Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

Playoffs looming for some area prep football teams

Smaller S.C. schools finish regular season this week

There is only one week left in the regular season for the smallest three football classifications in South Carolina, while the state's Class AAAA and all of North Carolina has two weeks of play remaining before the playoffs begin.

All of the postseason berths are locked up in Region VII-AAA, with Myrtle Beach the region's top seed and Lake City at No. 2. Socastee and North Myrtle Beach are locked into the final two playoff spots, but the order could still be affected by this week's games. The likeliest scenario is Socastee as the third seed and North Myrtle Beach as the fourth seed.

Per the South Carolina High School League's preset brackets, Myrtle Beach's region title gives it home-field advantage through the Lower State finals. Region VII will face Region VIII in the first round. The only spot locked up in Region VIII is the top seed, which will be North Charleston.

Although Hilton Head has locked up a playoff spot, it could end up as any of the final three seeds with Bluffton, Lake Marion and Battery Creek vying for the final two playoff spots.

In Class AA, Waccamaw will be Region VII's No. 2 seed and host a playoff game with a win against Manning on Friday or the No. 3 seed and open the postseason on the road with a loss.

Andrews is still alive out of Region VII as well. The Yellow Jackets can force a three-way tie for the fourth seed if they can upset Hanahan and Kingstree loses to Timberland. That would leave the three teams tied at 1-4 in the region. The second three-way tiebreaker - after head-to-head - in AA is defensive points allowed against the teams tied. So if Andrews could win and give up less than 29 points - and Kingstree loses - they would head to the postseason.

In the AA first round, Region VII will face Region VIII, where Cheraw and Dillon will be the top two seeds with the order determined by their matchup Friday. The final two spots will come from Marion, Mullins and Loris. If form holds, Loris would be the No. 4 seed with Marion third, but if Mullins were to knock off Marion and Loris beats Aynor, it would come down to the tiebreaker - a scenario that would still likely land Loris in the playoffs, but not assured.

In Class A, Carvers Bay can finish in a three-way tie for the region title if Lake View can beat Hemingway and the Bears take care of Johnsonville on Friday. That would likely solidify a high seed and at least one home game in the playoffs for the Bears, but Class A is divided into two divisions like AAAA and the teams are seeded once the regular season is complete. If the Bears lose to Johnsonville, that would leave Carvers Bay as the region's fourth seed and out of an automatic playoff spot. The Bears would still likely get into the postseason based on their strength of schedule, which includes three wins over AA programs and one win over a AAA school.

As for Class AAAA, Carolina Forest needs to win out to earn the region's third seed, the final guaranteed playoff spot from Region VI. Conway would head to the postseason if they win out as well, but even if the Tigers lose this weekend and beat Carolina Forest Nov. 6 they would likely win a three-way tiebreaker with South Florence and Carolina Forest. The region's three-way tiebreaker after head-to-head is a points system. Carolina Forest coach Drew Hummel said by his calculations, Conway would end up with 32 points to 31 for the other two schools. The region's fourth-place team could earn an at-large bid to the postseason, but Hummel said 31 points may not be enough to get a team into the playoffs.

"I have seen teams get in with 30.5, but usually you have to have to be around 31.5," Hummel said.

In North Carolina, West Brunswick can claim a No. 1 seed in the Class 3A playoffs if it can win out, but it will make the playoffs if it can stay at least tied with South Brunswick in the conference standings, thereby finishing as the top 3A school in the Waccamaw conference. South Columbus has to win its final two games to give itself a realistic shot at the Class 2A postseason.

Although some of the scenarios may be a little confusing, it will all play itself out over the next two weekends.

Going bowling

The St. James-Socastee rivalry has a couple of new twists. The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, a move made several weeks ago. The game will also have a presenting sponsor for the first time and will be known as the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The winner will be awarded a trophy.

Maybank cleared to play

Waccamaw received good news on Tuesday when the SCHSL waived a one-game suspension for junior lineman Jerome Maybank, which means the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder will play at Manning on Friday.

Maybank was ejected from last week's game against Kingstree for allegedly throwing a punch and faced the league's mandatory one-game suspension for fighting. Waccamaw head coach Burney Bourne appealed the suspension Tuesday when he drove to Columbia to present the SCHSL with a video tape of the incident.

"The tape clearly showed that no punches were thrown by the Kingstree player or Maybank," Bourne said. "They waived the one-game suspension on both players.

"It was written up as fighting with punches thrown. I am not being critical of the official, but the official just didn't see it. And often times when things like that happen, they are a blur. There was an exchange there, but there was no fight, no punches were thrown. So they overruled the suspension."

The altercation came on a fourth-quarter extra point attempt by the Warriors in a game they won 42-15.

"You have to have irrefutable video evidence and we felt like we did, and it stood up," Bourne said. "The gentleman that was in charge of it reviewed the tape and made the decision. He waved the suspension and the ejection, so it is not on their record. So their slate is wiped clean."

Welcome back

Carvers Bay senior Clayton Geathers made his season debut last Friday in the Bears' 35-0 win over Creek Bridge and the Central Florida commit didn't miss a beat. In limited playing time, Geathers rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns on six carries plus he caught a 52-yard touchdown pass.

"He is good and sore, but that is expected," Carvers Bay coach Nate Thompson said. "We are just trying to work him back slow."

Geathers didn't play defense, where he is a standout in the Bears' secondary, but Thompson said he will continue to expand Geathers' role on both sides of the ball as the senior works his way back into football shape. Geathers had been out the entire season with an ankle injury that was slow to heal.

"I think [Geathers' return] gave the kids a lift," Thompson said. "He had a good debut. I knew from coaching experience it was going to be good and sore. but he will be alright by Friday. He is going to have to go through [the soreness] each week."

Seahawks' Butler accepts invite to all-star game

Myrtle Beach kicker Jordan Butler has accepted an invitation to play in the fourth annual Offense-Defense All-American Bowl that will take place at the Seahawks' home, Doug Shaw Stadium, on Jan. 2, 2010.

Butler, 6-foot and 165 pounds, is 1-for-4 on field goal attempts, all 37 yards or longer, and 45-for-46 on extra point kicks this season.

The Offense-Defense All American Bowl moved to the Grand Strand last year when it was played at Brooks Stadium on Coastal Carolina's campus. The game features 80 of the top high school football players in the country in an East versus West matchup. The 2010 game will be televised on Fox College Sports.

ONLINE | To view the high school sports blog "Prep Talk," go to TheSunNews.com.