South Pointe establishes itself as the No. 1 AAAA team
Defending state champion South Florence certainly in the hunt for third title in 4 years
Sumter – South Pointe High School solidified itself as the No. 1 football team in the High School Sports Report AAAA poll with a 28-7 victory over fellow Region 3 power Camden on October 3.
Add a 35-12 triumph over another AAAA and region power in A.C. Flora, a 27-23 win over defending AAAAA Division II state champion Northwestern and the only loss coming to undefeated Hough of Cornelius, North Carolina, and you have a well-padded resume.
South Pointe is led by the state’s No. 1 recruit in J’Zavien Currence. The South Carolina commitment and Shrine Bowl selection is the Stallions’ quarterback but is being groomed as a defensive back in college.
SPHS offensive lineman Anthony Baxter is also a Shrine Bowl selection. Running back RJ Brown has been selected to play in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl.
However, that doesn’t mean the Stallions are a lock to be lifting the championship trophy come December. For starters, there is defending state champion South Florence, which has played in three straight AAAA title games, winning two of them. Like South Pointe, South Florence is 5-1.
South Florence has a pair of Shrine Bowl picks as well. Quarterback Messiah Jackson has been chosen as an athlete along with offensive lineman Josiah Mason. Two Bruins are Touchstone picks in offensive lineman Ethan Cash and linebacker Terry Gordon.
With four weeks left in the season, let’s take a look at each of the six regions and see what lays ahead.
REGION 1
While 2023 state champion and defending runner-up Westside resides in this region, at this point the race for the region title is wide open.
That’s because the Rams were 1-4 prior to their 55-0 win over winless Southside. Fountain Inn and Wren are both 4-2 after winning their region openers, Fountain Inn beating winless Laurens 26-7 and Wren edging Emerald 45-44.
Things will start to fall into place on October 10. Fountain Inn will travel to Wren and 3-3 Emerald will visit Westside.
REGION 2
You can’t talk about Region 2 without first mentioning Daniel. The dominant force in AAA for much of the previous decade, the Lions moved to AAAA last year and reached the third round of the playoffs.
They are 5-1 overall and 2-0 in region play, handing 5-1 Seneca its first loss of the season with a 27-16 triumph. They will likely be 8-1 going into their regular-season finale at Greer.
That game has the possibility of being significant because while Greer is just 3-4, the three victories have come in region contests. The Yellow Jackets have games at 4-2 Blue Ridge and Seneca before getting to Daniel.
REGION 3
With the wins over 5-2 Camden and 6-1 A.C. Flora already under its belt in its first two games, South Pointe seemingly has the region title locked up with the four remaining region teams a combined 6-20.
The most intrigue remaining is who will get the No. 2 seed and the first-round home game in the state playoffs that comes with it. Flora and Camden meet on October 30 in Columbia and, barring a couple of major upsets, that will be who finishes second and who finishes third.
It will also be interesting to see who can earn an at-large bid in the the playoff field along with the third-place team via the ratings percentage index from among York, Lancaster, Dreher and Richland Northeast.
REGION 4
The possibility of there being a lot of ebb and flow to the standings in this region is there because of it being an 8-team region. However, Gray Collegiate Academy has solidly positioned itself as the team to knock down from the pedestal.
The 4-2 War Eagles are 3-0 in region play and already own victories over defending lower state runner-up North Augusta and Midland Valley, handing each of them their only loss of the season to date.
As in Region 3, who gets second place should come down to the regular-season finale between North Augusta and Midland Valley on October 31 in Graniteville.
With games left with GCA and Midland Valley, South Aiken has a chance to get in the mix for second. The Thoroughbreds are 4-3 and 2-2.
REGION 5
All eyes are looking toward the October 31 matchup between Hartsville and South Florence as the game for the region title and rightfully so. The Red Foxes are the defending region champions but lost to South Florence in the third round of the playoffs on the way to the Bruins’ title run.
Both won their first two region games, but Hartsville only evened its overall record at 3-3 with the wins.
Wilson, under first-year head coach Brian Wilson, appears to have asserted itself as at least the third best team in the region. The Tigers are 5-2 and 2-1 after beating Crestwood 27-21 on October 3. The region loss was by a 27=21 count to Hartsville.
Wilson could really gum up the works when it plays host to South Florence on October 17.
REGION 6
Hilton Head Island has firmly placed itself in position to win the region championship. The 6-1 Seahawks are off to a 2-0 start in region play. The wins are over 5-2 Bluffton by a 38-28 count and previously unbeaten Bishop England 41-10.
HHI has a bye week on October 10 before playing at 5-1 May River on October 17. A victory there would all but secure the region crown barring a major collapse against 2-4 Beaufort and 1-5 Colleton County.
Who finishes second will be intriguing. May River plays host to Bishop England on October 10 and travels to Bluffton on October 30. Bishop England plays at Bluffton on October 24.
OTHER AAAA SHRINE BOWL SELECTIONS
Five other athletes ffrom AAAA schools were selected to the Shrine Bowl. They are running backs Mike Doe of North Augusta and Amari Verner of Seneca, offensive lineman Malcom Gaston of North Augusta and defensive backs Dashaun Scriven of Crestwood and Tylin Drakeford of Camden.
