Week 11 Lower State Game Balls

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's no denying that every game night in high school football offers an opportunity to make a statement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Season opener? Tone setter. Final non-region game? Boost into the playoff chase. Regular-season finale? The chance to show that you're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 11 was a big case of the latter, with an awful lot of those rivalry week bragging rights sprinkled in right on the top.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Needless to say, players in the Lower State took full advantage of their shot at making a statement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Offense. Defense. Special teams. Region clinchers. Playoff boosters. Record setters. The Lower State had it all, and then some, to close out October, and the following is a group that made sure to finish off the regular season on a high note.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jayden Barrell</strong> LB, [player_tooltip player_id='1840755' first='Malik' last='Cuyler'] DL and Tanner Padgett QB, Aiken</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aiken's defense had another big night in the backfield to help the Hornets beat rival South Aiken for the first time since 2015 with a 46-28 victory. Barrell, a sophomore, etched his name in rivalry lore with 17 tackles (seven for loss) and a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown, and Cuyler made nine tackles (six for loss) with two sacks, a forced fumble and three QB hurries. The offense did its fair share, too, piling up 393 total yards while scoring five times. Padgett capped his Aiken career with one of his best stat lines, going 17-for-22 for 267 yards and four touchdowns without an interception to lead his team to some long-awaited redemption.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/23040239/6ae657054116d1d20ea654c6u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae685c7d5a3b"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1426798' first='Cameron' last='McCue'] DB, [player_tooltip player_id='1151306' first='Bryson' last='McGee'] RB, [player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='2325418' first='Malikye' last='Robinson'] DB, Berkeley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berkeley took matters into its own hands in the Region VI-5A title hunt, blasting Socastee 62-28 to bring home the league crown outright. McCue returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown, McGee needed only six carries to rack up 179 yards and three touchdowns, including a 63-yarder on the first play from scrimmage, Rivers (pictured) went 15-for-16 passing for 240 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a 61-yard score, and Robinson returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1717939' first='Nigil' last='Fripp'] RB/WR, Hampton County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hampton County polished off an unbeaten run through Region VII-A with a 21-14 win over Hardeeville, thanks in large part to Fripp's exploits. He ran the ball 25 times for 253 yards and two touchdowns, and he'll enter the postseason less than 100 yards away from 2,000 for the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1822839' first='Josh' last='Bigger'] DL, Hilton Head</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bigger didn't have a ton of time to make a big impact during Friday's 49-12 demolition of Beaufort, but he made his time on the field count. He compiled 10 solo tackles with seven for loss, a sack and three forced fumbles in only one half of play as the Seahawks cruised to a perfect finish in Region VI-4A. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1816126' first='Antonio' last='James'] WR, [player_tooltip player_id='1422629' first='Roderick' last='Purcha'] ATH and [player_tooltip player_id='1422632' first='Makel' last='Stephens'] RB, Loris</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loris is heading into the postseason with eight wins and some positive momentum following back-to-back wins, including Friday night's 42-8 steamrolling of Aynor. James returned a fumble 38 yards for a touchdown, caught a 44-yard touchdown pass and made an interception on defense, Purcha rushed for a touchdown and added a 108-yard pick-six, and Stephens placed his name atop the program's career rushing yards list by toting it eight times for 169 yards and two touchdowns, reaching 3,594 yards for his career to break the record previously held by current Loris principal [player_tooltip player_id='1820054' first='Jimmy' last='McCullough'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20184875/6ae6175efd30f1c6a503263cu0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae685c7d5a5d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Henry Hankins</strong> FB/OL/DL, <strong>Johnny Jervey</strong> LB/FB, <strong>Whitfield King</strong> LB/TE and [player_tooltip player_id='2413907' first='Waylon' last='Walker'] ATH, Lucy Beckham</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lucy Beckham picked up its fourth consecutive victory heading into the postseason with a 57-14 beating of Colleton County. Hankins ran the ball 15 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns, Jervey made five tackles for loss with two sacks, two QB hurries and a fumble recovery, King was in on 2.5 tackles with a sack, a pass break-up and an interception, and Walker ran it 16 times for 194 yards and a touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bryson Mims</strong> LB/RB, [player_tooltip player_id='1818416' first='Zy' last='Rouse'] ATH and [player_tooltip player_id='1615095' first='Kaden' last='Wigfall'] ATH, Strom Thurmond</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strom Thurmond bounced back from its first loss of the season by beating Orangeburg-Wilkinson 56-27 in the regular-season finale. Mims intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, Rouse ran the ball 17 times for 120 yards and four touchdowns, and Wigfall carried it 19 times for 129 yards and a score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2151262' first='Jaquaylen' last='Dennis-Harriett'] DB, <strong>Josh Pendergrass</strong> WR, [player_tooltip player_id='1817005' first='Reggie' last='Shannon'] RB, [player_tooltip player_id='2401154' first='Jamarion' last='Witherspoon'] RB, Sumter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sumter heads into the playoffs winners of three of its last four, including Friday's 56-7 victory over Spring Valley. Dennis-Harriett had a hand in eight total tackles with a combo sack, and his four tackles for loss resulted in 20 yards lost for the Vikings, Pendergrass caught two touchdown passes, Shannon ran for 85 yards and two scores, and Witherspoon had seven carries for 172 yards with a 99-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1856861' first='Garrison' last='Copeland'] WR/DB, [player_tooltip player_id='1825259' first='Isaiah' last='Gee'] QB and [player_tooltip player_id='2163605' first='Robert' last='Mack'] RB/LB, Trinity Collegiate</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trinity Collegiate halted a four-game losing streak Friday with a 49-45 win over Spartanburg Christian. Copeland had four catches for 117 yards and three touchdowns and also intercepted a pass, Gee went 17-for-30 for 275 yards and four touchdowns with an additional score on the ground, and Mack totaled 192 yards of offense with two scores of his own.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src=u0022https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/22958389/6ae5f2934c6fff753882d326u0022 width=u0022640u0022 height=u0022360u0022 frameborder=u00220u0022 allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae685c7d5a6e"} /-->