Over the weekend a handful of area football teams advanced to next Friday’s playoff round.
Barnwell (12-0), Strom Thurmond (10-2) and Wagener-Salley (9-3) all won and earned the opportunity to play in the quarterfinal round of the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) playoffs. In the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), Lincoln County, Thomson and Harlem all secured at least one more date at home in the second round. Burke County and Washington-Wilkes both went on the road to upend a higher seeded team and advance as well.
Meanwhile, a large contingent of area sports fans had their attention diverted to the hardwood this weekend when college and high school basketball tipped off for the area’s Georgia schools.
No. 2 Augusta opened with a Friday-Saturday set at Mount Olive College in North Carolina, and the Jaguars swept a pair of games behind a monster performance by front liners Tyshaun Crawford and Ja’Queze Kirby. Nineteen-year head Coach Dip Metress shared his thoughts in between the two wins, Kirby added to his rapidly expanding portfolio of ESPN Top Play worthy dunks and Crawford played player-of-the-year basketball for the Jaguars.
Also, the inaugural Ricky Moore Invitational Friday at Westside delivered for its capacity crowd with three highly entertaining and competitive games. In the closing game between two returning state champions, Grovetown (6A) topped Westside (2A) in a close and fiercely contested game that included nine dunks. Augusta Christian, another returning champ, topped Butler, a class 2A runner up last season, because of an incredible finish by junior DJ Shine. And Buck Harris, four year head coach of Jones County, returned to his high school home (Westside) to coach against the team he coached to back-to-back final four finishes, Laney. Harris was victorious in a sort of double homecoming behind a scoring flurry by guards Jaylen Sanford, Jaden Stanley and Daethan Harris, Buck’s senior son.
We have a lot of details to share so buckle up for a review of the weekend in local sports.
The Football Playoff Picture
For the first time in 64 years, Harlem advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 35-0 win over Long County. Jason Williams rushed 22 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns. And quarterback Ethan Evagelista ran for two touchdowns and passed for another touchdown to Keundris Williams. This Friday Harlem will host Carver of Columbus, which topped Upson-Lee 39-0. Carver (8-2) finished the regular season ranked No. 8 in class 3A.
Burke County (9-2) traveled to LaGrange and came away with a 23-20 win in a matchup between top ten class 4A teams. The Bears, ranked No. 8 entering the playoffs, will travel to No. 6 Bainbridge Friday.
No. 4 Thomson thumped Tattnall County 26-0 to set up a class 2A (Georgia) clash with No. 9 Cook Friday at The Brickyard.
In South Carolina’s class 2A second round, Strom Thurmond took care of Keenan 21-6, and Saluda topped defending class 2A champion Gray Collegiate. That set up a rematch between region rivals Strom Thurmond and Saluda this Friday in Edgefield in the quarterfinal round. Also in the quarterfinals is No. 2 Barnwell, which now stands 12-0 for the season.
Finally, in class 1A action, Wagener-Salley (South Carolina) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 26-20 win over CA Johnson. Washington-Wilkes joined Burke County as the only area teams that earned a road win this weekend by beating Mt. Zion 35-14. And No. 8 Lincoln County rested with a bye before hosting Wilkinson County this Friday in round two.
No. 2 Augusta Opens 2-0 on the Road
“Kirby, on a cut, windmilled it”
Head coach Dip Metress called in for an interview the morning after Augusta’s 81-76 season opening win over Mount Olive Friday. While explaining a second half sequence, six words from Metress stood out above the rest.
“Kirby, on a cut, windmilled it,” Metress let out while explaining a second half sequence.
He was describing one of three ESPN Top Play worthy highlights from the sophomore sensation, who scored 23 points (11-16 shooting) and dished 6 assists in the opener.
It was Augusta’s 7’1″ senior center Tyshaun Crawford who made the “go” pass after Kirby’s “give” in that highlight. And it was Crawford, last season’s Southeast Region most valuable player, who teamed with Kirby to dominate the paint at Mount Olive this weekend. Crawford averaged 20.5 points and 11 rebounds per game for the weekend. Crawford’s 23 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday’s 77-65 win over Barton made sure that Augusta’s slow start didn’t trip up the Jaguars.
Kirby followed Crawford Saturday with 13 points and 12 rebounds for a double double of his own. He also punctuated Augusta’s 46-29 second half turnaround with another show stopping play that left the game’s announcers and many others all but speechless.
Augusta’s trusty defense helped the Jaguars hold both of their opponents under 40% from the field, and below 30% from long distance. That defensive showing and the consistent dominance of Crawford helped the Jaguars weather a slow start from the perimeter during the first three halves.
One of our concerns,” Metress said before the second game, “we made two three point shots, and they (Mount Olive) made eleven. That’s a big turnaround to make up those 27 points.
When the Jaguars trailed Barton 36-31 at halftime Saturday, Augusta had only made two three pointers. But by that time Miguel Arnold (11 points Friday, 22 Saturday) had begun to heat up.
And soon David Viti would drill a pair of threes to spark a 20-0 run for the Jaguars, who sailed to victory 77-65 Saturday.
Ricky Moore Invitational Delivers
Grovetown knocked off fellow returning state champion Westside 79-73 in the main event of the Ricky Moore Invitational triple header at Westside Friday. The Warriors were ranked No. 17 nationally in the Preseason MaxPreps Top 25, and the team’s size (the first six players in the rotation range from 6’4″ to 6’9″) is a major reason. 6’4″ senior guard Malik Ferguson, who has committed to Georgia State, scored 26 points and made 9 of 10 free throw attempts. 6’8″ junior wing Derrion Reid, the No. 53 player on ESPN’s Top 60 junior list, scored 22 points and made all ten of his free throws. And 6’7″ senior FrankQuon Sherman, who recently decommitted from Winthrop, added 13.
The Warriors (6A) only made 2 three pointers, but an 80% performance from the foul line (24-30) and a relentless attack on the paint allowed Grovetown to prevail in hostile territory.
Westside, last season’s class 2A champion, was paced by seniors Jalexs Ewing (32 points) and Khalon Hudson (22). Like their counterparts, Ewing (9-12 free throws) and Hudson (7-9 free throws) made a strong showing from the line (23-29 free throws) for Westside. But in addition to the volume of dunks and the impressive overall level of play that you’ll see in this highlight video, notice the difficulty of the shots that Ewing and Hudson made to give Westside an opportunity to win before its home crowd.
Shine Shines in the Clutch for Augusta Christian
Junior DJ Shine scored 36 points to lead returning state champion Augusta Christian to an 80-78 victory over last season’s (class 2A) runner up Butler. Shine scored 13 of Augusta Christian’s 22 fourth quarter points. And with 5 seconds remaining he made a difficult shot in traffic to provide the final margin. Shine made 8 of 11 foul shots and 3 three pointers.
Juniors Khaleel Pratt (18 points) and Braylen Smith (15), and senior Luke Wilson (9) helped the Lions hold off a formidable Butler team.
Four Bulldogs, one from each graduating class, scored in double figures for Butler. Freshman Kwamane Bridges scored 18 points, including 4 three pointers; sophomore Marcus Scurry added 17; junior Roosevelt Brown tossed in another 18, including 3 threes, and senior Zy’Quon Grant added 11.
Harris Returns in a sort of “double homecoming”
Fourth year head coach Buck Harris brought his Jones County squad to his high school home (Westside) to face the team he coached to consecutive semi final playoff appearances almost a decade ago. The Greyhounds ran to a 78-65 win over Laney behind standout performances by senior Jaylen Sanford (32 points), junior Jaden Stanley (19 points, including 3 threes) and senior Daethan Harris (17).
Kylan Hill, a promising 6’6″ sophomore and quick leaper who eats glass and finishes everything, led Laney with 23 points.
Jones County returned to Gray, Georgia Saturday for its “Hoopin’ in Middle Georgia” event. The Greyhounds topped Drew Charter, the returning class 1A state champion, 63-58 to start the season 2-0.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports.
