BAXTER'S BLITZ - WEEK ZERO
The rain delays didn't have too much of an impact on the week zero and here is a look of my breakdown of the action statewide in the 2016's first edition of Baxter's Blitz.
CLASS 5A ACTION DID NOT DISAPPOINT
The action in the state's largest classification was not disappointing but there were some surprises. I think the best performance award has to go to the GAFFNEY INDIANS as they pulled off an upset over T.L. Hanna, who came into Week Zero as one of the Top Five teams in the state. Sophomore quarterback Tyshaun Surratt's performance led the Indians and left the Indian faithful, as well as me, thinking they could be BACK.
Fort Dorchchester got a win out of the gates against a very good football team from Georgia (Sandy Creek). The defense looks like it needs some tackling drills this week but the offense was on and the most impressive thing about this team so far? You guessed it, the play of super junior quarterback Dekareon Joyner as well as the pure speed of the wide receives.
It is difficult to look away from the Dutch Fork Silver Foxes win over Independence HS and not be impressed. This was not just a win, it was a total domination of every phase of the game of a program that is supposed to be solid. Granted, they have some division right now over the political dismissal of their previous head coach just days before the season opened but guys, football is football. Dutch Fork kicked their behinds.
One of the things that shocked me most about this class this week was Dorman's road loss to Bob Jones (Alabama). I know Bob Jones has a solid program but the Dorman team I've seen twice in the preseason looked to be in mid-season form. Now, I have heard tha the downpour of rain had in impact on the game but as the old saying goes, both teams were playing in the same weather.
Another shocker was the Byrnes Rebels getting hammered by 4A Myrtle Beach at the Beach. Mistake after mistake led to the Seahawks getting off to a big start and creating a big margin that the Rebels could not recover from. This is NOT the same Byrnes team we've seen in the past and I don't know if we can say it is a surprise as signs of decline started a couple of seasons ago.
Class 4A Flexes Muscles Across the State
The South Pointe Stallions knocked off a 5A giant by beating Northwestern this past week and showed that they have strength on the defensive side of the football and can score, as well. This may be the biggest upset of the week.
Another 4A team that helped flex the class' muscles was Ridge View going to Sumter and knocking off the Gamecocks. The Blazers seemed to sputter at times during the game but adjusted to the physical play of the Gamecocks and capitalized on the mistakes of the Gamecocks turnovers.
The Myrtle Beach Seahawks dominated every phase of the game against the 5A Byrnes Rebels and have knocked Byrnes, for the first time in years, out of the Top Ten Polls. The Seahawks looked solid but the Rebels looked horrible and made the Seahawks look even better.
Clearly, the wins by South Pointe, Ridge View, and Myrtle Beach over strong 5A opponents is an indication that we could have a really good playoff race this year in this class.
Hartsville started off too slow for my liking against Lake City, allowing it to be a game in the first half. That said, the Foxes got to form in the 2nd half and beat the Panthers convincingly.
Interesting match up was Berkeley at Daniel and there was a lot of pregame smacktalk about this one. Daniel got a solid win over the Stags and make you think that Region I cold actually be pretty competitive.
Two things to think about as we get this season underway concerning this classification. First of all, how is York going to handle losing Wally Wilmore from their lineup. I know they lost a quarterback but don't think that's an impact anywhere near losing Wilmore to Northwestern. The other thing is how good can the South Aiken T'Breds be this year? I saw them in preseason and predicted them as a sleeper for the Region 4 and they came out of the gates on fire, totally destroying Silver Bluff. I like this team as a favorite in their region against North Augusta and Airport.
CLASS 3A SCRAPING FOR A LITTLE PARITY
The Dillon Wildcats got a transfer quarterback and suddenly in an uproar that there was some kind of recruiting going on. Well, I don't think that's the case and I certainly don't think it helped them very much against Mallard Creek this week. Yes, the state's previous No. 1 team lost in opening week and I honestly think they are going to be mortal this year.
The Woodruff Wolverines were my preseason No. 2 team and with a 10 point win over AC Flora and the Dillon loss, they move into the No. 1 spot. They boast what may be the best quarterback in the 2018 class and this team is explosive on offense. Their defense played well against the Falcons, making big plays that impacted the outcome of the game.
Strom Thurmond got a solid win over Saluda and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I think we saw a Saluda team last season that over achieved, though they did catch the Rebels on an off week and get the upset last season. But this team is in a decline this year in terms of talent and I don't know that we can use this as a measuring stick for the Rebels. I stil say ST is the favorite for Region 5 but that region looks like it could be more competive than we anticipated.
Disappointing? Dillon was kind of expected so I can't include that one but definitley Timberland, Chapman and Chester all losing and dropping from the Top Ten this week.
I always like to mention players that catch my eye and have to tell you this running back from Gilbert, Catriez Cook, is the real deal. 6-1, 210 and runs like a freaking horse. He ran through Lexington's defense in jamboree play and then ripped Gray Collegiate for 264 yards and 3 scores this past week. Can't believe they've had this kid hidden on defense the past three years.
Speaking of Gilbert, I mentioned earlier that Region 5 looked to be competitive. I think Strom Thurmond is what I thought they would be and is the favorite. But Brookland-Cayce has a scary team and Swansea with a veteran offensive line could each be very good contenders. And now that Gilbert has a force at running back, don't think they can't spoil someone elses season.
CLASS 2A HAS CHANGES IN TOP TEN
Not a surprise that the Abbeville Panthers got a win to open the season and I'm glad because this class is going to be difficult to gauge until we get through a few weeks of the season.
Batesburg-Leesville got a win and I think this team could actually be pretty strong in the class this season. I know they will miss their running back from last season but they've got some athletes on this team and I look for them to be very strong.
Calhoun County is intriguing because they come off a championship with veteran talent. Add to that mix the transfer of a 6-5 WR from Lake Marion recently and you've got the ingredients for a very tough contender.
While Central and Chesterfield were not in action this week, Cheraw was and they got a solid win in convincing fashion and actually pop into the Top Ten this week.
The task this week was finding teams to move INTO the top ten because of losses because no one has really done anything impressive yet.
CLASS 1A SUFFERS FROM MEDIOCRITY
I'm just going to lay this out there. This class is not very impressive once you get past a few teams. I was concerned with this with the 5 Class realignment because this class should have never been divided when it was a 4 Class system but that's basically what we are looking at here - what would be a Division II of that old 1A Class.
Lamar is the cream of the crop here and got a good win this week. Lake View, CE Murray, McBee and Cross are all in the top five and all got wins. But if you go beyond the top five good luck on finding teams worthy of a ranking. Someone told me the other day they like the new 1A Class because there is more parity; I say don't confuse the word "parity" with the word "mediocrity".