SPORTS REPORT
The South Carolina High School League football playoffs won’t start until this week, but it was a postseason atmosphere in The Den at Bluffton High School on Friday for Bridge Bowl Take 3, with the No. 2 spot from Region 6-4A up for grabs on the final night of the regular season — and an undesirable consolation prize of a playoff rematch with rival May River for the loser.
The home crowd was fired up to roar for the Bluffton Bobcats, but Troy Timko stole the show for the Hilton Head Seahawks. Timko and the Seahawks’ running game set the tone early and didn’t let up, rolling up 435 yards on the ground and averaging 10 yards per carry.
The senior Timko led the way with 270 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, while sophomore Thaddeus Czarnecki added 127 yards and a score in addition to a team-high 13 tackles and a key role in shutting down Bluffton’s dynamic offense.
Derrick Raniszewski’s 58-yard bomb to a wide-open Carson Haines extended the lead to 28-0 before halftime, and Timko and Czarnecki put on the finishing touches in a 42-7 rout for Hilton Head High.
So the Seahawks are the No. 5 seed in the Class 4A Lower State bracket and will host Crestwood for a first-round game Friday, while the Bobcats will be back in The Den for a rematch with May River. Bluffton won a 24-21 thriller two weeks ago, so the Sharks will be out for blood.
The postseason began in earnest for South Carolina private schools, and by the end of the night Friday, we were down to the final four in each SCISA bracket with a trio of Lowco squads still standing.
Defending SCISA 3A champion HHCA was dominant in its first-round matchup, as Reid McCollum rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and went 9-of-16 passing for 160 yards and three more scores, and the Eagles’ defense forced five turnovers in a blowout win at home. Freshman Sam Strum caught a pair of touchdown passes and Harry Cunningham added a touchdown grab along with eight tackles on defense.
HHCA travels to Wilson Hall for a semifinal matchup Friday in a rematch of last year’s SCISA 3A title game.
In SCISA 1A, the prospect of a rematch between Thomas Heyward and Beaufort Academy in the championship game is still in play after the Rebels asserted their dominance and the Eagles pulled off a late comeback at home Friday.
Thomas Heyward rattled off 41 unanswered points over the final three periods to roll into the semifinals with a 55-12 rout of Lee Academy. Tony O’Banner rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, Nic Robinson added 43 yards and two scores on eight carries, and Kiran Boggess was a perfect 9-for-9 for 146 yards with touchdown passes to Eli McLemore and Josh Gibson. Beau Pinckney had a team-high 16 tackles, and the Rebels forced three turnovers.
At BA, Dietrich Shuford rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and went 13-of-19 passing for 243 yards and a score to lead the Eagles back from a fourth-quarter deficit and help BA survive at home after an errant snap through the end zone resulted in a go-ahead safety with three minutes left. Jace Paulk had five catches for 101 yards, and Devin Fripp hauled in a touchdown pass.
THA will host Dorchester Academy on Friday, while BA travels to Williamsburg Academy in the other semifinal.
It was the end of the road for John Paul II, Hilton Head Prep, Colleton Prep, Patrick Henry and Cross Schools. On to basketball and wrestling season.
We’ll be live at 9:30pm tonight for the LowcoSports Lowdown, and we’ll look back on all the action under the Friday night lights and check in on other sports news around the Lowco, so tune in to the Lowco Media YouTube channel for all the LOCAL sports news you need.
Justin Jarrett, Lowco Sports
Last Night in the LowCo
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WHHI Daily News Anchor: Bob Stevens
November 2024
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