Class 2A Upper State Third Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For a while now, thinking of the 2A playoffs, particularly deep in the 2A playoffs, meant rugged run games and tenacious defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Well, nothing's changed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This week, four teams that can grind it out and try to keep you from doing it will meet in the Upper State semifinals, as a pair of number one seeds meet when Batesburg-Leesville visits Clinton and Central, the only 2 seed left, travels to Fairfield Central. Here's a look at the matchups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 1 Batesburg-Leesville (12-0) at No. 1 Clinton (9-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one has seemed like a collision course for a while. The Panthers emerged from a tough Region II-2A, out-dueling Saluda and Strom Thurmond and finishing the regular season undefeated. They thumped Andrew Jackson 49-14 in the second round behind a tried-and-true formula: lean on QB <strong>Tanner Watkins</strong> and RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267286' first='Amadre' last='Wooden']</strong>, and on a stingy defense. It's been the reason for their success, as Watkins has thrown for 1,245 yards and 16 touchdowns and Wooden has rushed for 1,543 and 19 scores. The defense, meanwhile, has allowed just a hair more than a touchdown per game, 7.5 points, and has shut out five opponents. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1472383' first='Christian' last='Burkett']</strong> has 77 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, and an interceptions, but five more Panthers have at least 47 tackles and two - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592414' first='KD' last='Whitt']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1574124' first='Jamerius' last='Clark']</strong> - have three interceptions each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Red Devils look just like they've looked since Corey Fountain's been at the helm - tough, physical, fast, and committed to running the football. Clinton's rushed for 50 touchdowns and almost 3,700 yards, and they do a great job of spreading the ball around. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1161156' first='Javen' last='Cook']</strong> has 1,370 yards, more than double the next Red Devil, but four more guys have more than 350, as <strong>KJ Vance</strong>, <strong>DJ Clark</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603772' first='Rhett' last='Gilliam']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012830' first='Tushawan' last='Richardson']</strong> have all eclipsed that number. Richardson has also thrown for more than 1,000 and 12 TDs, showing the ability to do much more than just keep defenses honest. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360221' first='Cal' last='Pitts']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1247389' first='Hunter' last='Lawson']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241184' first='Rion' last='Gordon']</strong> pave the way up front for the Red Devils, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='150043' first='Brett' last='Young'] </strong>leads a hard-hitting, attacking defense that has 58 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks on the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchup Within The Matchup: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's tough to run on the Red Devils. Chester managed 131 yards on 28 carries in round two, but more than half of that - 73 yards - came on a long, late touchdown. Clinton will likely gear that stout defense toward stopping Wooden. That leaves Watkins with his most reliable targets - Whitt and Clark - to try to create some havoc downfield. They've combined for more than 900 yards and all 16 of the Panthers' receiving TDs. It will be interesting to see if <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578907' first='Austin' last='Boyd']</strong>, <strong>Bryson Perrin</strong>, <strong>Kason Copeland</strong>, and the rest of the Red Devils' secondary can win enough matchups to make the Panthers truly one-dimensional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Underclassman Impact: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clinton just keeps sending guys at you in the running game, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603990' first='Angelo' last='Cromer'] </strong>is a good one. He's carried 43 times for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Red Devils, and is as tough and hard-nosed a runner as you'd expect from a Clinton back. He's also contributed 20 tackles and three hurries. On a team loaded with seniors and juniors, those contributions from a sophomore jump out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20155695/67430f88834089630bfae2cf' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67453032d496d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 2 Central (10-2) at No. 1 Fairfield Central</strong> <strong>(11-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles came up with the only lower-seeded win in the second round in Upper State 2A, scoring a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to down Saluda 25-15. The Eagles rushed for 357 yards in the contest, led by <strong>Ashton Wilson</strong> with 179 yards on the ground. He's Central's leading rusher, with 827 yards on the year, but the Eagles are incredibly balanced in the run game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639753' first='Aiden' last='Short']</strong> is close behind at 706 yards, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254093' first='Tray' last='Wilson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664364' first='Dwayne' last='Louallen']</strong> each have more than 400. Louallen has thrown for more than 1,200 yards, and in a bit of an oddity, six Eagles have attempted a pass this season. On defense, Central is very, very good. They've got 61.5 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, and 30 takeaways, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639763' first='Marques' last='Allen']</strong> leading the way with 73.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fairfield Central blew past Chesnee 41-6 in round two, led by Shrine Bowl RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012718' first='TyDarion' last='Grier']</strong>. Grier had 189 total yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone as the Griffins built a 34-0 halftime lead and cruised to the win. Grier makes it go for the Griffins, with 1600 yards and 31 total touchdowns on the year, but he's far from Fairfield Central's only weapon. <strong>Kaden Diggs</strong> and <strong>Kenyan Douglas</strong> both have more than 400 rushing yards, and Diggs has thrown for 546 and a touchdown, splitting time with <strong>Ford Davis</strong>. Four Griffins have more than 85 tackles on the year, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578741' first='Chauncery' last='Turner'] </strong>leading the team with 99 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and five sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchup Within The Matchup:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fairfield Central scores a ton of points. A lot. To the tune of more than 43 points per game. Yes, Grier accounts for a lot of that, but nobody else really pops out, the Griffins are just balanced the rest of the way across the board and get in the end zone a lot. Central's got a guy who might have a say in stopping that. <strong>Kobe Davis</strong> is a defensive monster. He's got 49 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks, and five fumble recoveries. He's just kind of all over the place all the time, and will be key in limiting the Griffins offensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Underclassman Impact:</strong> <strong>Marzavious Allen</strong> is just about guaranteed to have an impact on this game. The rangy Allen is active and physical, and he has a nose for the ball. He's got 32 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, three fumble recoveries, and two forced fumbles on the year, and has shown the ability to make some game-changing plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20544559/6742037e08227b3a7678ddad' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67453032d499e"} /-->