Round 2 of the SCHSL Playoffs have arrived and the competition only gets tougher each week for the remaining teams. For some teams, they are trying not to look ahead to what could be a 3rd round matchup or even a state title game. One of the hardest things for coaches is to get their team to focus on this week’s opponent and not look ahead. However, for us media, we can look ahead and see what would be intriguing matchups in the future. This week I will pick 17 games that are happening in the Upstate.
I went 28-5 in Week 11 and now sit at 249-62 on the season. Here are the games I got wrong.
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler vs St. Joseph’s; I picked HKT
Ninety Six vs Keenan; I picked Ninety Six
Batesburg-Leesville vs Chesnee; I picked Batesburg-Leesville
Indian Land vs Greer; I picked Indian Land
North Augusta vs Greenwood; I picked North Augusta
Usually I highlight a few of the biggest games of the week but this week EVERY game is huge so I will discuss each one briefly.
Week 12; Round 2:
1A:
McBee at Christ Church
The Cavaliers enter this game 9-2 on the season coming off of a big win in Round 1 over Ridge Spring-Monetta. Mcbee is 7-4 on the season as they had a first round win over Dixie 49-12. I believe that the Cavaliers are the more battle tested team here and I like Christ Church at home on Friday night.
Cole’s Pick:
Christ Church 30, Mcbee 17
Southside Christian at Calhoun County
Southside Christian enters this game 7-3 while Calhoun County enters this game 10-1 on the season. Calhoun County has had an incredible season, I just believe that Southside Christian may be the team that is better in the trenches. I like the Sabres in a close one on Friday night.
Cole’s Pick:
Southside Christian 24, Calhoun County 17
Lewisville at St. Joseph’s
St. Joseph’s enters this game coming off of a big win in Round 1 over Hunter-Kinard-Tyler 38-24. Lewisville has one loss on the season and it was to Oceanside back on the 18th of August. Since that loss, Lewisville has outscored their opponents 503 to 13. Yes, that is a real stat and is not a typo. The Catholic Knights are going to have their HANDS FULL on Friday night as I don’t think this one will be too close.
Cole’s Pick:
Lewisville 40, St. Joseph’s 21
2A:
Chesnee at Gray Collegiate
Chesnee had an incredible Round 1 win over Batesburg-Leesville and that may have been the confidence boost that Clay Lewis & his team needed as the road gets much tougher for the Eagles. Gray Collegiate comes into this game with only 3 losses on the season and on paper is the better team. Chesnee will have to have a near perfect game on Friday to pull off the upset.
Cole’s Pick:
Gray Collegiate 38, Chesnee 21
Newberry at Abbeville
Abbeville is a tough matchup for anyone but when you have to travel to Abbeville in the playoffs, good luck. Luck is something Newberry will need a lot of on Friday as they hit the road to take on the Panthers. Abbeville is 10-1 on the season with a lone loss to Westside while Newberry comes into the game 6-5. If you put a Panther & a Bulldog into a cage, the Panther is going to win 10 times out of 10. I am rolling with Abbeville on Friday.
Cole’s Pick:
Abbeville 42, Newberry 17
3A:
Wren at Daniel
The Hurricanes have had an impressive season under first year HC Anthony Frate as they enter this game 6-5. They defeated Woodruff in Round 1 on Friday night by a score of 49-32. While Wren is one of the final 8 teams left in 3A, their road to a title game ends here. Daniel is on a different level and Wren will have to have a miracle on Friday night in order to pull off the biggest upset in SC.
Cole’s Pick:
Daniel 45, Wren 21
Chester at Chapman
Chester High School & Chapman High School are separated by 63 miles and on Friday night we very well could see the scoreboard light up close to 63 points combined. I anticipate offense, offense, and more offense on Friday. Chapman has the ability to score at will. In this matchup, however, I do think the Panthers defense will make the play when needed to get off the field and get the victory on Friday. I like what I have seen from Coleman Gray at QB for the Panthers this season and he will need to have another big game on Friday night. Chester comes into this game 9-2 with lone losses to South Pointe & Clinton. All roads must come to an end and I believe that the Cyclones road will end this Friday.
Cole’s Pick:
Chapman 35, Chester 31
BHP at Pendleton
9-2 Pendleton vs 11-0 BHP… get your popcorn ready. This 3A matchup could be a lot of fun on Friday as the Bulldogs have to go to the other side of Anderson to take on the red-hot Bears. These 2 teams did not play in the regular season so we could witness a lot of postseason fireworks on Friday. Both of these teams are super talented at the QB position and will both want to stretch the field on Friday night. When it is all said and done, I believe the Bears will come out on top.
Cole’s Pick:
BHP 31, Pendleton 21
Broome at Clinton
Have I told you how fun this 3A slate is this week? One heavy weight fight after another and this one will be as good as it gets. Two totally different styles of offense clash on Friday as the Centurions come off of a big Round 1 win over Seneca. For Clinton, they took care of Palmetto on Friday night easily by a score of 42-18. Clinton is good without a doubt, but I do like Broome in this one on Friday to go on the road and knock off the Clinton Red Devils.
Cole’s Pick:
Broome 40, Clinton 31
4A:
Greenville at Greer:
Two really good teams face off in Greer on Friday in 4A but I worry about Greer’s ability to stop the Red Raiders in this one. Greer advanced past Indian Land on Friday on a BS roughing the kicker call that was not roughing the kicker. The Yellow Jacket defense will have to play a near perfect game on Friday in order to steal this one at home.
Cole’s Pick:
Greenville 35, Greer 21
Greenwood at Northwestern
Not much to say here as the Eagles of Greenwood are going against a buzz saw on Friday night as they play at Northwestern.
Cole’s Pick:
Northwestern 45, Greenwood 19
York at Westside
Cole’s Pick:
Westside 36, York 22
Midland Valley at South Pointe
Cole’s Pick:
South Pointe 41, Midland Valley 21
5A:
Dutch Fork at TL Hanna
All of a sudden the Silver Fox look like the best team in 5A as they have gotten healthy and are playing with a ton of confidence. Not to mention they are still coached by Tom Knotts. The Yellow Jackets of TL Hanna come into this game 10-1 on the season with their only loss coming to Westside back in September. I like this one to be close for 3 quarters or so, but I do believe that a healthy and confident Dutch Fork team is the last thing anyone wants to see this time of year.
Cole’s Pick:
Dutch Fork 38, TL Hanna 28
Gaffney at Clover
Clover may be one of the biggest sleepers in all of 5A as they have flown under the radar this season but have several quality wins on their resume. The Blue Eagles defeated Boiling Springs & Dorman and both were convincing wins. Gaffney throttled Lexington in Round 1 and that may have been a big boost of confidence for the Indians after ending the regular season with a sour taste in their mouth. Clover is led by Perry Woolbright who spent time as the Co-Offensive Coordinator at Gaffney some years back. The Indians will need to be on their a-game on Friday if they want to go to Clover and steal a win. This one will be close, but I believe that the Indians speed on the outside will be too much for the Blue Eagles to handle on Friday night.
Cole’s Pick:
Gaffney 30, Clover 21
Hillcrest at Byrnes
While Hillcrest has had a great season, their Round 2 matchup is one of the toughest in the state. They will try to do the unthinkable and knock off the red-hot Byrnes Rebels on Friday at Nixon Field. While the Rams do have playmakers in Avery McFadden & Thomas Stanley, the Rams defense will be the key on Friday in somehow subduing the plethora of weapons that the Rebels have. The Rams season will come to an end on Friday.
Cole’s Pick:
Byrnes 35, Hillcrest 21
Spartanburg at JL Mann
The Spartanburg Vikings have not been the flashiest or sexiest team this season, however, they have been effective relying on their defense to make stops and force turnovers. JL Mann will be a tough matchup on Friday for Spartanburg as the Patriots have a lot of speed especially in the secondary, however, I do think the Vikings defense will rise up again on the road. This one should be close, but in the end, I like the Vikings to advance to the 3rd Round.
Cole’s Pick:
Spartanburg 24, JL Mann 21
For a full recap of the games above, catch Cole Bryson & Alex Guest this Saturday morning on The Saturday Morning Scramble from 8-10am on The Fan Upstate.