Playoff Preview Capsules: Upper State Championships

CLASS 5A

J.L. Mann (11-2) at Dutch Fork (8-5)

Series record: Dutch Fork won the only previous meeting, 28-14, in the second round of the 1994 Class 3A playoffs.

Last week: J.L. Mann defeated Hillcrest 21-13; Dutch Fork beat Gaffney 35-10

Location: Dutch Fork High, 1400 Old Tamah Rd, Irmo

Who to watch for J.L. Mann: WR Mikel McClellan, QB Ethan Anderson, DE Joel Crespo

Who to watch for Dutch Fork: RB Maurice Anderson, DE Josh Smith, S Peyton Betts

What’s at stake: The winner will face either Summerville or White Knoll for the state championship next Friday at 8 p.m. at South Carolina State.

How they got here: For the third time in as many playoff games, J.L. Mann’s defense allowed no points in the second half as the Patriots defeated Hillcrest for the second time this season.

Mann trailed Hillcrest 13-7 at the half last Friday before its ground game went to work in the second half. On the 10-play opening possession of the third quarter, the Patriots ran the ball nine times. The last was a 15-yard touchdown run by Na’Cyus Morrison (pictured above) as Mann took a 14-13 lead.

After starting its next drive at the Hillcrest 25 following a six-yard punt, Anderson hit McClellan on a 10-yard touchdown to push the lead to 21-13. Hillcrest drove to the Patriots’ eight on its ensuing possession before Crespo made the play of the game. On fourth-and-two, Hillcrest Mr. Football finalist Avery McFadden took a direct snap out of the wildcat formation. Crespo got to McFadden a split second after the ball did and tackled him for a five-yard loss.

Dutch Fork outgained Gaffney 343-170 on its way to a convincing victory last week. The Silver Foxes held standout running back Jaiden McDowell to 31 yards on 12 carries and standout quarterback Riley Staton to 54 yards on 7-of-23 passing. Gaffney’s lone touchdown came on a blocked punt returned for a score on Dutch Fork’s opening drive.

In making his second consecutive start, backup sophomore quarterback Ethan Offing accounted for three touchdowns for the Silver Foxes. Offing completed 17-of-28 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown, while rushing 18 times for 51 yards and two scores.

CLASS 4A

Greenville (10-3) at Westside (12-1)

Series record: Westside leads 8-4, including a 28-14 victory at Greenville in the regular season.

Last week: Greenville won at Northwestern 42-41; Westside won at Midland Valley 68-53

Radio/TV/Internet: Westside – WANS 1280 AM

Location: Westside High School, 806 Pearman Dairy Rd, Anderson

Who to watch for Greenville: ATH Mazeo Bennett, DL Jayden Wilson-Abrams, DL Bruce Knauber

Who to watch for Westside: QB Cutter Woods, WR Joshua Williams, RB Sharode Richardson

What’s at stake: The winner will play either South Florence or Irmo for the state championship next Saturday at noon at South Carolina State.

How they got here: Greenville pulled off perhaps the most impressive win last week with its one-point triumph at Northwestern. After losing its season opener 42-35, the Trojans had won 11 consecutive games – all by more than 25 points going into the game.

Greenville trailed 28-14 in the fourth quarter before rallying with the next five scores of the game – three touchdowns and two field goals. Bennett had the last of those to give Greenville a 42-28 lead with 4:36 left in the game. Northwestern got a pair of touchdowns sandwiched around a recovered onside kick in the final three minutes, but missed the two-point conversion after the second one. The Red Raiders recovered the Trojans’ second onside kick with 1:13 left and were able to kneel out the clock.

Bennett had only eight carries, but took three of those to the end zone for Greenville, while K.D. Mosley caught six passes for 161 yards and two scores. 

Daylon Johnson had two of Greenville’s six sacks on defense.

The 83 points Greenville and Northwestern combined for were nothing compared to the 121 in the other Upper State semifinal last week. Westside overcame eight rushing touchdowns by Midland Valley 3,000-yard rusher Traevon Dunbar to pull out the 15-point win on the road.

The Rams trailed 26-21 at the half before scoring seven touchdowns in the second half to hand Midland Valley its first loss. Woods passed for 246 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to Williams. Richardson rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a 65-yard touchdown pass, while DeMarco Evans ran eight times for 83 yards and three touchdowns also for Westside.

In the teams’ regular season meeting in Greenville this season, Westside’s defense had three interceptions to lead the Rams to the win.

CLASS 3A

Belton-Honea Path (13-0) at Daniel (13-0)

Series record: Daniel leads 32-21, the majority of which were region games. The Lions won the last meeting, 35-7, in 2021. This will mark the first time the teams have faced off in the postseason.

Last week: Belton-Honea Path knocked off Clinton 27-24; Daniel beat Chester 49-20

Radio/TV/Internet: BHP – WHQA 103.1 FM, thelife1031.com/listen

Location: Singleton Field, 1861 Six Mile Hwy, Central

Who to watch for BHP: RB Marquise Henderson, RB Shaheem Robbs, QB Noah Thomas

Who to watch for Daniel: RB Ja’Kari Bennett, QB Kolton Chapman, OL Watson Young

What’s at stake: The winner will play either Brookland-Cayce or Camden for the start championship next Saturday at 7 p.m. at South Carolina State.

How they got here: The one everyone has been waiting on is finally here. It’s ironic that we’re in one of those weird reclassifications where Belton-Honea Path and Daniel aren’t in the same region. But that has provided us with an Upper State final in which one team will advance to the state championship and the other will have suffered its first loss all season.

BHP kicker Peter Bertoni hit a 28-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter last week to snap a 17-17 tie. Clinton’s ensuing possession ended on Jakyri Anderson’s 60-yard interception return for a touchdown that pushed the Bears lead to 27-17 with 3:33 left to play.

Clinton cut the lead to 27-24 with 1:42 left, but BHP recovered the onside clock and was able to run out the clock. Henderson led the Bears as he rushed 31 times for 168 yards and two scores. He surpassed the 2,000-yard rushing mark this season and his two scores give him 36, breaking the school record for touchdowns in a single season.

Daniel led Chester 14-12 midway through the second quarter before scoring the next four touchdowns of the game to take control and pull away for the win. The Lions piled up 515 yards of total offense and 27 first downs.

Bennett rushed for 20 times for 102 yards and two scores, while backup quarterback Lee Turnipseed had 75 yards on five carries. Tory Shaw ran 10 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns also for Daniel. Chapman completed 18-of-24 passes for 220 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Bennett has rushed for 25 touchdowns this season, while Chapman has thrown for 22 and had just two interceptions.

Tristyn Carrington had two of the Lions’ five sacks to lead the defensive effort.

CLASS 2A

Abbeville (12-1) at Gray Collegiate (14-3*)

*six wins by forfeit

Series record: Abbeville leads 2-1. This will be the fourth meeting in the last five postseasons. Gray won the last matchup, 31-15, in the 2021 quarterfinals.

Last week: Abbeville defeated Silver Bluff 16-6; Gray Collegiate defeated Strom Thurmond 35-28

Radio/TV/Internet: Abbeville – WZLA 92.9 FM, wzlaradio.com/listen-live/

Location: Gray Collegiate Academy, 3833 Leaphart Rd, West Columbia

Who to watch for Abbeville: RB Karson Norman, QB Demarcus Leach, FB Altavious Patterson

Who to watch for Gray: RB B.J. Montgomery, WR Jamarious Lockett, OLB Michael Boulware

What’s at stake: The winner will play either Oceanside Collegiate or Hampton County for the state championship next Thursday at 7 p.m. at South Carolina State.

How they got here: After holding Silver Bluff to minus-six yards of total offense in the first half last Friday, Abbeville bent a little on defense in the second half but never broke to lead the Panthers to victory.

The Bulldogs took their opening possession of the second half into the red zone, but had to settle for a field goal that Abbeville blocked. Silver Bluff got on the board on its next possession to cut the Panthers’ lead to 9-6. After Abbeville fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Silver Bluff took over deep in Panthers’ territory again. Abbeville’s defense once again answered the bell and a potential game-tying field sailed wide left no good.

Abbeville’s Karson Norman later ran for a 52-yard touchdown to close out the scoring and seal the win. Norman finished with 123 yards rushing and both of the Panthers’ touchdowns.

Montgomery’s third rushing touchdown pushed Gray’s lead to 28-10 late in the third quarter and it held on to defeat Thurmond. Montgomery finished with 192 yards rushing.

Blake Croft had a game-high 17 tackles and an interception return for a touchdown to lead the War Eagles defensively. Boulware had 15 stops also for Gray.

CLASS 1A

St. Joseph’s (11-2) at Christ Church (11-2)

Series record: Christ Church leads 16-3. Since St. Joseph’s posted all three of its wins from 2018-20, the Cavaliers have won each of the last five meetings over the past three seasons. Christ Church defeated St. Joseph’s, 35-21, in the regular season.

Last week: St. Joseph’s won at Southside Christian 27-14; Christ Church defeated Blackville-Hilda 27-7

Location: Carson Stadium, 245 Cavalier Dr, Greenville

Who to watch for St. Joseph’s: FB Brayden Johnson, RB Lucas Salgado, LB Johnny Jaraczewski

Who to watch for Christ Church: RB Dashun Reeder, QB Tucker Hendrix, WR Jackson Repp

What’s at stake: The winner will play either Bamberg-Ehrhardt or Johnsonville for the state championship next Friday at 2 p.m. at South Carolina State.

How they got here: St. Joseph’s trailed 7-0 after one quarter last week at Southside Christian before scoring the next four touchdowns to take command and leave with a victory. It’s the second consecutive season that the Knights avenged a regular season loss to the Sabres in the playoffs. The win set up a Upper State title showdown at Christ Church also for the second consecutive season.

Jaraczewski, who’s been St. Joseph’s leading tackler this season, ran for the lone score of the second quarter last Friday. That sent the game to halftime tied at 7-7.

Salgado took an option pitch 15 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, snapping the tie. In the fourth quarter, Cade Alt kept for a five-yard score to help extend the lead to 21-7. Jaraczewski then put the game out of reach with a 21-yard run for a touchdown. Salgado led the Knights with 90 yards on nine carries.

On a night when Christ Church’s offense was held somewhat in check, the Cavaliers defense shut out Blackville-Hilda over the final three quarters last Friday. Jake Good had 11 tackles and an interception to lead the way.

Reeder ran 13 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns to lead Christ Church on offense.

When the Cavaliers and St. Joseph’s faced off in the regular season, Repp caught seven passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns, while Jude Hall had a 70-yard touchdown catch. Reeder ran for 80 yards and a touchdown.