The Hartsville Red Foxes will head out to face off against the South Florence Bruins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Hartsville sitting on five straight victories and South Florence on six.
Hartsville's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Lakewood, posting a 51-0 win. That 51 point margin sets a new team best for the Red Foxes this season.
Hartsville can attribute much of their success to Trace Hillian, who rushed for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Zaries Huggins, who rushed for 24 yards and one score.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Hartsville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 231 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 231 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely South Florence's strategy against Lower Richland on Friday. 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. With the Bruins ahead 29-7 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Hartsville better keep an eye on Messiah Jackson. He was instrumental in South Florence's win, throwing for 112 yards and four TDs while completing 76.9% of his passes, and also rushing for 38 yards. That's the most passing touchdowns Jackson has posted since back in November of 2024. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Amare Reaves, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Special teams played a big role in the game for South Florence, adding 13 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Reaves, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
One reason for the win was South Florence's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Terry Gordon with two.
Hartsville's record is now 6-3. As for South Florence, their record now sits at 8-1.
Hartsville took a serious blow against South Florence in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, falling 49-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jackson, who threw for 170 yards and four touchdowns on only eight passes, and also rushed for 76 yards and a pair of scores. Now that the Red Foxes know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
