offensively as well, but Jaiden Collins ran for a touchdown and caught another, accounting for all of Wagener-Salley's points and sending them to the second round.   The top-seeded Silver Foxes blasted Calhoun Falls, winning 49-0 and pretty much putting the game away on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id='1817566' first='Nygel' last='Eaddy'] ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries on the night to lead Lamar. [player_tooltip player_id='1422623' first='DQ' last='Green'], [player_tooltip player_id='1822293' first='Juju' last='Morris'], and Tom Katko all added rushing touchdowns for Lamar as they piled up 291 yards on the ground. Green recovered a fumble and [player_tooltip player_id='1822295' first='Jaylen' last='Morris'] picked off a pass as Lamar's defense recorded their fourth shutout of the season.   X-Factor: Kamil McCoy WR, Lamar - McCoy is a burner, as evidenced by his 19.8 yards per catch average. He's a No. 2 receiver who's plenty good enough to be a No. 1 guy a lot of places, and he's the perfect complement to Morris. The Foxes haven't had to throw it a lot, but McCoy is a game-changing option when they do.

The state's smallest classification might have the best matchups in the second round, particularly in the Upper State. Lewisville and Abbeville have been on a collision course since the preseason. C.A. Johnson and Blackville-Hilda could be a defensive slugfest, and the Hawks are red-hot. Ware Shoals is the best 2 seed in the bracket, and HKT has been destroying teams. And upstart Wagener-Salley will try to prove that defense travels as they take on Lamar. Here's a look at the second round in Class A in the Upper State.