By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – At long last, the regular season came to an end and the Class AA state playoffs are upon us. The brackets are set and the fans of the favorites are hoping to make plans in mid-December for Orangeburg and the state finals scene. Who are the favorites in AA? Is there a sleeper or two that may surprise everyone and get to the title game. Most of the time, the teams that survive the grind and reach the fifth week of the playoffs, the title game, are teams that everyone who follows the sport predicts will be there. Let’s have a little fun and handicap the AA field. My process is to list my top four teams in the Upper State bracket and top four in the Lower State, as I see it. Any team not in my top four would be considered a sleeper to make it through the bracket. But, it can be done. In the Upper State, my No. 1 team is Batesburg-Leesville . I know, shocker. The 10-0 Panthers have answered every challenge and have proven to be quite formidable. They allow seven points per game with a defense that has speed and physicality. Nearly half of the total points they have allowed in 10 games came in one game, to Abbeville, in a two-point win. Abbeville is the top-ranked team in Class A and their coach , Jamie Nickles , is a believer. “They are certainly capable of winning the state championship,” he said. Running back Amadre Wooden and quarterback Tanner Watkins are a solid one-two punch offensively. Wooden has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and Watkins has passed for more than 1200 yards. My No. 2 pick to win the Upper State is Clinton. The 7-2 Red Devils have lost only to Woodruff and Daniel. Each of those teams has just one loss this season. The tough non-region schedule makes me feel the Red Devils are battle-tested for close, big games. Quarterback Tashawan Richardson makes it all go for the offense with James Cook adding a major threat in the run game. My No. 3 pick in the Upper State is Fairfield Central . The Griffins lost their season opener to Ridge View and have won nine straight games since. The scouting report needs just one word – speed. The Griffins can run and are explosive. Running back Tydarion Grier has gained more than 1.400 yards and averages 9.3 yards per carry. And, my No. 4 is Saluda . The Tigers’ only loss came to Batesburg-Leesville and they would love another shot at their region rivals. Saluda is another of the top defensive teams in AA and defense wins championships. Tahe your pick as the favorite in the Lower State cause several teams have a shot. My No. 1 going in is Barnwell . While not flashy or dominant, the Warhorses are solid and athletic. Senior Cameron Austin is a great leader at quarterback and if they have success on the ground, game over. No. 2 is Barnwell rival Hampton County . Again, the Hurricanes run the football and have good solid play at quarterback. They made a good run a year ago and I think their confidence level is high. The last two favorite picks are difficult and I ended up with three teams for two spots. At No. 3 I am going with Cheraw . The 8-2 Braves are not great at anything but very solid at most. Running back Cam McClendon is a threat to score from anywhere and the defense gets after it pretty good. For No. 4, I am sharing the spot between Manning and Philip Simmons . Manning has just one loss, the season opener to Crestwood, but their schedule and region was not overly difficult.  Philip Simmons went undefeated in a tougher region and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Iron Horses have a veteran quarterback and they really play hard on defense. Class AA state playoff first-round pairings Upper State Pelion at Clinton Strom Thurmond at Chester Columbia at Batesburg-Leesville Andrew Jackson at Liberty Chesterfield at Fairfield-Central Ninety Six at Chesnee Landrum at Central Mid-Carolina at Saluda Lower State Academic Magnet at Barnwell Lake City at Timberland Edisto at Cheraw Andrews at East Clarendon North Central at Manning Woodland at Hampton Co. Mullins at Philip Simmons Kingstree at Whale Branch

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Kingstree – Through its first four games, the Kingstree High School football team was 0-4 and had scored a grand total of 18 points. The next two games may have turned the Blazers’ season around. They won both of those, beating Marion 52-16 and Lake City 16-14. More importantly, they were Region 7-AA contests. “It’s good to be in first place instead of trying to fight our way back,” said Kingstree head coach Brian Smith , whose team was scheduled to play Manning on October 4. The Blazers were able to put together the winning streak by kicking their running game into gear. That can be attributed to Kingstree’s massive offensive line and running back Tyleek Dukes . In the win over Marion, Dukes ran for 214 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. In a driving rainstorm against Lake City on Thursday, September 26, Dukes carried the ball 38 times for 193 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two 2-point conversions to account for all of the Blazers’ points. “He’s been doing everything that you want a prime time running back to do in carrying the team,” Smith said of Dukes, who’d rushed for 861 yards and six scores on 124 carries. “He’s on pace for a monster year in his first year at running back.” The offensive line has senior Macolm Salters (6 feet, 260 pounds) at left tackle and senior Mycheal Edwards Wallace (6-feet-1-inch, 340) at left guard. The center is junior Ethan Carraway (5-8, 276) with junior Adelgon Archie (6-2, 305) at right guard and senior Dontrell Epps (6-1, 255) at right tackle. “There are not many teams that can match our size on the offensive line and our running game when we hold on to the ball,” Smith said. “We’ve gotten a lot better at that.” Freshman quarterback Makhi Shaw has thrown the football very little. He has 24 attempts, completing six of them for 107, but for two scores. He is the second leading rusher with 253 yards and two TDs on 68 carries. With the exception of a 47-0 loss to AAAA Crestwood , the defense has been pretty stout. “We get better each week, and I can’t ask for much more out of those guys,” Smith said. Everyone is playing both ways, and they get tired sometimes, but they’re giving it all they have.” The defense is led by junior defensive end BJ Washington , who had team highs with 34 tackles and five quarterback sacks and shared the lead in tackles for loss with 10 through six games. Epps had 20 tackles and eight tackles for loss at defensive tackle, while linebacker Mark Pickard had eight TFLs and two sacks among his 19 tackles. Sophomore outside linebacker Maleek Dukes had 29 tackles, five TFLS and two sacks, senior defensive back Xavier Dukes had 28 tackles and Tyleek Dukes , a junior also starting in the secondary, had 28 tackles. Each of the Dukes have an interception on the season. Starting the region 2-0 had Kingstree in position to clinch a berth in the state playoffs in the early going of region play. “We just look forward to getting better each week,” Smith said. “We’re wanting to make the playoffs and go from there. The win over Marion gave us a lot of confidence going forward. “I knew we gad it in us. We were just snake-bitten early on. It wasn’t so much us turning the ball over. It was more bad luck than anything. We’re doing a better job of finishing games.”

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Kingstree — In his first season as the head football coach at Kingstree High, after CE Murray consolidated with Kingstree to become the Blazers, Brian Smith’s team finished a respectable 6-6 and the team is hoping to build on that first- year bench mark. This past Spring Coach Smith and his staff worked out 37 varsity football candidates at the school. “The strength of the team coming out of Spring drills is both sides of our lines,” said Coach Smith. “We are just hoping our skill position players can play well behind the offensive line guys. “We expect to compete in every game and go out and line-up and battle with the goal of still being around in late November,” said Coach Smith. Kingstree will have early August scrimmages with Lugoff-Elgin and Johnsonville before playing in the Lake City Jamboree. The team will start the season in Week 0 hosting Georgetown on August, 23 rd . The team graduated three next level players in DL James Brockington , DB/QB JaShaun Dorsey , and DB Terrance Scott. Brockington (6-2, 280) was a North-South all-star who signed with The Citadel after last season. Brockington had 57 total tackles including 20 TFL. The team will return several key players from last season who are impact players. Coach Smith is very high on rising junior Tyleek Dukes (6-0,180) who caught 22 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns last season. On defense Dukes blocked three punts, 66 total tackles, including 8 TFL and two sacks with two forced fumbles. “Dukes is the best athlete on our team and out of necessity we are moving from receiver to running back because we need the ball in his hands as much as possible,” said Coach Smith. Xavier Dukes (5-9,170) is a rising senior prospect at receiver and he was named to the Joanne Langfitt Showcase after last season. Dukes caught 18 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran back an 80-yard Kick-off return for a touchdown. In the offensive line all-region performer Mychal Wallace (6-2, 310) will be returning to the Blazers. He plays both ways. On offense he had 12 pancakes last season. In the defensive front he had 30 total tackles with 11 TFL. Rising sophomore linebacker Maleek Dukes (6-2, 190) returns after leading the team with seven sacks his freshman season. Rising senior OL/DL Malcolm Salters (6-0,255) also caught the attention of colleges who came by in May. The QB position is being competing for by rising freshman Makhi Shaw who is an all-around athlete who plays three sports. The other candidate is sophomore Randy McFadden who is more of a thrower who can also run. Ramello McFadden (5-10, 200) returns at RB/LB along with DB/slot WR Bryson Epps (5-8,170). Khaled Riggins is also returning at WR/CB. A newcomer with a lot of potential is rising junior WR/LB Benjamin Washington (6-4, 190).