Jim Franklin earned “Best of the Best” honors for week 8 after completing 13 of 21 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-13 win for Aquinas over Towns County. Franklin, a 6-foot-3-inch-tall sophomore, looked the part in this highlight reel, hitting Kevin Douglas, Malachi Gordon and Clark Jackson in stride with passes that traveled 53, 42 and 35 yards in the air before landing softly in their arms for touchdowns.
Franklin, who also rushed for a touchdown, has helped #9 Aquinas sprint to a 5-1 start while spending most of the season as the top passer in class 1A, division II. His 1,355 passing yards and 16 touchdowns (against only two interceptions) have taken almost everybody except Aquinas insiders by surprise.
Favorite target Kevin Douglas caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown Friday. Douglas has logged 551 yards and 6 touchdowns receiving (19 yards per catch) for the season.
Do-it-all junior Clark Jackson accounted for 102 yards (92 receiving) and two touchdowns from scrimmage. He also made 15 tackles (eight solo) and another two for a loss.
The Fightin’ Irish will now face four worthy opponents in a quest for their first region championship since 2017, when they finished the regular season in a three-way tie with Lincoln County and Washington-Wilkes. Who are the next two opponents on the schedule for Aquinas? Lincoln County and Washington-Wilkes.
This Friday night’s trip to Lincolnton will be the most important test of the region schedule for the Fightin’ Irish. The red-hot Red Devils improved to 4-2 overall with Friday’s 41-14 region opening win over #5 Washington-Wilkes in the famous “378 War” in Washington.
Lincoln County dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, out-gaining Washington-Wilkes 349 rushing yards to 98. Junior Semaj Jenkins rushed 7 times for 100 yards and 4 touchdowns, and senior quarterback Trey Huff carried it 13 times for 133 yards and a score. Huff also made a key interception in the red zone during the fourth quarter when the score read 20-14 in favor of the Red Devils.
Lincoln County’s Huff and Aquinas’s Jackson are the area’s most prolific two-way players. But when these two longtime rivals meet this Friday, it will be all about which team will improve to 2-0 in region play to take the inside track for a championship. The Augusta Press will be there to report on the action.
Harlem Edged Hephzibah to Improve to 2-0
During two consecutive second half possessions, Harlem’s offense gained 132 of the 242 total yards it gained for the entire game. That was sufficient for the Bulldogs to take a 17-6 lead into the final minutes. And after hanging on for dear life as the Rebels mounted a comeback attempt, Harlem prevailed 17-14 to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in class 3A, region 4 action.
Senior Jason Williams rushed 22 times for 122 yards and one touchdown. Tackle Matt Williams deserves special mention for his lead blocking and for making 5 tackles (2 for a loss). He also blocked an extra point attempt. Harlem’s other touchdown came on a 23-yard completion from Ryan Newman to Jackson Rockefeller.
Harlem’s defense was the real standout Friday for keeping an explosive Hephzibah offense in check. Senior linebacker Jordan Bowers made 11 tackles, including 6 for a loss. And several teammates got in on the action, as you can see below:
Hephzibah quarterback Jalen Patrick competed admirably, completing 16 of 21 passes for 178 yards, and rushing for another 30 yards and a touchdown. Eric Grant caught 5 passes for 81 yards. On the other side of the ball, Deshaun Lewis broke up three passes, including two in the end zone. And with less than two minutes remaining, Lewis snagged the interception that led to the final drive of the game that nearly resulted in a comeback victory for the Rebels.
Thomson and Laney to Collide
Thomson (5-1, 3-0) sailed to a 61-6 victory over Butler by piling up an astonishing 494 yards of total offense. The offensive line of the Bulldogs bulldozed a path for 385 rushing yards (16.7 yards per carry) and 7 touchdowns. Anthony Jeffery rushed for 99 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jontavious Curry added 61 yards and two scores. Jordan Lane caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from Noah Story, and Lane also rushed for a touchdown. Demetrice Taylor (71-yard touchdown run) and Jah’Kiaus Jones (47-yard touchdown run) also found the end zone.
The win sets up a showdown against Laney (6-0, 3-0) next Friday that will begin with 6:28 left in the third quarter. It will be Laney’s ball at Thomson’s 31-yard line on third-and-nine. The Sept. 16 meeting between the teams was suspended at that point after a disturbance outside Laney’s stadium.
Laney looked in good form Friday during a 22-6 win over archrival Josey. Keshaun Sanders and CJ Holmes connected for two beautiful touchdown completions. The first came on fourth-and-six deep inside of Josey’s territory. It’s worth a look!
Curry and Company Lead North Augusta to Second Straight Victory
North Augusta crushed Aiken 49-7 to improve to 2-0 and take the top spot in class 4A’s region 4. Senior DJ Curry rushed 22 times for 150 yards and three touchdowns. Curry has rushed for greater than 100 yards in every game this season except one. Senior quarterback Colson Brown completed 8 of 12 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown. The TD pass was to frequent target Taylon Washington, who caught 6 passes for 106 yards. Washington also threw a touchdown pass himself, a 7-yarder to Evan Waldhauer.
Getting Into Position
Silver Bluff and Ridge Spring-Monetta each earned a win to put themselves in position to move to the top of their respective regions next week if they can keep the momentum going. Deante Hopkins helped RS-M improve to 2-1 in region play with a 21-6 win over Blackville-Hilda. Hopkins, another two-way standout, scored two rushing touchdowns, made 12 tackles (10 solo) and forced a fumble for the Trojans, who will host Wagener-Salley (3-0) in an important class 1A, region 4 contest.
And after ending the non-region slate with a 1-4 record, Silver Bluff, the returning class 2A runner up, improved to 2-0 in region play with a 29-14 win over Batesburg-Leesville. Senior quarterback Maleik Williams completed 14 of 18 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. And he rushed 10 times for 73 yards and a score.
The Bulldogs have ahead of them consecutive home games against the region’s favorites, Saluda (Oct. 14) and Strom Thurmond (Oct. 21). Saluda entered last Friday undefeated and ranked #1 in the state before suffering a 6-3 loss to archrival Strom Thurmond, the hottest team in the area. The Rebels have won 4 straight after losing a pair to open the season. Nate Nordeen’s 27-yard game winning field goal on the final play of the game easily qualifies as the area’s most dramatic moment of the season so far.
Durant and Dunbar are Back in the News
Traevon Dunbar (Junior, Midland Valley) and A’Chean Durant (Senior, McCormick), two household names during the past few seasons, made their way into these headlines for the first time in 2022. Durant’s McCormick Chiefs are usually too far outside of my range for proper coverage. But in McCormick’s 49-41 win over Asheville Christian Durant rushed 25 times for 215 yards and four touchdowns. And he returned an interception 95 yards for another score, so I have to include the four-year superstar in these mentions.
And Dunbar made his return to the field after recovering from an off-season injury by scoring a touchdown in Midland Valley’s 38-19 win over Airport. The Mustangs (4-3, 1-0) can take the lead in region play with a win over North Augusta this Friday. It’s nice to have Dunbar, a five-star recruit, back in the mix for Midland Valley’s October run.
