So far, the
Goose Creek vs.
Summerville game on Friday has to be the front-runner for South Carolina's Game of the Year.
The two power programs in the Lowcountry came into the game with Top 10 rankings, no losses and a lot of tradition behind their battle. Sure, Summerville has dominated the series and had won 13 of 15 from Goose Creek going into the game.
But four quarters wasn't enough, as the game went to three overtimes before Goose Creek won 64-57.
"What can you say? I'm going to have to look at it again because it was such a long game with so much scoring and highlights," Goose Creek coach Chuck Reedy told the Charleston Post and Courier. "We played great all night. Our kids played with such heart. We ask them to play hard for 48 minutes and they ended up playing hard for about 70 minutes."
There was a lot of offense, as the teams combined for 1,232 yards.
Virgil Smalls scored five times for Goose Creek, including the game winner, and Summerville's De’Angelo Henderson ran for 286 yards and five scores.
Here are some more tidbits concerning South Carolina football:
2. Chesterfield's streaks end: The
Chesterfield Golden Rams had rattled off 25 straight wins, a streak dating back to Sept. 27, 2008, before Friday night. Out-of-state foe
Anson (Wadesboro, N.C.), which was mired in an 0-3 start, got the best of the three-time defending state champions, winning 26-8. It also ended Chesterfield's 26-game win streak at home.
3. Strickland's old team whacks his new one: Phil Strickland was welcomed back to his old stomping grounds at
Batesburg-Leesville (Batesburg), but his new team didn't fare too well. Strickland, who guided the Panthers to two state titles and 131 wins in 11 seasons, is 1-2 in his first season at
Newberry. His old team dominated his new team, 21-0, as the Panthers avoided their first 0-3 start since 1989. Strickland spent seven seasons as Gaffney's head coach, where he won three state titles, prior to taking the Newberry job in the offseason.
4. Little beats big: In battles between Top 10 teams, the smaller schools beat up on the bigger schools. Two 2A classification programs were ready in games against bigger 3A programs, as
Central (Pageland) and
Timberland (St. Stephen) each won. Central, which trailed 28-20 going into the fourth quarter, knocked off
Chester 36-28 and Timberland beat
Berkeley (Moncks Corner) 24-21.
5. Hames good, but not a record breaker: Blacksburg player Chase Hames had one of the greatest performances of the week, but still didn't put his name in the record book. His seven rushing touchdowns was two scores off the record set in 1958. Hames rattled off 364 yards in Blacksburg's 64-36 win at Latta. It was the Wildcats' first win. Not only did Hames run for seven scores, but he also threw a touchdown pass and it was his younger brother, Nick, on the receiving end.
STARS FROM LAST WEEKLexington's Shaq Roland accounted for seven touchdowns in his team’s 56-28 win over Spring Valley, running for two scores, catching three touchdown passes and throwing another. Not to mention he ran for a 2-point conversion and passed for a 2-point conversion ...
James Island (Charleston) quarterback
Bo Patterson compiled 290 yards and scored five times as James Island knocked off Colleton County 41-21. He threw for 191 yards and three scores and ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns ... Will Gay of
Hanna (Anderson) scored four times, including the game winner with 9.7 seconds left, in Hanna's 36-35 win over Mauldin. He ran for 180 yards.
ON DECK THIS WEEKIrmo (Columbia) at Lexington: In the Midlands, this game is considered the Battle of the Dam because the two towns are separated by Lake Murray. Lexington, under new coach Scott Earley, is 3-0 on the season while Irmo is 3-1.
Rock Hill at South Pointe (Rock Hill): These schools are only six miles apart and in the same school district, so there is plenty of familiarity between the coaching staffs and athletes. Since South Pointe opened five years ago, the teams have split the series 2-2.
Byrnes (Duncan) at Gaffney: Two of the top programs this decade, the Rebels and Indians have combined to win nine state titles since 2000. When Byrnes was rattling off double-digit win streaks earlier this decade, it was Gaffney that stopped the streak.
Jason Gilmer is an award-winning writer who has covered football in South Carolina for more than a decade. He does a statewide high school football blog on GoUpstate.com. You can reach him at palmettofootballtalkblog@gmail.com.
