1A, 2A, 3A breakdowns

[DabnusBrickey]

In 3A...Dillon and Chester show?
In 2A...I say Abbeville and Timberland
In 1A...Green Sea Floyds will repeat

[STrebels72]

This is what you call a break down...lol... this is sad

[DabnusBrickey]

This is what you call a break down...lol... this is sad

...and you could have contributed to it...how sad is that?

[STrebels72]

Was nothing to contribute to... I opened it hoping to be enlightened and found absolutely nothing... all I see is state championship predictions, that’s it...

[DabnusBrickey]

Was nothing to contribute to... I opened it hoping to be enlightened and found absolutely nothing... all I see is state championship predictions, that’s it...

Message boards thrive on conversation and you’re still not bringing anything to the discussion. If you have a different feeling, you post it. Otherwise, you kill any potential discussion. Why do you hate the first amendment?

[Deputy]

1A --- Don't know enough about the 1A crowd to even take an educated guess.

2A --- Abbeville hands down. Once again, I don't see anybody derailing that train.

3A -- I guess Dillon as lower doesn't seem to be as competitive as the upstate.
In the upstate the top two out of the box have to be Chester and Chapman. Though as usual, someone else will energe to threaten both of them.

[DabnusBrickey]

1A --- Don't know enough about the 1A crowd to even take an educated guess.

2A --- Abbeville hands down. Once again, I don't see anybody derailing that train.

3A -- I guess Dillon as lower doesn't seem to be as competitive as the upstate.
In the upstate the top two out of the box have to be Chester and Chapman. Though as usual, someone else will energe to threaten both of them.

I always thought, when I coached on the 2A level, that 2A never got enough credit for being competitive.

[AHS14]

Let me take a stab at it....

1A - Honestly, since the last realignment 1A is a total crapshoot in just about every sport. There just aren't many schools in 1A now. If you look at the brackets for the sports last season it's ridiculous how many teams get byes during the playoffs simply because of a lack of teams. Not to mention overall the league just isn't very competitive, at least IMO. With that said, I will give lower state the edge this year - Lake View is always pretty strong and Green Sea Floyds will probably make another run at it as well. On the upper state side of things, Dixie (who played Lamar in the upperstate title game last year) lost a lot of talent and didn't look really great against Calhoun Falls in the Abbeville Jamboree. McCormick however looked pretty decent in tying Ninety Six 6-6. They have some athletes and are my favorite to win that region. Then of course there is always Lamar, but they are breaking in a new coach this year so there might be some adjustments. I'll take Lake View or Green Sea Floyds for the title.

2A - To be the man, you gotta beat the man, and that man in 2A is Abbeville. The last few years - quite honestly the last decade - have been amazing for Panther fans. In the 2010s, they've have been to state championship game every year except for '13 and '14 and the only loss in the state title game during this span was in 2012. Coach NIckles and his staff get the absolute most of their players every year and this team will push strongly for that 5th title in a row. The Panthers will lose a lot of talent after this season and will likely take a step back in 2020 but the future does look bright as a lot of young talent is in the pipeline. As for challengers to Abbeville, Southside Christian gave Abbeville two good games last season and they return the QB and the star RB but the game is in Abbeville this year, where Abbeville hasn't lost a game since 2014. Saluda is also a strong team in the same region as Abbeville and returns a veteran senior QB in Noah Bell, but the Tigers will need to capitalize on opportunities more to win more games, something they didn't do in 2018. In the lower state Barnwell returns the QB who put up gaudy numbers last year and Timberland is also looking to be pretty strong as well. Bamberg-Erhardt had a strong season last year and is in year 2 of their coach so I look for them to contend as well. Carvers Bay has a new coach and it looks to be a rebuilding year there as well. I say, Abbeville vs. either Timberland or Barnwell for the title.

3A - This is where I'm not quite as knowledgeable, but I'll do my best. Chester pretty much came out of nowhere in 2018 to run the table and beat Dillon for the title. The Cyclones did catch some breaks as 6 of their games were decided by 10 pts or less. Chapman has been a strong contender as well lately and I don't see that changing. Woodruff also has the potential to be a possible contender in the upper state but they have struggled in the post season the past few years. I wouldn't be surprised to see another lesser known team rise this year in AAA just like Chester did last season. I am really interested to see how former Lamar Head Coach Corey Fountain does in his first year at Clinton, a perennial power that has struggled a lot this decade. In the lower state I don't see anyone challenging Dillon but Wade Hampton did give them a good game last year in the lower state title game. My prediction, for now - Chapman vs. Dillon.

An aside from the above analysis, I really wish the SCHSL would stop treating 1A and 2A like second class citizens. We have to had to endure some really bad field conditions at Benedict the past few years, not to mention a host of other logistical issues the stadium has (poor parking, restrooms, concessions always run out). But I've also heard there's been some issues with the other games at Williams Brice as well. This is something the league definitely needs to address - I would like for all classifications to play at the same stadium.

[DabnusBrickey]

Let me take a stab at it....

1A - Honestly, since the last realignment 1A is a total crapshoot in just about every sport. There just aren't many schools in 1A now. If you look at the brackets for the sports last season it's ridiculous how many teams get byes during the playoffs simply because of a lack of teams. Not to mention overall the league just isn't very competitive, at least IMO. With that said, I will give lower state the edge this year - Lake View is always pretty strong and Green Sea Floyds will probably make another run at it as well. On the upper state side of things, Dixie (who played Lamar in the upperstate title game last year) lost a lot of talent and didn't look really great against Calhoun Falls in the Abbeville Jamboree. McCormick however looked pretty decent in tying Ninety Six 6-6. They have some athletes and are my favorite to win that region. Then of course there is always Lamar, but they are breaking in a new coach this year so there might be some adjustments. I'll take Lake View or Green Sea Floyds for the title.

2A - To be the man, you gotta beat the man, and that man in 2A is Abbeville. The last few years - quite honestly the last decade - have been amazing for Panther fans. In the 2010s, they've have been to state championship game every year except for '13 and '14 and the only loss in the state title game during this span was in 2012. Coach NIckles and his staff get the absolute most of their players every year and this team will push strongly for that 5th title in a row. The Panthers will lose a lot of talent after this season and will likely take a step back in 2020 but the future does look bright as a lot of young talent is in the pipeline. As for challengers to Abbeville, Southside Christian gave Abbeville two good games last season and they return the QB and the star RB but the game is in Abbeville this year, where Abbeville hasn't lost a game since 2014. Saluda is also a strong team in the same region as Abbeville and returns a veteran senior QB in Noah Bell, but the Tigers will need to capitalize on opportunities more to win more games, something they didn't do in 2018. In the lower state Barnwell returns the QB who put up gaudy numbers last year and Timberland is also looking to be pretty strong as well. Bamberg-Erhardt had a strong season last year and is in year 2 of their coach so I look for them to contend as well. Carvers Bay has a new coach and it looks to be a rebuilding year there as well. I say, Abbeville vs. either Timberland or Barnwell for the title.

3A - This is where I'm not quite as knowledgeable, but I'll do my best. Chester pretty much came out of nowhere in 2018 to run the table and beat Dillon for the title. The Cyclones did catch some breaks as 6 of their games were decided by 10 pts or less. Chapman has been a strong contender as well lately and I don't see that changing. Woodruff also has the potential to be a possible contender in the upper state but they have struggled in the post season the past few years. I wouldn't be surprised to see another lesser known team rise this year in AAA just like Chester did last season. I am really interested to see how former Lamar Head Coach Corey Fountain does in his first year at Clinton, a perennial power that has struggled a lot this decade. In the lower state I don't see anyone challenging Dillon but Wade Hampton did give them a good game last year in the lower state title game. My prediction, for now - Chapman vs. Dillon.

An aside from the above analysis, I really wish the SCHSL would stop treating 1A and 2A like second class citizens. We have to had to endure some really bad field conditions at Benedict the past few years, not to mention a host of other logistical issues the stadium has (poor parking, restrooms, concessions always run out). But I've also heard there's been some issues with the other games at Williams Brice as well. This is something the league definitely needs to address - I would like for all classifications to play at the same stadium.

A Benedict grad and friend of mine cannot get why they chose that stadium. I agree with you about that difficulty that needs addressing. Those kids deserve a great place for the state title too.

[SF Band dad]

Getting 3 games done in day at WB is already a problem, I can't imagine how they could do 5.

If Benedict is that bad I think that several local 5A stadiums have sufficient seating and parking to host the 1A and 2A games.