Class 4A Lower State First Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class 4A Lower State field was altered with last week's announcement that Ridge View was forced to forfeit eight games and was thus ineligible for the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The move bumped a few teams up the seeding order and created matchups that will undoubtedly lead to some funky scores. But what was left was a number of teams still going after the same goal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Making it to Columbia.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The quest begins Friday with eight games and even more storylines.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wilson (5-5) at AC Flora (10-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's no big secret to what Wilson will try to do here, and it starts with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443503' first='Tremel' last='Echols']</strong> (2,138 yards, 30 TDs) and receivers [player_tooltip player_id='336114' first='Zandae' last='Butler'] (758 yards, 14 TDs) and Jyrion Waiters (650 yards, 10 TDs). AC Flora will counter with a contrasting style that features tailback [player_tooltip player_id='202726' first='Markel' last='Townsend'], a player on a fast track to a 2,000-yard rushing campaign.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: AC Flora</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lucy Beckham (7-3) at Hartsville (6-4)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lucy Beckham has played some tough teams this year, but very few offenses like Hartsville's. The Red Foxes scored more points than all but two teams in Class 4A (Greenville and Northwestern) during the regular season, riding the wave of tailbacks [player_tooltip player_id='208339' first='Carmello' last='McDaniel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='202738' first='J'Shawn' last='Anderson']. No running back tandem in the state packs this much punch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Hartsville</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lugoff-Elgin (5-5) at West Florence (9-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West has little choice but to pick itself up off the mat after the knockout delivered by South Florence last week. That means the Knights will look to re-establish their potent ground game, one led by tailback <strong>Darren Lloyd</strong> and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='336138' first='Deuce' last='Hudson']. The duo have already rushed for close to 2,500 yards and 30-plus touchdowns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: West Florence&nbsp;</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Myrtle Beach (4-6) at May River (5-5)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On paper, this one looks like a great matchup of run-first teams. Myrtle Beach's [player_tooltip player_id='402500' first='Malachi' last='Washington'] and May River's Jaiden Jones are each over 1,000 yards rushing on the season, and the complements from Seahawk senior [player_tooltip player_id='146360' first='Cam' last='Ward'] and Sharks' sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360121' first='Tanner' last='Macy']</strong> in the ground game will help dictate the flow of this one.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: May River</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Myrtle Beach (2-8) at Irmo (7-3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand'] (pictured) is developing himself into one of the best young quarterbacks in the state. The coach's son is still only a sophomore, yet he's been leading the Yellow Jackets to some high-quality football the last six games. North Myrtle's defense isn't a big sack squad, but the likes of <strong>Chase Sturgeon</strong> (57 tackles) and <strong>Trenton Fredricks</strong> (44.5) will have to contain the edge.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Irmo</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>York (5-5) at James Island (9-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most underreported stories in the state this year is how good the James Island defense has been. The Trojans are giving up fewer than seven points per game and have held eight opponents to single digits. The biggest reasons? <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='277543' first='Walker' last='Woodall']</strong> (61.5 tackles, 21 TFL), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443523' first='Gemoi' last='Brown']</strong> (51 tackles, 4 FF) and <strong>Tykell Maxwell</strong> (35.5 tackles, 15 TFL, 6 sacks).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: James Island</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bluffton (4-6) at Westwood (4-6)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A healthy <strong>Max Vonhohenstraeten</strong> is bad news for Westwood. All the 6-foot-3 quarterback has done since returning from a midseason absence is throw for 195 yards against May River and then pass for school-record-tying six touchdowns against Colleton County. Vonhohenstraeten will have a chance to put up some big numbers against a Westwood defense that allowed more than five touchdowns per game this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: Bluffton</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Richland Northeast (2-8) at South Florence (10-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While all eyes will be on South Florence quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='146356' first='LaNorris' last='Sellers'], this game will be a perfect opportunity for the Bruins to go all in on tailback <strong>Shikeem Shilow</strong>, who has already rushed for 900 yards this year. This is as close to a gimme game as you'll see, and South simply needs to get in and get out without risking too much in terms of player health.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: South Florence&nbsp;</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->