Each week throughout the high school football season, we’ll chase down the stats, check out the highlights, and round up our Players of the Week from around the Lowco, as well as an area Team of the Week and a preview of the upcoming Game of the Week in the Lowco Football Spotlight.
We picked the top Players of the Week, handed out a few Helmet Stickers for strong performances, and picked a Team of the Week for Week 9 and a Game of the Week we’re looking forward to in Week 10. It’s everything you need to know to get ready for another week of high school football in the Lowco.
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WEEK 9 RESULTS
Beaufort High 45, Bluffton 12
May River 37, Colleton County 3
James Island 28, Hilton Head High 7
Lake Marion 50, Ridgeland-Hardeeville 12
Whale Branch 42, Allendale-Fairfax 0
Thomas Heyward 45, Bethesda Academy 0
Colleton Prep 31, Greenwood Christian 14
John Paul II 24, Hilton Head Prep 10
Hilton Head Christian 35, Beaufort Academy 6
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Garvin Douglas, MRHS: Douglas continued his demolition of opposing defenses in Friday’s rout of Colleton County, rushing for 122 yards and 4 TDs on nine carries and completing 7 of 10 passes for 66 yards. The senior is averaging 167.2 rushing yards per game with 21 TDs in his first season as the Sharks’ starting quarterback.
• Joseph Hicks, WB: Hicks only touched the ball eight times Friday at Allendale-Fairfax, but the Lowco’s most efficient back turned it into 185 yards and 4 TDs while also making five tackles (one for loss) on the other side of the ball. The senior star is averaging 12.6 yards per carry and has 16 TDs on just 78 attempts.
• Joseph Robinson, HHCA: Robinson has proven to be the cure to many of HHCA’s preseason concerns, giving the Eagles a powerful running back who can catch the ball out of the backfield and delivers punishing hits on defense. Against Beaufort Academy, he rushed for 66 yards and a TD on five carries, caught four passes for 41 yards, and delivered nine tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble in a dominant defensive effort.
• Christian Tilton, JPII: The Golden Warriors’ sophomore signal-caller continued his exponential growth this season with an excellent showing against Hilton Head Prep, rushing for 147 yards and a TD on 19 carries and completing 3 of 9 passes for 78 yards with 2 TDs and an interception, and the two-way standout also made six tackles on defense.
• Alvin Wilson, BHS: The Eagles’ defense bounced back from a loss to May River in a big way Friday at Bluffton, holding the Bobcats’ high-flying attack to 164 total yards. Beaufort’s pass rush and ability to stop the run was the key to shutting down Bluffton, and Wilson led the charge with eight tackles (four for loss), a sack, a QB pressure, a pass break-up, and a forced fumble. Quite an evening for the Touchstone Energy Bowl selection.
HELMET STICKERS
• Jaeon Allen, MRHS: 5 tackles, TFL, QB pressure, 2 forced fumbles, fumble recovery; 2-33 rushing
• Jace Blackshear, HHCA: 13-111, 2 TDs rushing; 12-18 passing, 207 yards, 2 INTs
• Michael Carbone, JPII: 11 tackles, TFL
• Noah Catterton, CPA: 6 tackles, sack
• Jeremiah Curry, BLHS: 10 tackles
• Loncelle Daley, HHP: 16-79, TD rushing; 7 tackles
• Cole Davis, CPA: 2 receiving TDs, 1 rushing TD
• Ja’Darius Garrett, WB: 5 tackles, TFL; 2-39, TD receiving
• Devontae Green, BA: 17-136 rushing; 2 tackles
• Tyler Haley, BHS: 14-20 passing, 327 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs; 32 yards, TD rushing
• Brandon Howard, THA: 8 tackles, TFL, sack, INT-TD
• Nathan Kamer, MRHS: 10 tackles
• Jackson Lanier, HHCA: 5-96 receiving; 1-30 rushing; 10 tackles
• Matthew Larkby, HHIHS: 8 tackles, TFL, sack, QB pressure, forced fumble
• Clifton Major, WB: 6 tackles, 2 TFL; 2-13, 2-pt conversion rushing
• Drew Murdaugh, CPA: 2 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD
• Walker Nettles, CPA: 8 tackles
• Tony Obanner, THA: 10-107, 2 TDs rushing; Kick return TD; INT
• Zyrin Odom, BHS: 4-114, 3 TDs receiving
• Jackson Ogden, JPII: 16-90, TD rushing; 2-48, TD receiving
• Jaxen Porter, BA: 3 tackles, 2 INT, INT-TD; 9-36 rushing; 3-32 receiving
• Thomas Raisch, MRHS: 12 tackles
• McLeod Reichel, BHS: 130 yards receiving
• Nicolas Robinson, THA: 6 tackles, TFL, sack, PBU, fumble recovery; 7-90, TD rushing
• Cam Scott, MRHS: 14-129, TD rushing
• Riley Shinn, HHCA: 7 tackles, PBU, INT-TD; 1-37 receiving
• Sebastian Slusne, JPII: 7 tackles, TFL, fumble recovery
• Jaylen Sneed, HHIHS: 16 tackles, TFL, QB pressure; 3-6 passing, 41 yards; 9-41 rushing
• Julian Suaza, BLHS: 8 tackles, 2 TFL
• Cameron VanGeison, THA: 10 tackles, TFL, sack, QB pressure
• Trevor Weldon, HHP: 5 punts, 37.8 avg.; 1-1 PAT, 41-yard FG
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Hilton Head Christian Academy Eagles (8-0, 4-0)
The Eagles are no strangers to this space — they are the Lowco’s only unbeaten team, after all — and their dominance over their peers was on display Friday night. HHCA withstood an early challenge from Beaufort Academy and a handful of uncharacteristic miscues, and still cruised to a 35-6 win over a quality team. In fact, that 29-point margin was the Eagles’ narrowest of the season, replacing a pair of 31-point victories to open the season, and that’s with reserves playing key roles in the second half of most of their lopsided wins. Williamsburg Academy and Pee Dee Academy will both provide strong challenges to the Eagles in the postseason, but they’ve shown thus far that they’re equipped to claim a second straight SCISA 2A title.
GAME OF THE WEEK
John Paul II (3-4, 3-1) at Beaufort Academy (4-3, 3-1)
Most of the playoff picture has cleared up at this point, but the biggest remaining piece in the puzzle is which of these Lowco rivals will claim the No. 2 seed from SCISA Region 1-2A and a home game in the first round of the playoffs. JPII took its lumps against a tough stretch in the schedule, but the Golden Warriors showed steady improvement and put it on full display in a 24-10 win over Hilton Head Prep last week, avenging a 38-16 setback in Week 0 and keeping alive hope for a top-two finish in the region. BA has played a similarly difficult schedule and is coming off a 35-6 loss to powerhouse HHCA, but the Eagles played the defending champs much tougher than the final score indicates. It’s a matchup of talented young quarterbacks in JPII’s Christian Tilton and BA’s Braydon Dineen, with electric running backs and hard-nosed defenses on both sides. With so much at stake, this budding rivalry should be one of the highlights of the Week 10 slate.
WEEK 10 SLATE
Hilton Head Christian at Hilton Head Prep, 3:30 p.m.
May River at Hilton Head High, 7:30 p.m.
Beaufort High at Colleton County, 7:30 p.m.
Bluffton at James Island, 7:30 p.m.
Battery Creek at North Charleston, 7:30 p.m.
Ridgeland-Hardeeville at Philip Simmons, 7:30 p.m.
John Paul II at Beaufort Academy, 7:30 p.m.
Greenwood Christian at Thomas Heyward, 7:30 p.m.
St. John’s Christian at Colleton Prep, 7:30 p.m.
Our son Christopher Hiers had nine tackles in one game!!