Class A will have a new state champion

HSSR CLASS A RANKINGS  (After Week “6” Games, Oct. 4)

1.  Abbeville- 3-1 (178-115)

2. Lewisville- 5-1 (174-66) 

3. Lake View-5-1 (220-43)

4. Cross 6-2 (270-71)

5. Dixie 5-0 (162-91)

6. Blackville Hilda- 4-1 (122-85)

7. Baptist Hill- 4-1 (150-54)

8. Branchville 5-1 (216-109)

9. Lamar 4-2 (242-101)

10. HKT 4-1 (136-90)

11. Lee Central 194-117)

12. Bamberf-Ehrhardt-3-2 (155-74)

13. Hannah Pamplico-5-2 (173-154)

14. Williston-Elko 3-3(143-141)  

15. Latta 3-3 (144-84)

        By Dennis Brunson

        hssr.com Associate Editor

         Sumter – As hard as it is to believe, the high school football season in the state of South Carolina is now in the final month of the regular season. After the games of October 11, there will be three more football Friday nights – or any other day of the week for that matter because of weather issues – left.

           Then it will be five more weeks of the state playoffs, culminating with the state champions being crowned in Orangeburg in the first week of December.

           Class A will be crowning a new state champion this year. Two-time defending state champion Christ Church moved up to AAA because of the South Carolina High School League’s biannual reclassification.

           The regular season in Class A is being played to eliminate five teams from the playoff chase. There are 37 football-playing schools in the six Class A regions and 32 teams will make the state playoffs. Regions 1, 2 and 3 will make up the 16-team upper state portion of the bracket while the 16 lower state teams will come from regions 4, 5 and 6.

           Here’s a look at how each of the regions break down when it comes to the playoffs.         

           REGION 1 

           There are six teams in this region – Abbeville, Calhoun Falls, Dixie, McCormick, Ware Shoals and Whitmire – and all of them are set to make the playoffs, according to the predetermined bracket of the SCHSL website. It’s just a matter of who is seeded where.

           None of the schools have played a region contest yet because of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. However, when they do play, Abbeville will be the odds-on favorite to not only win the region but the state title as well.

           Abbeville, which is 3-1 on the season, had been a behemoth in AA for the past decade or so and dropped to Class A due to reclassification.

           Dixie was off to a 4-0 start and is the favorite for the No. 2 seed. Ware Shoals and Calhoun Falls were both 1-3. Whitmire is 1-4 and McCormick is 0-5.

           The order of finish will be Abbeville, Dixie, Whitmire, Ware Shoals, McCormick and Calhoun Falls.

           REGION 2 

           Five of the six teams in this region will make the playoffs. It is likely shaping up as a battle for first place between Lamar, Lee Central and Lewisville.

           Each of those three won their region openers and have been playing good football. Lewisville was 5-1 while both Lamar and Lee Central were 4-2.

           Lee Central will find out in the next two weeks where it stands as it plays host to Lewisville on October 11 and travels to Lamar on October 18. Lamar plays at Lewisville in the regular-season finale on November 1.

McBee got hammered by Lamar 56-7 to fall to 2-3, while 2-4 Great Falls fell to Lee Central 54-12. C.A. Johnson is just 1-5 but played Lewisville to a 21-14 contest.

           The five playoff teams, in order, will be Lamar, Lee Central, Lewisville, C.A. Johnson and McBee.

           REGION 3 

           Five of the six teams in this region will make the playoffs. Only one region game has been played through the October 4 games with Calhoun County beating Williston-Elko 30-29 for its first win of the season.

The favorite to win the region is Blackville-Hilda, which was 4-1 and is led by University of South Carolina commitment Jaquel Holman. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler was 5-1 after beating AAA Orangeburg-Wilkinson 22-20.

Blackville-Hilda and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler are scheduled to meet on October 25, but a lot can happen before then. While they should be considered the favorites, this is a region that is wide open, which makes for a fun region title race.

Ridge Spring-Monetta was 3-2, Williston-Elko 3-3, Wagener-Salley 2-3 and Calhoun County 1-5 entering the October 11 games.

The five playoff teams in order will be Blackville-Hilda, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Wagener-Salley, Ridge Spring-Monetta and Calhoun County.

REGION 4  

There are five teams in this region and four of them will make the playoffs. It should be pretty much cut and dry as to who the region champion will be and that’s Bamberg-Ehrhardt.

The Red Raiders have been a Class A lower state power seemingly forever and that isn’t changing this season. They should dominate this region.

Ridgeland put itself in position to be the primary challenger to Bamberg-Ehrhardt with a 19-8 win over Denmark-Olar. The Jaguars are 2-0 in region play with a forfeit win over Hardeeville.

Ridgeland is scheduled to play host to Bamberg-Ehrhardt on October 18. Bamberg-Ehrhardt will host Denmark-Olar on November 1.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Ridgeland and Denmark-Olar will make up the top three with 1-5 Hardeeville and 0-5 Allendale-Fairfax battling for the fourth spot. They are scheduled to face off on November 1 in the regular-season finale, and Hardeeville will emerge as the winner and snag that final spot.

REGION 5

This is a 7-team region and six of them will make the playoffs. Cross and Baptist Hill will likely be doing battle for the region title in the regular-season finale on November 1 in Hollywood.

Cross is 5-2 overall and off to a dominating 3-0 start in region play, beating Military Magnet 56-0, Branchville 56-7 and St. John’s 70-0. Baptist Hill is 4-1 and 2-0, beating Bethune-Bowman 28-6 and Military Magnet 22-20.

Branchville is 5-1 and 2-1 and could challenge Baptist Hill for second. They are scheduled to play on October 11.

Scott’s Branch is 1-1 in region play while Military Magnet is 1-2. They are in the next tier and will meet on November 1.

Who grabs the final playoff spot from the region will likely come down to 0-7 Bethune-Bowman and 0-6 St. John’s. They face off on October 11 in John’s Island.

Your playoff teams in order are Cross, Branchville, Baptist Hill, Military Magnet, Scott’s Branch and Bethune-Bowman.

REGION 6

This is another 7-team region that has six teams making the playoffs. Let’s start with the process of elimination in this region. Unless something drastic happens, Hemingway will be the team not making the playoffs. The Tigers are 0-6 and have been outscored 259-6.

Now up to the top. Lake View was the favorite coming into the season and that hasn’t changed. The Wild Gators are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in region play, having won all three in convincing fashion.

Latta is still undefeated at 2-0 and is scheduled to play at Lake View on October 18. The Vikings still should be undefeated as they play Hemingway on October 11.

Hannah-Pamplico is 2-1 while Carvers Bay and Johnsonville are both 1-2. Green Sea Floyds is 0-2.

The playoff teams in order of finish will be Lake View, Hannah-Pamplico, Latta, Johnsonville, Carvers Bay and Green Sea Floyds.