Upper/Lower State games.....all classes
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2024 2:11 pm
It is the next to last week of the 2024 high school football season and state championship game berths are on the line. Most of this week's games are the games people have either expected or hoped for. Also, let's see how the SCHSL seedings worked out.
CLASS 5-A DIVISION 1
Upper State: SPARTANBURG #2 at DUTCH FORK #1
Lower State: SUMTER #2 at SUMMERVILLE #1
CLASS 5-A DIVISION 2
Upper State: GAFFNEY #2 at NORTHWESTERN #1
Lower State: WHITE KNOLL #7 at IRMO #1
CLASS 4-A
Upper State: SOUTH POINTE #3 at WESTSIDE #1
Lower State: SOUTH FLORENCE #4 at NORTH AUGUSTA #2
CLASS 3-A
Upper State: BELTON-HONEA PATH #2 at MOUNTAIN VIEW PREP #1
Lower State: OCEANSIDE COLLEGIATE #2 at LORIS #1
CLASS 2-A
Upper State: FAIRFIELD CENTRAL Region 3 Champion at CLINTON Region 1 Champion
Lower State: MANNING Region 7 Champion at BARNWELL Region 5 Champion
CLASS 1-A
Upper State: LEWISVILLE Region 2 Champion at ABBEVILLE Region 1 Champion
Lower State: LAKE VIEW Region 6 Champion at CROSS Region 5 Champion
Kudos to White Knoll for advancing by defeating Lugoff-Elgin #10, Myrtle Beach #2, and Berkeley #3 (sorry, Slick)
Just a few comments before anyone else throws their 2 cents in.
5A-D1
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Upper State: Dutch Fork is the standard everyone else is striving to achieve. Many believe the DF/Spartanburg game is really the state championship game as neither Summerville or Sumter would appear to match up well against against either of the upper state teams. Spartanburg will have to bring a complete game for 4 quarters, meaning absolutely minimal penalties and no turnovers. They played at the beginning of the season is a weather shortened game (lightning). Both teams are much improved since that game. This should be an outstanding game. I would expect a 7-10 point game.
Lower State: Sumter and Summerville bring 12-0 records into this game. Common opponents are James Island, Ashley Ridge, and Ridge View.
Results were:
Summerville 26 James Island 0 vs Sumter 34 James Island 17
Summerville 49 Ashley Ridge 48 vs Sumter 55 Ashley Ridge 24
Summerville 49 Ridge View 20 vs Sumter 49 Ridge View 6
I don't see anything of note from those comparisons. This looks to be the making of a good game. Can the winner match up to DF/Spartanburg?? We shall see in Orangeburg.
5A-D2
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Upper State: Northwestern vs Gaffney is the game people have been look forward to since early in the season. Normally this is a regular season non-region game, but with the realignments, we have had to wait for the playoffs for this one. Northwestern has pretty much cruised through their region schedule while Gaffney would appear to have had a tougher region schedule. Has that made Gaffney more battle toughened? Will Northwestern be prepared to step it up a huge level to play against Gaffney? Can Gaffney's defense limit Northwestern's possessions and keep their potent offense off the field and limit their scoring? Can Northwestern's defense pressure Gaffney's quarterback and force Gaffney into a one-dimensional offense....rushing? Can Northwestern's defensive speed and aggressiveness be controlled to keep the Gaffney quarterback contained in the pocket and not be able to run quarterback draws or scramble on busted plays? This has all the makings of a "classic".
Lower State: Irmo has only 1 loss....to Dutch Fork by 10 (DF 24 Irmo 14). I don't see Irmo having any problems with White Knoll. I don't think this will be a close game. Another big point spread won by Irmo.
4A
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Upper State: South Pointe has greatly improved on offense since they played Northwestern and their starting quarterback returned from injury. Both teams had demonstrated the ability to put lots of points on the board. I think the key to this game is simply which defense will be able to slow down / stop the other team's offense. Also, as is so often, a bad penalty at a bad moment or a turnover could change the entire game. If neither defense shows up, this could be a 64-61 final score.
Lower State: I think South Florence has played a tougher season schedule. They lost early in the season to Summerville (20-46) and Northwestern (7-48). Late in the season, they were defeated by Hartsville (35-54) with their option offense, which is hard to prepare for. Only 3 weeks later, they play again (both games were at Hartsville) and South Florence prevails (49-21). North Augusta brings a 12-1 record with their only loss to Lexington by 1 point (19-20) in game 2 of the season. Offense put fans in the stands, but defense wins championships. Whose defense will prevail in this one? I think South Florence may be a little more seasoned and prevails in a close one.
3A
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Upper State: Mountain View Prep is the team everyone loves to hate this year. This is not the thread to get into all the "stuff" about the program. The team exists within the rules as established by the SCHSL. The real question is how Belton-Honea Path matches up on the football field...team vs team.
Common opponents are Broome, Chapman, Crescent, Southside Christian, and Walhalla.
MVP 49 Broome 20 vs BHP 45 Broome 14
MVP 27 Chapman 9 vs BHP 42 Chapman 7
MVP 48 Crescent 21 (regular season) MVP 30 Crescent 14 (playoff) vs BHP 48 Crescent 21
MVP 49 Southside Christian 7 vs BHP 63 Southside Christian 20
MVP 42 Walhalla 19 vs BHP 49 Walhalla 0
In these match ups, I don't think there is anything that stands out.
Bottom line on this game is two-fold.
1: Pretty much everyone but MVP fans wants MVP to lose based on how the team was put together.
2. Typical football speak - who wins in the trenches, penalties, turnovers, mistakes, defense.
On paper, looks like the makings of a close game. Can the public school of home grown talent prevail??
Lower State: I only know about these teams from what I have seen online.
Common opponents are Hanahan, Waccamaw, and Dillon.
Loris 28 Hanahan 21 vs OCA 49 Hanahan 7
Loris 40 Waccamaw 14 vs OCA 36 Waccamaw 6
Loris 30 Dillon 27 vs OCA 28 Dillon 21
Again, hard to get much from those comparisons.
OCA defeated Ashley Ridge (42-29) and lost to Dutch Fork (0-51). Will these two games give OCA a slight advantage? Loris has only 1 loss....to Socastee (13-14). Should be an interesting game.
2A
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Upper State: Fairfield Central (12-1) vs Clinton (10-2). These are two programs with storied pasts.
Common opponents are Newberry and Chester.
FC 49 Newberry 42 vs Clinton 23 Newberry 14
FC 22 Chester 6 vs Clinton 48 Chester 20
Other games of note: FC lost to Ridge View (18-42) in the first game of the season. FC defeated a quality 1A Upper State finalist Lewisville (33-8). Clinton lost to Woodruff (36-40) in the first game of the season. Clinton lost to Daniel (12-37) mid season. Clinton advance in the playoffs by defeated previously undefeated, and 2A Region 2 champion Batesburg-Leesville (31-14). Season stats show both teams capable of lots of scoring. Clinton appears to give up a few more points per game that FC, but that could be the opponents. Final score prediction? If you are a fan, go to the game and enjoy it. Support your team. One team's defense will need to shut down the other team's running game.
Lower State: Manning (11-1) vs Barnwell (12-1)
One common opponent, Hampton County.
Manning 28 Hampton County 27 (OT) vs Barnwell 27 Hampton County 14.
Honestly, I do not know anything about the teams, so no additional comments.
1A
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Upper State: Abbeville (11-1) is the South Carolina small school powerhouse. In the 1A/2A past, to be the best, you had to be able to defeat Abbeville. Lewisville (12-1) is the recent contender trying to toe up to Abbeville.
Abbeville's only loss is to 2A Region 2 champion Batesburg-Leesville and Lewisville's only loss is to 2A Region 3 champion Fairfield Central (2A upper state finalist by defeating Batesburg-Leesville).
This is the 1A game in the upper state that people have been wanting to see.
Abbeville is still the team to beat. Could this be Lewisville's year? Should be a slobberknocker.
Lower State: Lake View (11-1) vs Cross (11-2)
Common opponents are Scott's Branch, Green Sea Floyd's, and Hannah-Pamplico.
Lake View 41 Scott's Branch 14 vs Cross 54 Scott's Branch 12
Lake View 51 Green Sea Floyd's 8 vs Cross 48 Green Sea Floyd's 0
Lake View 30 Hannah-Pamplico 7 vs Cross 12 Hanna-Pamplico 7
Cross has 7 shutout victories. Lake View has 3 shutout victories.
Does Cross have the better defense or is it just the opponents??
No predictions at all. I don't know enough about the teams.
I am hoping LOTS of comments will come through from LOTS of folks.
Be true to your school!!!
tg78
CLASS 5-A DIVISION 1
Upper State: SPARTANBURG #2 at DUTCH FORK #1
Lower State: SUMTER #2 at SUMMERVILLE #1
CLASS 5-A DIVISION 2
Upper State: GAFFNEY #2 at NORTHWESTERN #1
Lower State: WHITE KNOLL #7 at IRMO #1
CLASS 4-A
Upper State: SOUTH POINTE #3 at WESTSIDE #1
Lower State: SOUTH FLORENCE #4 at NORTH AUGUSTA #2
CLASS 3-A
Upper State: BELTON-HONEA PATH #2 at MOUNTAIN VIEW PREP #1
Lower State: OCEANSIDE COLLEGIATE #2 at LORIS #1
CLASS 2-A
Upper State: FAIRFIELD CENTRAL Region 3 Champion at CLINTON Region 1 Champion
Lower State: MANNING Region 7 Champion at BARNWELL Region 5 Champion
CLASS 1-A
Upper State: LEWISVILLE Region 2 Champion at ABBEVILLE Region 1 Champion
Lower State: LAKE VIEW Region 6 Champion at CROSS Region 5 Champion
Kudos to White Knoll for advancing by defeating Lugoff-Elgin #10, Myrtle Beach #2, and Berkeley #3 (sorry, Slick)
Just a few comments before anyone else throws their 2 cents in.
5A-D1
----------
Upper State: Dutch Fork is the standard everyone else is striving to achieve. Many believe the DF/Spartanburg game is really the state championship game as neither Summerville or Sumter would appear to match up well against against either of the upper state teams. Spartanburg will have to bring a complete game for 4 quarters, meaning absolutely minimal penalties and no turnovers. They played at the beginning of the season is a weather shortened game (lightning). Both teams are much improved since that game. This should be an outstanding game. I would expect a 7-10 point game.
Lower State: Sumter and Summerville bring 12-0 records into this game. Common opponents are James Island, Ashley Ridge, and Ridge View.
Results were:
Summerville 26 James Island 0 vs Sumter 34 James Island 17
Summerville 49 Ashley Ridge 48 vs Sumter 55 Ashley Ridge 24
Summerville 49 Ridge View 20 vs Sumter 49 Ridge View 6
I don't see anything of note from those comparisons. This looks to be the making of a good game. Can the winner match up to DF/Spartanburg?? We shall see in Orangeburg.
5A-D2
----------
Upper State: Northwestern vs Gaffney is the game people have been look forward to since early in the season. Normally this is a regular season non-region game, but with the realignments, we have had to wait for the playoffs for this one. Northwestern has pretty much cruised through their region schedule while Gaffney would appear to have had a tougher region schedule. Has that made Gaffney more battle toughened? Will Northwestern be prepared to step it up a huge level to play against Gaffney? Can Gaffney's defense limit Northwestern's possessions and keep their potent offense off the field and limit their scoring? Can Northwestern's defense pressure Gaffney's quarterback and force Gaffney into a one-dimensional offense....rushing? Can Northwestern's defensive speed and aggressiveness be controlled to keep the Gaffney quarterback contained in the pocket and not be able to run quarterback draws or scramble on busted plays? This has all the makings of a "classic".
Lower State: Irmo has only 1 loss....to Dutch Fork by 10 (DF 24 Irmo 14). I don't see Irmo having any problems with White Knoll. I don't think this will be a close game. Another big point spread won by Irmo.
4A
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Upper State: South Pointe has greatly improved on offense since they played Northwestern and their starting quarterback returned from injury. Both teams had demonstrated the ability to put lots of points on the board. I think the key to this game is simply which defense will be able to slow down / stop the other team's offense. Also, as is so often, a bad penalty at a bad moment or a turnover could change the entire game. If neither defense shows up, this could be a 64-61 final score.
Lower State: I think South Florence has played a tougher season schedule. They lost early in the season to Summerville (20-46) and Northwestern (7-48). Late in the season, they were defeated by Hartsville (35-54) with their option offense, which is hard to prepare for. Only 3 weeks later, they play again (both games were at Hartsville) and South Florence prevails (49-21). North Augusta brings a 12-1 record with their only loss to Lexington by 1 point (19-20) in game 2 of the season. Offense put fans in the stands, but defense wins championships. Whose defense will prevail in this one? I think South Florence may be a little more seasoned and prevails in a close one.
3A
-----------
Upper State: Mountain View Prep is the team everyone loves to hate this year. This is not the thread to get into all the "stuff" about the program. The team exists within the rules as established by the SCHSL. The real question is how Belton-Honea Path matches up on the football field...team vs team.
Common opponents are Broome, Chapman, Crescent, Southside Christian, and Walhalla.
MVP 49 Broome 20 vs BHP 45 Broome 14
MVP 27 Chapman 9 vs BHP 42 Chapman 7
MVP 48 Crescent 21 (regular season) MVP 30 Crescent 14 (playoff) vs BHP 48 Crescent 21
MVP 49 Southside Christian 7 vs BHP 63 Southside Christian 20
MVP 42 Walhalla 19 vs BHP 49 Walhalla 0
In these match ups, I don't think there is anything that stands out.
Bottom line on this game is two-fold.
1: Pretty much everyone but MVP fans wants MVP to lose based on how the team was put together.
2. Typical football speak - who wins in the trenches, penalties, turnovers, mistakes, defense.
On paper, looks like the makings of a close game. Can the public school of home grown talent prevail??
Lower State: I only know about these teams from what I have seen online.
Common opponents are Hanahan, Waccamaw, and Dillon.
Loris 28 Hanahan 21 vs OCA 49 Hanahan 7
Loris 40 Waccamaw 14 vs OCA 36 Waccamaw 6
Loris 30 Dillon 27 vs OCA 28 Dillon 21
Again, hard to get much from those comparisons.
OCA defeated Ashley Ridge (42-29) and lost to Dutch Fork (0-51). Will these two games give OCA a slight advantage? Loris has only 1 loss....to Socastee (13-14). Should be an interesting game.
2A
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Upper State: Fairfield Central (12-1) vs Clinton (10-2). These are two programs with storied pasts.
Common opponents are Newberry and Chester.
FC 49 Newberry 42 vs Clinton 23 Newberry 14
FC 22 Chester 6 vs Clinton 48 Chester 20
Other games of note: FC lost to Ridge View (18-42) in the first game of the season. FC defeated a quality 1A Upper State finalist Lewisville (33-8). Clinton lost to Woodruff (36-40) in the first game of the season. Clinton lost to Daniel (12-37) mid season. Clinton advance in the playoffs by defeated previously undefeated, and 2A Region 2 champion Batesburg-Leesville (31-14). Season stats show both teams capable of lots of scoring. Clinton appears to give up a few more points per game that FC, but that could be the opponents. Final score prediction? If you are a fan, go to the game and enjoy it. Support your team. One team's defense will need to shut down the other team's running game.
Lower State: Manning (11-1) vs Barnwell (12-1)
One common opponent, Hampton County.
Manning 28 Hampton County 27 (OT) vs Barnwell 27 Hampton County 14.
Honestly, I do not know anything about the teams, so no additional comments.
1A
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Upper State: Abbeville (11-1) is the South Carolina small school powerhouse. In the 1A/2A past, to be the best, you had to be able to defeat Abbeville. Lewisville (12-1) is the recent contender trying to toe up to Abbeville.
Abbeville's only loss is to 2A Region 2 champion Batesburg-Leesville and Lewisville's only loss is to 2A Region 3 champion Fairfield Central (2A upper state finalist by defeating Batesburg-Leesville).
This is the 1A game in the upper state that people have been wanting to see.
Abbeville is still the team to beat. Could this be Lewisville's year? Should be a slobberknocker.
Lower State: Lake View (11-1) vs Cross (11-2)
Common opponents are Scott's Branch, Green Sea Floyd's, and Hannah-Pamplico.
Lake View 41 Scott's Branch 14 vs Cross 54 Scott's Branch 12
Lake View 51 Green Sea Floyd's 8 vs Cross 48 Green Sea Floyd's 0
Lake View 30 Hannah-Pamplico 7 vs Cross 12 Hanna-Pamplico 7
Cross has 7 shutout victories. Lake View has 3 shutout victories.
Does Cross have the better defense or is it just the opponents??
No predictions at all. I don't know enough about the teams.
I am hoping LOTS of comments will come through from LOTS of folks.
Be true to your school!!!
tg78