The South Florence Bruins will square off against the Hartsville Red Foxes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
South Florence is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Lower Richland: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Bruins blew the Diamond Hornets out of the water with a 57-7 final score. The win was familiar territory for the Bruins, who have now won six games in a row.
It was another big night for Messiah Jackson, who threw for 112 yards and four TDs while completing 76.9% of his passes, and also rushed for 38 yards. That's the most passing touchdowns he has posted since back in November of 2024. De'Eric Davis was another key player, rushing for 28 yards and one score.
Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 13 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Amare Reaves, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
South Florence's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Terry Gordon was especially locked on to Lower Richland's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Hartsville got themselves on the board against Lakewood on Friday, but Lakewood never followed suit. They claimed a resounding 51-0 victory over the Gators. The win continues a trend for the Red Foxes in their matchups with the Gators: they've now won five in a row.
South Florence better focus on containing Trace Hillian and Zaries Huggins as the pair were huge in Hartsville's win. Hillian rushed for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Huggins rushed for 24 yards and one TD.
Hartsville's run defense was locked in: Lakewood could only muster 0.2 yards per carry. The Red Foxes didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 7.5.
Hartsville's victory bumped their record up to 6-3. As for South Florence, their win bumped their record up to 8-1.
Everything came up roses for South Florence against Hartsville when the teams last played back in November of 2024, as the team secured a 49-21 victory. Do the Bruins have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Red Foxes turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
