It’s officially playoff time for everyone in the CSRA.
The South Carolina High School League playoffs begin Friday night with Midland Valley and North Augusta playing in tight contests once again, one week removed from the thriller Region 4-AAAA championship tussle.
This week, Midland Valley used a pair of early rushing touchdowns from running back Traevon Dunbar and another midway through the third quarter, as well as a series of clutch defensive stops to outlast Easley 28-21 in its first round SCHSL playoff game.
Valley’s Brycen Kemper stopped Easley’s last second hailmary attempt with a pass deflection as time expired. The Mustangs (11-0) move on to host South Pointe next Friday.
Meanwhile, for the second straight week, North Augusta lost a game in the final moments of regulation due to a missed field goal. Last week, the Yellow Jackets’ Jack Stevens had his game-winning 41-yard field goal attempt blocked on the game’s final play. This week, his 37-yard try sailed wide right at the 1-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
That allowed Greenwood to milk the remaining time on the clock for a win that not only catapults the Eagles to the next round of the playoffs, but also allows them to exact a bit of revenge. North Augusta defeated Greenwood 49-40 early in the regular season.
Aquinas claims region supremacy, Evans stays alive
On the Georgia side, Aquinas continued its bounce back from that disappointing loss two weeks ago to Washington-Wilkes. The Fightin’ Irish started fast and kept the gas pedal to the floor in their 45-8 win at Warren County. That, combined with last week’s victory over then-undefeated Greene County, gave the Irish its first region championship since 2017, along with the No. 1 seed in the Class A playoff bracket.
Evans kept its playoff hopes alive with a bit of an offensive explosion as it went on the road to defeat South Effingham 35-20, thanks to a huge night from running back Rayshaun King.
After giving up a quick score on a 52-yard touchdown run from South Effingham’s Aubrey Heath, Evans’ EJ Hogan answered three minutes later with a 3-yard scoring run of his own.
After that, King ripped off touchdown runs of 2, 75 and 50 yards, as well as a 1-yard score late in the fourth quarter to help the Knights (4-6, 3-3) prevail and cement that No. 4 spot in Region 2-AAAAAA which qualifies it for a first round playoff game at Region 3-AAAAAA champion Woodward Academy (8-2).
Morgan County nabbed the Region 4-AAA crown by knocking off Harlem 35-21. In the battle of Bulldogs, Morgan County got off to a fast start before finding itself in a back-and-forth tussle with Harlem. A Harlem touchdown early in the fourth quarter cut Morgan County’s two-score lead in half, 28-21, but Morgan County quickly answered and then saw its defense hold serve the rest of the way.
Harlem (7-3, 4-1) finishes second in the region which means it will still host next Friday in the first round of the GHSA playoffs.
Here’s a list of the high school football scores from across our CSRA coverage area:
South Carolina Scores
Greenwood 17, North Augusta 16 | FINAL
Midland Valley 28, Easley 21 | FINAL
Silver Bluff 47, Mid-Carolina 6 | FINAL
Newberry 24, Saluda 15 | FINAL
Thurmond 49, Landrum 7 | FINAL
Greenville 63, South Aiken 7 | FINAL
Richmond County Scores
Laney 50, Glenn Hills 0 | FINAL
Richmond Academy 28, Salem 8 | FINAL
Butler 44, Josey 0 | FINAL
Thomson 63, Westside 6 | FINAL
Hephzibah 26, Cross Creek 14 | FINAL
Aquinas 45, Warren County 8 | FINAL
Westminster 69, Crisp Academy 0 (GIAA Playoffs) | FINAL
Columbia County Scores
Evans 35, Effingham County 20 | FINAL
Morgan County 35, Harlem 21 | FINAL
South Effingham 40, Grovetown 14 | FINAL
Greenbrier 32, Bradwell Institute 29 | FINAL
Glynn Academy 50, Lakeside 7 | FINAL
Other CSRA Scores
Burke County 42, SE Bullock 14 | FINAL
Putnam County 49, WACO 40 | FINAL
We’ll provide a full breakdown of CSRA teams and their upcoming playoff matchups over the weekend.
