It’s Monday morning, which means it’s time for the Lowco Lowdown, your one-stop quick read to get up to speed on what happened last week on the local sports scene and what to look forward to this week. Here are this week’s hottest sports topics in the Lowcountry:
1. Beaufort County Bash Brothers: Bluffton is hosting the Dixie Boys and Dixie Junior Boys World Series this week, and the host team has left the hospitality at the backstop. The Dixie Boys (14U) Beaufort County All-Stars, pulled from throughout the county, have hammered their first two opponents, beating Virginia 12-0 behind a no-hitter from Cooper George and three home runs and beating Texas 19-7. They’re back in action at 7 p.m. tonight and need two more wins to reach the championship game.
2. The Final Countdown: Believe it or not, we’re just 11 days away from flipping on the Friday night lights. High school football teams are in full swing as they prepare for the opening week of the season with most area teams playing their openers on Aug. 18. LowcoSports.com’s team preview began rolling out last week and will continue this week, wrapping up our SCISA previews and moving on to area public schools.
3. Movin’ On Up: The South Carolina High School League released its realignment proposal for 2018-20 last week, and there were no big surprises for local schools. The only area school that will change classifications is Bluffton High School, which will return to Class 4A after a two-year stint at Class 3A. Perhaps more surprising is the fact that May River High School will remain in Class 3A for another two-year period, though the growing population in the New Riverside tract adjacent to the school virtually guarantees the Sharks will make the leap to Class 4A when the next realignment plan is released in 2019.
4. Mr. Consistency: Bluffton race car driver Gus Dean finished fifth Sunday at the Winchester ARCA 200, his 11th consecutive top-10 finish on the ARCA circuit. Dean is still trying to find Victory Lane, but he has been one of the most consistent drivers in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and currently ranks fourth in the season-long points race and leads the Scott Rookie Challenge standings. The series takes next weekend off before resuming at the Herr’s Potato Chips 100 on Aug. 20 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
5. Top Jag: Longtime boys basketball coach Jeremiah Faber is returning to his former role as athletic director at Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School, a position he held from 1988-2010. Faber has been a fixture in Jasper County athletics since 1984, and he said he hopes to return many of the Jaguars’ struggling programs to the prominence they once enjoyed. It’s a tall task, but there’s no one better for the job.
Also on the radar: USCB opens soccer practice … Mancill posts top-10 finish at S.C. Amateur.