Dutch Fork-Irmo matchup highlights final week of high school football regular season
Other big showdowns have Indian Land meeting Northwestern, Hartsville facing South Florence
Sumter – The final week of the regular season in high school football is upon us, and there are plenty of games on Thursday as well as Friday because of Halloween. However, the showcase matchups are still all set for Friday.
There is a big set of games on Thursday that will decide the Region 8-AAAAA title. James Island, Summerville and Ashley Ridge are all 3-1 in region play with the losses coming to each other. They close region play against the lower half of the 6-team region.
James Island, ranked No. 2 in the High School Sports Report AAAAA Division I poll, plays host to Stall. No. 5 Summerville is at home against Fort Dorchester and No. 9 Ashley Ridge visits West Ashley.
Of course, the most anticipated game on the docket is between Dutch Fork, the No 1 team and defending state champion in AAAAA DI, and Irmo, the No. 1 team in AAAAA Division II and the defending state runner-up.
W.C. Hawkins Stadium should be packed to the gills as the 9-0 Yellow Jackets play host to 7-1 Dutch Fork. The game is for the Region 5 title.
While the Irmo-Dutch Fork matchup is one that was expected, there is another huge AAAAA showdown taking place that not many saw coming. It’s undefeated Indian Land visiting defending DII state champion Northwestern for the Region 3 crown.
Both teams are 5-0 in region play. The Warriors are 9-0 overall and ranked third in DII. Northwestern is 8-1 and ranked second. The Trojans have a prolific offense again, having scored 436 points. IL, on the other hand, has a beyond-stingy defense. It has allowed just 71 points.
The biggest matchup in AAAA has No. 14 and 6-3 Hartsville visiting No. 2 and 8-1 South Florence for the Region 5 title. The teams met for the region crown last year with Hartsville winning only to lose to the Bruins in the third round of the state playoffs on the way to them winning a second state title in three years.
The top showdown in AAA will have defending state champion and No. 2 Oceanside Collegiate Academy visiting No. 8 and undefeated Orangeburg-Wilkinson. OCA is 7-2 and handed Dutch Fork its only loss. The Bruins are 9-0 and have allowed just 49 points, but this is easily their biggest challenge of the season.
In Region 7-AA, No. 13 Manning can win its second straight region title outright with a win over Lake City after losing its region opener to No. 8 East Clarendon. However, if Lake City tops the Monarchs and EC beats winless Marion, there will be a 4-way tie for first place. MHS, LC and the Wolverines will all be 4-2 along with the winner of the game between Kingstree and Atlantic Collegiate Academy.
The big showdown in Class A has defending state champion Abbeville visiting undefeated Ware Shoals for the Region 1 title. Both are 4-0 in region play. Abbeville is 7-2 overall and ranked second while 9-0 Ware Shoals is ranked fifth.
The top two teams in the HSSR SCISA Class A poll, No. 1 Williamsburg Academy and No. 2 Dorchester Academy, will meet for the Region 1 championship in St. George. The Stallions are 7-1 with the only loss being by a 28-26 count to defending AA state champion and undefeated Bethesda Academy. DA is 8-0 after beating No. 3 Colleton Prep 28-14 last week.
SCHSL
Thursday
5A
Region 1
Greenwood at Easley
Mauldin at J.L. Mann
Region 4
Chapin at White Knoll
Lexington at River Bluff
Region 7
Cane Bay at Berkeley
Stratford at Goose Creek
Wando at Lucy Beckham
Region 8
Ashley Ridge at West Ashley
Fort Dorchester at Summerville
Stall at James Island
4A
Region 1
Southside at Fountain Inn
Westside at Wren
Region 3
Camden at A.C. Flora
Richland Northeast at South Pointe
Region 4
Brookland-Cayce at Airport
Region 5
Lakewood at Crestwood
Region 6
May River at Bluffton
3A
Region 5
Dillon at Georgetown
Region 6
Hanahan at Battery Creek
2A
Region 1
Blacksburg at Liberty
Region 2
American Leadership at Pelion
Region 6
Andrews at Philip Simmons
1A
Region 4
Bamberg-Ehrhardt at Denmark-Olar
Region 6
Green Sea Floyds at Lake View
SCISA
11-Man
Bethesda at St. John’s Christian
Cardinal Newman at Hammond
John Paul II at Pinewood Prep
8-Man
Palmetto Christian at Cross Schools
Friday
5A
Region 1
Hillcrest at Woodmont
T.L. Hanna at Greenville
Region 2
Byrnes at Boiling Springs
Dorman at Eastside
Riverside at Spartanburg
Wade Hampton at Gaffney
Region 3
Catawba Ridge at Clover
Indian Land at Northwestern
Nation Ford at Fort Mill
Region 4
Dutch Fork at Irmo
Region 5
Blythewood at Ridge View
Sumter at Westwood
West Florence at Spring Valley
Region 6
Carolina Forest at Conway
North Myrtle Beach at Myrtle Beach
St. James at Socastee
4A
Region 1
Emerald at Laurens
Region 2
Berea at Blue Ridge
Daniel at Greer
Travelers Rest at Pickens
Region 3
York at Lancaster
Region 4
Aiken at South Aiken
North Augusta at Midland Valley
Region 5
Darlington at Wilson
Hartsville at South Florence
Region 6
Beaufort at Hilton Head Island
Colleton County at Bishop England
3A
Region 1
Belton-Honea Path at Walhalla
Crescent at Pendleton
Region 2
Palmetto at Christ Church
Powdersville at St. Joseph’s
Southside Christian at Carolina High
Region 3
Broome at Chapman
Woodruff at Union County
Region 4
Fox Creek at Silver Bluff
Swansea at Newberry
Region 5
Aynor at Loris
Marlboro County at Waccamaw
Region 6
Oceanside Collegiate at Orangeburg-Wilkinson
2A
Region 1
Landrum at Chesnee
Region 2
Saluda at Batesburg-Leesville
Strom Thurmond at Ninety Six
Region 3
Columbia at Fairfield Central
Mid-Carolina at Eau Claire
Region 4
Buford at Andrew Jackson
Central at North Centrla
Chesterfield at Cheraw
Region 5
Barnwell at Whale Branch
Edisto at Lake Marion
Region 6
Burke at Academic Magnet
Woodland at Timberland
Region 7
Atlantic Collegiate at Kingstree
Lake City at Manning
Marion at East Clarendon
1A
Region 1
Abbeville at Ware Shoals
Calhoun Falls at Whitmire
McCormick at Dixie
Region 2
Great Falls at McBee
Lee Central at C.A. Johnson
Lewisville at Lamar
Region 3
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler at Ridge Spring-Monetta
Williston-Elko at Blackville-Hilda
Wagener-Salley at Calhoun County
Region 4
Hardeeville at Allendale-Fairfax
Region 5
Baptist Hill at Cross
Branchville at St. John’s
Military Magnet at Scott’s Branch
Region 6
Latta at Johnsonville
SCISA
11-Man
Augusta Christian at Ben Lippen
Beaufort Academy at Thomas Heyward
Carolina Academy at Lee Academy
Clarendon Hall at Calhoun Academy
Dillon Christian at Pee Dee
Heathwood Hall at Northwood
Hilton Head Christian at Hilton Head Prep
Northside Christian at Camden Military
Patrick Henry at Andrew Jackson
Porter-Gaud at Laurence Manning
Spartanburg Christian at Greenwood Christian
Thomas Sumter at Orangeburg Prep
Trinity Collegiate at Florence Christian
Williamsburg at Dorchester
Wilson Hall at First Baptist
8-Man
Holly Hill at Jefferson Davis
Richard Winn at Wardlaw
The King’s Academy at Cathedral
W.W. King at Laurens Academy
