Class 4A Lower State Finals Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The matchup that seemed destined to happen is here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Florence and AC Flora will meet in Friday's Class 4A Lower State finals in the Midlands. These two squads have been on a collision course for some time, and they've made laughers of their first three playoff games to make this one happen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South dispatched Richland Northeast, Bluffton and James Island by a combined scored of 163-39. Flora took care of Wilson, Hartsville and West Florence (yes, three teams from the Bruins' Region VI-4A) by a combined margin of 152-67.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Neither of these teams have lost a game this fall, and they've each only had two of their games decided by single digits. Needless to say, this game checks all of the excitement boxes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Florence linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='263155' first='Jaylin' last='William Davis'] entered the year with high expectations. He's exceeded them. With another two sacks in the third-round win over James Island, the senior now has 13 on the year to go along with 22 total tackles for loss and more than 75 tackles (60 solo).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His linebacking mate, [player_tooltip player_id='263156' first='Trokel' last='Prew'], has also used the team's flex scheme to his advantage from the middle. Prew is fast approaching 100 total tackles this season and is a threat for double-digit figures every game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>AC Flora is every bit of a defensive unit, with probably too many players to name here. However, junior linebacker <strong>Eric McClain</strong> and junior safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997228' first='Ryan' last='Biggerstaff']</strong> (who also has three picks this year) are the players often flirting with big-tackle performances, while senior linemen <strong>Andre Thomas</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='202750' first='Braxton' last='Burton'] have been playing great football in the playoffs. Those two each recorded a fumble recovery the in the third-round win over West Florence. Thomas also has five sacks in his last three games, while Burton - a 6-foot-3, 305-pounder - takes up enough room there to allow the guys behind him to maximize their potential. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202733' first='Carew' last='Bates']</strong> has developed into the perfect quarterback for AC Flora this year. After adding a 9-of-12 night against West Florence, the senior has now thrown for just shy of 1,700 yards this year. That part won't blow anyway away, but here's the reason why that matters: He's completing 72 percent of his passes this year and has only three interceptions (compared to 22 touchdowns). Bates doesn't make mistakes, and that means more opportunities for the two highlight reels on standby.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='202725' first='Chris' last='Lofton'] has nearly 800 yards receiving this year to go along with his eight touchdown receptions. The James Madison verbal commitment has shrugged off double teams and deep safeties to remain a valuable asset to the Falcons' offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big dog, of course, is [player_tooltip player_id='202726' first='Markel' last='Townsend']. In 13 games this season, the senior tailback has racked up 2,503 yards and 36 rushing touchdowns. He's come a long way since the Falcons' 2020 state championship season in which he was part of a three-headed monster out of the backfield, and Townsend will likely best the numbers that he, <strong>Matt Pack</strong> and <strong>Terrell Coleman</strong> put up as a group that season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Shikeem Shilow</strong> received the message. After getting sat down in the second-round win, he stormed back out of the gate against James Island. He finished with 228 yards and a score, pushing him to 1,236 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bruins receivers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='336150' first='Evin' last='Singletary']</strong> (978 yards, 12 touchdowns) and [player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers'] (680, 10, pictured) have continued to do their thing despite the absence of <strong>Jabray Johnson</strong>, who is out for the year after suffering a leg injury two weeks ago. With three receptions each against James Island, the duo each went over 100 yards and caught multiple touchdowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And when it comes to the wow effect spurring the whole operation, look no further than South quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='146356' first='LaNorris' last='Sellers']. In the playoffs alone, Sellers has thrown for 13 touchdowns, rushed for another and added a pair of two-point conversion runs. If South wins Friday, he'll have every chance at surpassing both the 3,000-yard passing mark and the 1,000-yard rushing plateau.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>X-FACTOR</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While everyone will be keeping an eye on Singletary and [player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers'] on the outside, don't sleep on junior <strong>Juan Fargas</strong>. The receiver saw limited time for a duration of the year but has proved his abilities to get open while defenses focus on the other two. Case in point: Against Richland Northeast in the first round, [player_tooltip player_id='146356' first='LaNorris' last='Sellers'] hit Fargas for a 37-yard touchdown to open the scoring. He's also got a 65-yard reception and two other scores in five total games this fall, so South Florence clearly isn't afraid to target him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Edge: South Florence</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->