*Note: Due to our available manpower resources, our current coverage area includes all of Richmond and Columbia counties primarily, along with Burke County, Thomson, Harlem and Washington County in Georgia and parts of Aiken and Edgefield Counties in South Carolina more secondarily. We give this disclaimer to acknowledge our awareness of how much ground the true CSRA area covers. We’re working toward being able to provide the most comprehensive coverage to the area as possible and to grow that coverage when we can as resources allow.
We’re in October which means we’ve entered the thick of the region season for Georgia high school football, and that means the playoff chase is officially on.
Because non-region play is firmly in the rearview mirror now, and we’ve had more than enough of a sample size of most of the teams in our area to tell who’s starting to round themselves into true region and state championship contenders, we’ve made our first attempt at compiling power rankings for the top-10 teams in the CSRA (please see disclaimer above for teams we’ve considered in this ranking). We’ll update this ranking each week for the rest of the regular season.
1. Midland Valley (S.C.) (6-0, 0-0 in South Carolina Region 4-AAAA): The Mustangs look like every bit of a state championship contender, and again, though a legit argument could be made for any of these top three teams to be No. 1, Midland Valley just seems to have that “it” factor about it this season, not to mention having knocked off some quality area opponents, including Thurmond, Silver Bluff and Harlem en route to their first 6-0 start in school history. It will get a solid test Friday night against Airport (5-2, 1-0) which has a defense that’s proven to be stingy at times. Circle that regular season finale against North Augusta as a must-see.
2. Burke County (6-0, 1-0 in Region 3-AAAA): Like No. 8 Aquinas, this Burke County bunch has had to battle to win close game after close game. The Bears have also battled some injuries along the way. Add to that the fact that the program is in its first year with coach Franklin Stephens which, no matter how good a coach you are, the first-year, getting-to-know-you issues will show up, and it’s actually pretty impressive to see what the Bears have been able to do. But the Bears are on a four-year region title drought, and they want to see that end. In order to do that, they’ll have to get past Class AAAA No. 1 Benedictine (6-0, 1-0) which comes to town Friday night. If Burke County can find a way to win that game, it will no doubt solidify itself as the area’s top team.
3. Thomson (5-1, 2-0 in Region 4-AA): You could make an argument that the last three teams in this poll could be interchangeable. The Bulldogs have bounced back well from the 14-12 defeat at Burke County to open the season and show no signs of slowing down. With quarterback Noah Story’s transfer to Evans, the quarterback position belongs solely to Jahkiaus Jones, and he’s been a star for the Bulldogs offensively. Thomson’s featured a little bit more variety in its offense this year, minus the big-play potential that Jontavis Curry brought last year. But it’s given coach Michael Youngblood’s team a greater ability to control clock and grind games out with long drives. Defensively, the Bulldogs swarm like few others in the state at the Class AA level. Imauri Mccalister leads the team in sacks and tackles for loss. Storm Hunt, Roderick Jackson and Kasai Jones and their six combined interceptions have given Thomson a formidable defensive secondary.
4. Harlem (4-2, 1-0 in Region 4-AAA): Brothers Ethan and Elijah Evangelista have been excellent so far in answering the question: “Who steps up for Harlem?” That question was asked frequently in the preseason, given that last year’s 10-2 region champion squad lost so much due to graduation and a couple of transfers. But quarterback Ethan and wideout Elijah have made game planning tough for Harlem opponents. Harlem has proven able to score on anybody. It’s looked the part of a top-5 team in the area, and they’ll have arguably its best chance to prove that Friday night when the Bulldogs host Hephzibah.
5. North Augusta (S.C.) (5-2, 1-0 in South Carolina Region 4-AAAA): Since the beginning of the season, North Augusta has looked the part of a solid team. Three-score losses to a pair of 2-4 squads in non-region play gave some pause, though, as to gauging how good this team really is. But the 23-11 win against Thurmond two weeks ago, followed by a dominant performance in a 63-21 triumph over South Aiken have raised eyebrows. The Yellow Jackets get winless Aiken at home Thursday night, which should be another game where starters can rest in the second half. After that, it’s a bye week, then marquee region clashes at Airport (SC) (5-2, 1-0) and Midland Valley (6-0). Those two games will not only tell us exactly how good North Augusta is, but also where the Jackets will be positioned in the South Carolina state playoffs.
6. Laney (3-2-1, (2-1 in Region 4-AA): This has been an intriguing team to watch. The Wildcats play “bully ball” better than arguably anyone in the CSRA. A punishing ground game with the likes of CJ Holmes, James Pride, Angus Myrick and DJ Daggett regularly getting touches behind a big, strong offensive line while running the same few plays in the run game gave Laney early success. An added dimension in the passing game with the return of Javaris Harris who plays mostly quarterback has given defenses something else to think about. Meanwhile, the defense is stalwart. Close losses to Thurmond and defending Class AA champion Thomson are nothing to be ashamed of. The Wildcats are probably the second best team in Region 4-AA and, if they take care of business at home against Westside (3-3, 1-1) and Putnam County (4-2, 1-0) — both very solid teams — Laney’s looking at home field in the first round of the playoffs. And it has the talent to make a deep run of things hit just right.
7. Hephzibah (5-1, 1-0 in Region 4-AAA): The Rebels are one late score against Laney from being undefeated. But the lessons coach Daniel Dorsey’s team took from that 16-13 non-region setback in August may turn out to be more valuable than winning the game. Since that lost, Dorsey says a fire has been lit under his team. And though, on paper, Hephzibah looks less talented than, say, the last two years, Dorsey says team chemistry for this bunch is off the charts, which is why the Rebels have just found ways to win in tight contests against quality competition — see that Sept. 22 win at Southeast Bulloch on the game’s final play for a reference. Friday’s region tussle at Harlem will be the team’s biggest barometer to date, with all the pressure of playoff implications.
8. Aquinas (5-1, 1-0 in Region DII 8-A): Absolutely nothing has come easy for the Fightin’ Irish. Their only loss was a 47-42 shootout setback last month at Harlem in non-region play. But, with the exception of the season opening 49-20 win against Jefferson County, every game has been nip-and-tuck, one-score contests. Perhaps Aquinas may catch a bit of a break with Friday’s game at winless Towns County. But after that, tough matchups with postseason seeding implications at Washington-Wilkes (4-2, 1-0) and against undefeated Greene County (6-0, 1-0) will follow.
9. Silver Bluff (5-1, 1-0 in South Carolina Region 3-AA): We’re inching our coverage area back out toward the CSRA’s western South Carolina contingent, and when we go there, there aren’t many teams in the area tougher than Silver Bluff when its playing its best football. The Bulldogs’ only blemish is a 21-7 loss to Midland Valley — one of the best teams in South Carolina, let alone the CSRA. But a narrow 34-31 win to open the season against a one-win South Aiken squad still sort of raises questions. However, since the Midland Valley loss, Silver Bluff has outscored its last three opponents by a combined score of 121-8. Those eight points came in a 35-8 win over Barnwell. How the Bulldogs perform Friday, Oct. 13 at Saluda (5-1, 1-0) will helps us know more about the strength of this bunch.
10. Thurmond (S.C.) (4-2, 1-0 in Region 3-AA): Admittedly, it was sort of hard to rank this Thurmond squad. Talent wise, it feels like they belong in the upper half of these rankings. But then there’s the loss to Midland Valley, then what we considered a mild upset at the hands of North Augusta, and a 21-12 win against Laney early in the season that looked like a rout in the first half but turned into a tighter-than-desired game at the end. For what it’s worth, Braylon Staley is being his 4-star prospect self with 37 catches for 638 yards six touchdowns. A talent like that makes the Rebels a threat every time they touch the field. Let’s see how they fair against a quality opponent in Saluda (5-1, 1-0) Friday.
