Saturday Morning Quarterback: Onward In The Playoffs

FIRST THINGS FIRST: EATING SOME
CROW

So, my pick record took a little bit
of a hit last night as I went 13-7 to take me to 108-20 overall in the playoffs.
The first thing I want to do is step up and own my picks I got wrong and salute
those teams.

In 5A, Gaffney showed up to play football
and cost me a game. It’s not that I don’t think Gaffney has the talent to win
these big games, after all, I had them at No. 2 in the preseason. It’s just
that they don’t always show up to play ball. The past two weeks, they have played
lights out and I comment them on that. Also, Carolina Forest, I should have
never doubted you and I certainly never should have gone against my No. 2 QB, Mason
Garcia.

In 4A, Hartsville squeezed out a win
by going for 2 with 2:39 in the game and knocked off Brookland-Cayce. Jeff
Calabrese did an amazing job making adjustments and doing some uncharacteristic
things – like throw the football – in the second half. Great job!

In 3A, Camden went on the road and
knocked off Union, who I had picked. I struggled with picking this game anyway
because I felt they were so evenly matched but ended up going with Union County
as the home team and I paid for it. Congratulations to Camden. Dillon got me
too, knocking off Gilbert in the closing moments of the game to advance to the
semi-finals.

In 2A, Saluda got revenge for an
earlier season loss against Southside Christian. This was another game I
struggled with picking but went with the wrong one.

1A is always tough to pick but I did
have Blackville Hilda beating Ridge Springs-Monetta and was wrong as RSM got
the win in the third overtime.

STRENGTH IN AREAS

Taking a look at the number of teams
remaining in the playoffs based on the areas they are in is pretty interesting.
Here’s a breakdown.

Midllands – 6 teams remaining if we
count Wagener-Salley and Ridge Springs Monetta, which are both within the same
area (distance) as the other Columbia perimeter schools we have. (Dutch Fork,
Ridge View, Camden, Saluda, Ridge Springs-Monetta, Wagener-Salley)

Pee Dee – 6 Teams remaining. (Carolina
Forest, Myrtle Beach, Hartsville, Dillon, Lake View, Green Sea Floyds)

Upstate – 5 Teams Remaining
(Gafnney, Dorman, Wren, Chapman, Abbeville)

Lower State – 3 Teams remaining (May
River, Barnwell, Oceanside Collegiate)

THE SCORES FROM THIRD ROUND

Class 5A

Upper State

GAFFNEY 34, BYRNES 20

DORMAN 45, CLOVER 42

Lower Stat

DF 48, FORT DORCHESTER 0

CAROLINA FOREST 41, GOOSE CREEK 14

Class 4A

Upper State

WREN 17, GREENVILLE 7

RIDGE VIEW 35, DANIEL 28

Lower State

MYRTLE BEACH 34, AIRPORT 10

HARTSVILLE 22, BROOKLAND-CAYCE 21

Class 3A

Upper State

CHAPMAN 49, WOODRUFF 0

CAMDEN 42, UNION COUNTY 27

Lower State

MAY RIVER 21, STROM THURMOND 17

DILLON 41, GILBERT 34

Class 2A

Upper State

SALUDA 56, SOUTHSIDE CHRISTIAN 42ABBEVILLE 38, GRAY 35

Lower State

BARNWELL 49, TIMBERLAND 19

OCEANSIDE 56, WOODLAND 42

Class A

Upper State

RSM 26, BLACKVILLE 24   3 O/T

WAGENER SALLEY 24, LAMAR 12

Lower State

LAKE VIEW 50, CROSS 8

GREEN SEA FLOYD 46, CE MURRAY 6

About Jim Baxter

Founder of SCVarsity.com, and The Southern PIgskin Report. Former publisher with Rivals.com and Nationally published recruiting anlayst witih 30 years of experience in the industry. His work has appeared in publications such as Athlon, Sporting News, The Recruiting News and Deep South Recruiting. He is the author of the best selling book, The Book On Evaluating Football Players.

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