By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Lake Murray region has four undefeated high school football teams after two weeks.
Lexington, River Bluff, Chapin, and Newberry are all sporting 2-0 records. All are also leaning outside the Top 10 of their respective classifications in the High School Prep Football poll.
The Wildcats were the lone road team and escaped North Augusta with a 20-19 victory.
Quarterback Brennon Carter and running back/linebacker Michael McAulay both had rushing touchdowns and placekicker Gavin Kovac was 2-2 on field goals.
Lexington’s victory was also sparked by its play in the two other phases of the game. The special teams blocked two punts which set up a field goal and touchdown and an extra point which proved critical for the Yellow Jackets.
On defense, the Wildcats pressured quarterback Corey Tillman who was missing injured wide receiver Connor Brown. Despite running back Michael Doe scoring three touchdowns, they managed to stop him for a loss on fourth and goal at the one-yard line with 3.9 seconds left.
“Even though we lost some starters on defense, I talked about the maturity of our defense,” Lexington head coach Dustin Curtis said. “We start 10 starters on defense that are defense and you can tell that these guys have been in close games. They’ve been in wars and at the end of the game, we had to come up with a play on the one freaking yard line. We made it. So, really proud of our guys. Unbelievable job.”
Back in The Swamp, River Bluff defeated Brookland-Cayce 41-21 in a matchup of Lexington County teams.
Running back Hayden Myers rushed for 130 yards and he and backfield mate Jacob Pinkney each had two touchdowns. Quarterback Parker Murray was a near-perfect 15-17 passing for 175 yards and threw a tipped, over-the-shoulder caught 39-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Griffin.
Defensive tackle Nathan Shuman led River Bluff with 12 tackles and the defense collected five sacks. King led Brookland-Cayce on the ground with 121 rushing yards and Aden Price, Tyrone Jackson and Jvonn Edwards all scored touchdowns.
Over at Cecil Woolbright Field, Chapin christened its refurbished stadium with a 62-21 rout of A.C. Flora.
It was a record-setting night for Eagle quarterback Brady Albro. The senior broke two school career records for touchdowns (48) and passing yards (5,446) in throwing for 370 yards and four touchdowns
“It was awesome man,” Albro said afterwards. “Shout out to o-line. They gave me all the time in the world to pick them apart. Khaled (Bostick) and Stone (Furrey), all the receivers made great plays. I didn’t know I was close to (the record). I’m just glad we went out and executed and won.”
Running back Cole Martin rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns and had seven catches for 97 yards.
The lone Region 4-5A team to lose this week was White Knoll. The Timberwolves jumped out to a 20-point lead against Sumter in a matchup of Top 10 Class 5A teams.
The Gamecocks rallied to force the first of two overtimes. After White Knoll quarterback Landon Sharpe was intercepted to start the second overtime, Sumter won the game 43-40 on a field goal.
Newberry undefeated, enters Prep Media Poll
Over in Newberry County, the Bulldogs continued their dominance in the rivalry with Mid-Carolina. B.J. Jones scored three touchdowns and Bryce Satterwhite and Caleb Levy each added a score for Newberry in the 43-0 victory.
In other action, Gilbert used a second half comeback to defeat Wilson 28-18. Trevon Williamson rushed for two touchdowns and the Indians outscored the Tigers 14-0 in the second half for the victory.
Williamson accounted for 70 of his team’s 201 rushing yards and the defense collected two interceptions. Krew Morris also scored a touchdown for the Indians, who have a bye this week.
Rounding out the Week One schedule saw American Leadership Academy fall to 0-2 following a 38-8 loss to Calhoun Falls Charter.
S.C. PREP FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL
Class 5A
1. Dutch Fork (17) (1-0)
2. Gaffney (1) (1-0)
3. Northwestern (2) (2-0)
4. Summerville (2-0)
5. Irmo (2-0)
6. TL Hanna (1-0)
7. Sumter (2-0)
8. JL Mann (1-1)’
9. White Knoll (1-1)
10. Hillcrest (2-0)
Others receiving votes: Spartanburg, Boiling Springs, Lexington, River Bluff, Fort Dorchester, Blythewood, Chapin, James Island
Class 4A
1. Westside (1-0) (20)
2. Daniel (2-0)
3. South Pointe (1-1)
4. South Florence (1-1)
5. Camden (1-1)
6. Gray Collegiate (1-1)
7. Hartsville (0-0-1)
8. Richland Northeast (2-0)
9. May River (2-0)
10. Wren (2-0)
Others receiving votes: Seneca, Bluffton, North Augusta, Emerald, Gilbert, Lancaster, Midland Valley, Darlington, Crestwood, Brookland-Cayce, AC Flora
Class 3A
1. Belton-Honea Path (19) 2-0
2. Dillon (1) (2-0)
3. Pendleton (2-0)
4. Oceanside Collegiate (1-1)
5. Mountain View Prep (2-0)
6. Woodruff (2-0)
7. Marlboro County (2-0)
8. Loris (2-0)
9. Chapman (1-1)
10. Newberry (2-0)
Others receiving votes: Aynor, St. Joseph’s, Broome, Christ Church, Walhalla, Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Keenan, Swansea, Hanahan
WEEK TWO SCHEDULE
(All Games Start at 7:30 p.m.)
American Leadership Academy at Branchville
Lexington at Midland Valley
River Bluff at Nation Ford
White Knoll at Brookland-Cayce
Clinton at Newberry
Mid-Carolina at Whitmire
Photos by Thomas Grant Jr.
1. Lexington High School quarterback Brennon Carter with the carry against North Augusta.
2. Lexington players recover loose ball.
