By Thomas Grant Jr.
After playing four games in 15 days, Airport head coach Shane Fidler provided this sage advice to his wearied players.
“You’ve played so much football and done so much football the last few weeks, take 24 hours and don’t even think about football,” said Fidler, following the 31-18 loss to Gilbert. It was the Eagles’ fourth straight loss. “Just be a kid. Just relaxed. Go to sleep. And then tomorrow, NFL four o’clock games turn on, go ahead, and reset yourself and get back to football mode.”
Archrival Brookland-Cayce also comes into the annual matchup off a similarly condensed schedule. After beating Aiken on Oct. 18, the Bearcats dropped three straight games.
This past week saw it fall 49-7 to Gray Collegiate on Oct. 22 and lose 56-28 to North Augusta. In the latter contest, the Bearcats played the Yellow Jackets to a 28-28 halftime tie, only to allow 28 straight points in the second half.
Brookland-Cayce (2-7, 2-4) has won the last six meetings against Airport (1-7, 1-4). The Bearcats have won four of those matchups via shutout, including 49-0 last year in West Columbia.
The game is available for streaming through the Palmetto State Sports Network. The app is available for download or visiting the online site.
Surging War Eagles
While both Airport and Brookland-Cayce struggled, fellow Region 4-4A member Gray Collegiate is riding a 5-game winning streak.
The War Eagles (6-2, 5-0) won their four games during a 15-day stretch by close to an average of 50 points. In this past Saturday’s 55-0 win over Aiken, defensive backs Aiden Legger and Corey Gleaton both returned interceptions for touchdowns, quarterback Tyler Waller had three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and B.J. Montgomery rushed for a score.
A Friday win at Gilbert sets up a season-ending matchup at North Augusta for the region title.
School record for Crusaders
History was made for the second straight week by the Northside Christian Academy football program.
The 34-7 win over Florence Christian School set a school record for victories by the Crusaders (8-1, 2-1). It broke the previous mark of seven set in 2017 by the 8-man football team that finished SCISA runner-up.
Leading rusher Sam Burks had 17 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns and J.R. Kinard added 126 rushing yards and a score. Burks leads the team with 747 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, followed by Kinard with 645 yards and seven touchdowns.
On defense, the Crusaders allowed just 17 passing yards and Jake Jeffrey had an interception return for a touchdown.
This year’s team will finish no lower than second place in the region. It will play host to a first-round Class 3A playoff game when the playoffs begin Nov. 8.
Back in Action
After a region-wide bye created by the extra week added by the S.C. High League, River Bluff returns to action Friday.
The good news for the Gators (7-1, 2-1) is the game is at home. The bad news is they invite top-ranked, defending Class 5A champion Dutch Fork (7-0, 3-0) into The Swamp.
River Bluff is 0-8 lifetime against the Silver Foxes, losing by an average of 42 points. Dutch Fork has posted five shutouts this season, has allowed a total of 17 points and have held opponents scoreless for nine straight quarters.
The Gators have allowed an average of 20 points per game with senior linebacker leading the team with 47 tackles. They are scoring at 31.25 points a contest with junior running back Hayden Myers 63 yards shy of 1,000 yards this season.
S.C. PREP FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL
Class 5A
1. Dutch Fork (17) (7-0)
2. Northwestern (1) (9-0)
3. Summerville (9-0)
4. Irmo (8-0)
5. Sumter (8-0)
6. Spartanburg (6-1)
7. Gaffney (6-1)
8. Hillcrest (7-1)
9. JL Mann (6-2)
10. River Bluff (7-1)
Others receiving votes: TL Hanna, Dorman, Boiling Springs, Catawba Ridge, Greenwood, Clover
Class 4A
1. Westside (18) (7-0)
2. Daniel (7-1)
3. South Pointe (7-2)
4. South Florence (7-2)
5. Hartsville (7-1)
6. May River (7-1)
7. North Augusta (7-1)
8. Wren (6-1)
9. Seneca (8-1)
10. AC Flora (7-2)
Others receiving votes: Gray Collegiate, Greer; Bishop England; Richland Northeast
RPI RATINGS
Division I
(Upper State)
1.Dutch Fork, 7-0, 0.86230, 2. Spartanburg, 6-1, 0.76799, 3. River Bluff, 7-1, 0.71766, 4. JL Mann, 6-2, 0.69060, 5. Lexington, 5-3, 0.64505, 6. Boiling Springs, 5-2, 0.61839, 7. Clover, 6-3, 0.60427, 8. Dorman, 5-3, 0.60012, 9. Blythewood, 6-3, 0.56370, 10. Rock Hill, 5-5, 0.55063, 11. J.F. Byrnes, 3-5, 0.50899 Mauldin, 2-6, 0.36005, 12. Wade Hampton, 0-7, 0.18146
(Lower State)
1. Summerville, 9-0, 0.79045, 2. Sumter, 8-0, 0.74792, 3. Ridge View, 5-3, 0.64150, 4. James Island, 6-3, 0.61407, 5. Ashley Ridge, 6-3, 0.59774, 6. Carolina Forest, 4-3-1, 0.56675, 7. Fort Dorchester, 5-4, 0.52885, 8. West Ashley, 4-5, 0.47636, 9. Stratford, 4-5, 0.46697, 10. Wando, 4-5, 0.43045, 11. Cane Bay, 1-7, 0.30064, 12. Spring Valley, 0-9, 0.29078, 13. Stall, 0-8, 0.24091
Division II
(Upper State)
1.Northwestern, 9-0, 0.82032, 2. Gaffney, 6-1, 0.72599, 3. TL Hanna, 6-2, 0.66066, 4. Hillcrest, 7-1, 0.65533, 5. Greenwood, 6-2, 0.61888, 6. Catawba Ridge, 7-2, 0.61365, 7. Riverside, 4-3, 0.54554 8. Indian Land, 5-4, 0.48251, 9. Eastside, 4-3, 0.46149, 10. Woodmont, 2-6 ,0.41322, 11. Nation Ford, 1-8, 0.36377, 12. Greenville, 1-7, 0.34569, 13. Fort Mill, 1-7, 0.32326, 14. Easley, 1-7, 0.32369
(Lower State)
1.Irmo, 8-0, 0.81999, 2. West Florence, 6-3, 0.60689, 3. Chapin, 4-4, 0.60022, 4. White Knoll, 4-4, 0.58711, 5. Goose Creek, 5-3, 0.58686, 6. Berkeley, 5-4, 0.53913, 7. Westwood, 5-4, 0.52112 , 8. Myrtle Beach, 4-4, 0.49774, 9. Lugoff-Elgin, 4-6, 0.45234, 10. Lucy Beckham, 4-5, 0.44693, 11. Socastee, 3-5, 0.43563, 12. North Myrtle Beach, 3-4, 0.40963, 13. Conway, 1-7, 0.30356, 14. St. James, 0-8, 0.22422
CLASS 4A
(Upper State)
1.Westside, 7-0, 0.82969, 2. Daniel, 7-1, 0.68015, 3. Seneca, 7-1, 0.66951, 4. South Pointe, 7-2, 0.66785, 5. Wren, 6-1, 0.63970, 6. AC Flora. 7-2, 0.63292, 7. Greer 5-3, 0.61752, 8. Camden, 6-3, 0.61114, 9. Richland Northeast, 7-2, 0.60490, 10. Fountain Inn, 4-4, 0.54313, 11. Emerald, 4-4, 0.49819, 12. Pickens, 3-5, 0.46884, 13. Lancaster, 3-6, 0.43224, 14. Berea, 3-5, 0.42235, 14. Dreher, 3-6, 0.41426, 16. Blue Ridge, 3-5, 0.40326, 17. Laurens, 1-7, 0.39287, 18. York, 2-7, 0.36981, 19. Travelers Rest, 1-6, 0.28879, 20. Southside, 0-8, 0.20753
(Lower State)
1.Bishop England, 7-2, 0.69644, 2. South Florence, 6-2, 0.67987, 3. Hartsville, 7-1-1, 0.67469, 4. North Augusta. 7-1, 0.67052, 5. May River, 7-1, 0.65960, 6. Gray Collegiate, 6-2, 0.63513, 7. Hilton Head Island, 6-2, 0.60638, 8. Bluffton, 5-3, 0.54004, 9. Crestwood. 4-5, 0.52664, 10. Darlington. 4-5, 0.49769, 11. Gilbert, 4-4, 0.48336, 12. Lower Richland, 5-5, 0.47485, 13. South Aiken. 3-5, 0.47140, 14. Midland Valley, 4-5, 0.44881, 15. Beaufort, 2-7, 0.39461, 16. Lakewood, 2-7, 0.38327, 17. Brookland-Cayce, 2-7, 0.38143, 18. Airport, 1-7, 0.33141, 19. Wilson, 1-8, 0.30641, 20. Colleton County, 1-8, 0.30598, 21. Aiken, 0-8, 0.22463
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
(All games start at 7:30 p.m.)
Airport at Brookland-Cayce
Camden Military at Northside Christian
Dutch Fork at River Bluff
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