Class 5A Lower State Second Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've gotten the first round of the playoffs out of the way and now the top four seeds in the Class 5A Lower State playoffs will enter the action against last week's winners.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What does all that mean? Will it show the teams that played captured some momentum? Or will it show that the week of rest helped the top seeds recharge and rejuvenate. We will find all that out this coming Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We look at the four games and eight times still vying for a spot in the state championship game the first weekend in December.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>NO. 1 JAMES ISLAND (10-0) AT NO. 9 FORT DORCHESTER (6-5)</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>EDITOR'S NOTE:</em></strong> <em>James Island is not allowed to host a playoff game in 2026 due to penalties from offseason practice sessions.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriots advanced with a 34-24 win over Wando in the first round. If they're going to have a chance against the Trojans high-powered offense, they will need defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2477735' first='Isaiah' last='Fields']</strong> (17 tackles, two TFL, one forced fumble) and linebacker/defensive end <strong>Mac Floyd</strong> (14 tackles, one TFL) to duplicate their efforts in that game. Add in the three sacks from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816262' first='Kasa' last='Milo']</strong> and Fort Dorchester had a solid game plan against the Warriors. Linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821069' first='Ryan' last='Simmons']</strong> (14 tackles, one TFL) is also going to have to contribute mightily.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When you look at the Trojans, there are very little weaknesses. They're averaging 48.4 points per game and allowing 11.7 points per outing. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820390' first='Brady' last='Dantzler']</strong> has over 2,000 yards passing, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='485450' first='Mykell' last='Warthen']</strong> has over 1,300 yards rushing and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='874321' first='Raphael' last='Puiu']</strong> has put up over 1,100 yards receiving. Defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1896110' first='Rob' last='Grant']</strong> has been someone that creates total havoc on that side of the ball. Overall, he has just 38 tackles in nine games, but he has 20.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. The Patriots are going to need to find a way to slow him down to not be so disruptive in the backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>X-Factor:</strong></em> We mentioned over the weekend what <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2400835' first='Landon' last='Freeman']</strong> (three passing touchdowns, one rushing) did against Wando, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2477725' first='Liam' last='Chapman']</strong> was able to keep the chains moving. The sophomore running back averaged five yards per carry and finished with 85 yards on 17 carries. Anything Fort Dorchester can do to keep James Island's offense at bay will work in the Patriots' favor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/23685556/6aafd31c5016db6ddb6c2454u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6af298d79fa96"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 5 SUMMERVILLE (8-3) AT NO. 4 CAROLINA FOREST (8-2)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Summerville has won six in a row and has gone somewhat unnoticed since suffering that three-game losing streak to open September. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams']</strong> scored three touchdowns in the 28-7 first round win over Blythewood. Add in the performance of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2349057' first='Toreyion' last='Jackson']</strong> (two catches, 65 yards, one touchdown) and <strong>Jaelyn Pounds</strong> (four catches, 60 yards) and the Green Wave have been hitting on a lot of cylinders. The Green Wave defense limited the Bengals to 176 yards of total offense and had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1940963' first='Sean' last='Sturdivant']</strong> (17 tackles, one TFL) and <strong>TJ Aiken</strong> (11 tackles, four TFL, two sacks and four QB hurries) had a lot to do with that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carolina Forest has been a more balanced team this season. They've run the ball for 2,106 yards and thrown for 1,637. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823591' first='Matthew' last='Kellner']</strong> is the one that runs the show. He's thrown for 1,560 yards and rushed for an additional 432 yards, which is third best on the team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823603' first='Christian' last='Bennett']</strong> (815 yards and 11 touchdowns) and <strong>Kaiden Bridges</strong> (547 yards and five touchdowns) pace the attack. Bridges has two 100-yard games in his last three outings and is getting more touches than he was earlier in the season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672894' first='Brady' last='McDowell']</strong> is definitely the favorite target of Kellner. McDowell has 45 receptions for 1,218 yards and 15 touchdowns. Linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1577696' first='Connor' last='Ross']</strong> (70 tackles) is going to key on Williams and the Green Wave running game to force them into more passing situations. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-Factor:</em></strong> Summerville's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816961' first='Demarcus' last='King']</strong> (pictured above) recorded 18 tackles and two tackles for loss in the first-round victory. He's going to need to be just that active against a Carolina Forest team that will run the football all night if they start getting four and five yards an attempt. &nbsp; Summerville had 13 tackles for loss and four sacks against Blythewood and with King being right in the middle of all the action, he's going to be called upon to be the same type of force this coming Friday<em>.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 7 GRAY COLLEGIATE (5-6) AT NO. 2 BERKELEY (9-1)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We think this could be a fun one and hope the scoreboard is ready to keep up. This will feature two explosive offenses and a Gray Collegiate defense that allows an eye-popping 33.6 points per game. The War Eagles will need spirited efforts from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422610' first='Jack' last='Armstrong']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2083018' first='Carson' last='Cartwright']</strong> on the defensive line. <strong>Ryan Mobley</strong> in the secondary and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1824729' first='Domarion' last='Wilson']</strong> at linebacker must stay honest against the Stags receivers but also able to come up and support stopping the run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berkeley is very balanced with 1,898 yards passing and 2,251 yards rushing. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers']</strong> (1,896 yards passing and a team best 819 yards rushing) almost looks like a video game at times. He's a dual threat that hurts teams with his arm and his legs. Add <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1151306' first='Bryson' last='McGee'] [player_tooltip player_id='1818556' first='Lj' last='Washington']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2133332' first='Rashard' last='Davis']</strong> at running back and the Stags just come at you in waves. Seven players have at least 10 receptions and over 172 yards. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2079769' first='Malik' last='Callen']</strong> leads the deep and talented receiver group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-Factor:</em></strong> Gray Collegiate QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1623307' first='Xavier' last='Wright']</strong> has thrown for over 2,800 yards and partners with receivers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1647592' first='Corey' last='Gleaton']</strong> (56 catches/1,086 yards/8 TD's) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1319663' first='Royce' last='Williamson']</strong> (39 catches/700 yards/8 TD's) along with running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036777' first='Trevon' last='Williamson']</strong> (1,142 yards rushing/12 TD's) to form one of the best set of skill position players in the state. But Wright has thrown 12 interceptions. And he will be facing a defense that has 13 interceptions with 11 different players picking off a pass. Defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2325399' first='Chance' last='Coleman']</strong> leads the way with 10 sacks for a team that has 32 total. The War Eagles will need to score nearly every time they touch the ball to keep up with the Stags.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/26586919/6af0b00ef5440f2aa7748908u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6af298d79fabb"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>NO. 6 SUMTER (7-4) AT NO. 3 RIDGE VIEW (7-2)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a rematch from October 16 when the Blazers knocked off Sumter 40-35 in a thriller. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603974' first='Franklin' last='Richardson']</strong> was hurt near the end of the first half in that one and while he played in the second half, he wasn't nearly as effective. He did finish with over 100 yards rushing as Sumter had 439 yards of total offense that night with the Blazers having just 361 but two Gamecock fumbles turned out to be key.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sumter is 89 yards shy of 4,000 rushing yards on the season with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2401154' first='Jamarion' last='Witherspoon']</strong> (1,286 yards) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817005' first='Reggie' last='Shannon']</strong> (1,157 yards) leading the way. In the 49-7 first round win over Ashley Ridge, those two combined for 370 yards on 29 carries. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818349' first='Damarion' last='Holmes']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818345' first='Jordan' last='Lewis']</strong> led the defense with nine and seven tackles respectively and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818350' first='Carmelo' last='Harriett']</strong> collected two of the four interceptions Sumter ended the night with.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ridge View is going to counter with a trio of receivers that could rank among the best in the state. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172363' first='Khristian' last='Jackson']</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603911' first='Isaiah' last='Small']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172370' first='Kanye' last='Reed']</strong> will give any defensive coordinator nightmares. Add in the running of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149057' first='Spencer' last='Bobian']</strong> and the passing of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='840548' first='Tre' last='Howard']</strong> and there's little surprise the Blazers have scored over 40 points in each of the final five games of the regular season and at least that many in six of the seven wins. Howard was 21-of-26 for 309 yards and three touchdowns in the first contest between the region rivals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>X-Factor:</em></strong> Sumter only has 394 yards passing on the season, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817006' first='Joshu' last='Pendergrass']</strong> has 216 yards and 23 receptions on the 58 completed passes. If the Gamecocks can break Pendergrass for a couple of long passes, that will open things in the running game even more. The longest pass of the season for Sumter was a 40-yarder to Pendergrass. He did have three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting between the two schools. He's also a factor in the return game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/28875159/6ae5fac08405e6ad51f0fed4u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6af298d79facd"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->