Week 0’s top games, picks as SC high school football kicks off with schedule chaos
Mickey Wilson summed up the last few days in one word — chaos.
The Myrtle Beach High School football coach spent most of the beginning of the week trying to find opponents for his football team. The Seahawks aren’t scheduled to open the season until Aug. 27, but their first four opponents were suddenly not available to play.
The five teams in Class 5A’s Region 6 agreed Monday only to play teams in the region twice — and only play non-region games if mutual dates allowed for it. Region 6-5A includes Carolina Forest, St. James, Socastee, Sumter and Conway.
The Seahawks — a Class 4A team — were scheduled to play Carolina Forest, Socastee and Conway in non-region action before Region 6-5A’s decision. Myrtle Beach still could have played Carolina Forest on Aug. 27 but decided to look elsewhere.
The Seahawks will now play Class 3A powerhouse Dillon that day and added a game against Oceanside Collegiate on Sept 10 at The Citadel. Myrtle Beach still needs an opponent for Sept. 3.
“All this could have been avoided. We had a situation where these regions have been making their own decisions and it is affecting everyone,” Wilson said Wednesday. “It doesn’t make any sense the way we are doing it in South Carolina. It is not orderly and it is causing a lot of chaos.”
The scheduling chaos was brought upon by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a number of teams in protocol statewide, some schools were left scrambling for opponents for the first few weeks.
According to the S.C. High School League, 21 of the 88 games scheduled for this week were canceled. There were four additions to the schedule. In the Midlands, Chapin, Airport and C.A. Johnson had games canceled but all found new opponents for Week 0.
Chapin and Airport found initial replacement for canceled games but then found out in Thursday their replacements couldn’t play because of COVID. So, the two schools will play each other Friday at Airport, a little more than 24 hours after scheduling the game.
Dutch Fork was looking for a new opponent next week after Irmo won’t be able to play the second straight week because of COVID protocols. The Silver Foxes announced Thurs theyy will travel to Gaffney for Aug. 27 game in matchup of 5A powerhouses.
Like Myrtle Beach, Blythewood and Ridge View had to find new opponents after Blythewood’s game against Sumter was scratched and Ridge View learned it would no longer play Carolina Forest. RV found a replacement and will play Dorman on Sept. 24 in a matchup of top 10 teams in Class 5A. Blythewood still is looking for a new opponent.
COVID caused problems last year for teams, but the SCHSL voted to push back the season’s start to September. Many schools played just seven-game schedules, and playoffs were shortened.
This year the season was supposed to begin as normal with 10-game schedules, but SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton sent a memo to schools asking them and their respective regions to have a backup plan for determining playoff spots in the event of regular-season cancellations.
One of the suggestions the SCHSL made was to move region games earlier in the schedule, something only Class A lower state regions did.
The State talked to several coaches from around South Carolina and in the Midlands, and they weren’t in favor of that sort of schedule shift after meeting with other coaches in their regions. Their thinking was to wait and watch COVID trends before making any rash judgments.
Coaches from Region 6-5A thought differently and decided their way was the best to handle the issue, but their decision was met with some opposition.
“I know it is a tough situation with COVID but having to adjust is part of the plan. There are no two ways about it,” Wilson said. ”If we were given direction, there would be a lot less chaos than there is right now.
“We need to be uniformed in everything we do. Can’t have regions making their own decisions. … Some regions are doing this and some regions are not. It causes chaos. We need some direction and we need everybody on the same page. That isn’t happening right now.”
Top Midlands football matchups
A look at some of the games to keep an eye on for Week 0:
A.C. Flora at Brookland-Cayce (canceled now): A.C. Flora begins its 4A title defense on the road at B-C. The Falcons will be breaking in a new quarterback and other starters but are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A. B-C has a talented group on offense, which could make for an entertaining game to watch.
Dutch Fork at Wren: Five-time defending 5A champion Dutch Fork carries a 50-game unbeaten streak into the season opener. The Silver Foxes have a strong 1-2 punch on offense in WR Antonio Williams and RB Jarvis Green. Dutch Fork is breaking in a new quarterback, and Davin Paterson likely will get the start in the opener.
Gray Collegiate at Camden: Two of the top teams in their respective classes with Gray Collegiate No. 2 in Class 2A and Camden No. 2 in Class 3A. Camden is coming off a trip to the state championship last year but must replace several starters on offense. Gray Collegiate has do-everything running back KZ Adams, but the health of starting quarterback Tre Robinson (neck) is a big question.
Westwood at Ridge View: Ridge View’s new on-campus stadium opens, and its a debut for new Ridge View coach Derek Howard. The Blazers return an experienced team that is ranked in the top 10 in the Class 5A polls.
This week’s schedule, picks
Predictions and schedule for this week’s games involving Columbia-area teams
Thursday
Heathwood Hall at Spartanburg Christian
Lou Bezjak’s prediction: Heathwood Hall
Friday
CA Johnson at Wade Hampton
Bezjak’s prediction: Wade Hampton
Cardinal Newman at St. Joseph’s
Bezjak’s prediction: St. Joseph’s
Chapin at Airport
Bezjak’s prediction: Chapin
Columbia at Lewisville
Bezjak’s prediction: Lewisville
Dutch Fork at Wren
Bezjak’s prediction: Dutch Fork
Gray Collegiate at Camden
Bezjak’s prediction: Camden
Lee Central at North Central
Bezjak’s prediction: Lee Central
Lower Richland at Aiken
Bezjak’s prediction: Lower Richland
Richland Northeast at Darlington
Bezjak’s prediction: Richland Northeast
River Bluff at Lugoff-Elgin
Bezjak’s prediction: River Bluff
Saluda at Strom Thurmond
Bezjak’s prediction: Strom Thurmond
Wagener-Saley at Pelion
Bezjak’s prediction: Pelion
West Florence at Lexington
Bezjak’s prediction: Lexington
Westwood at Ridge View
Bezjak’s prediction: Ridge View
White Knoll at Spring Valley
Bezjak’s prediction: Spring Valley
Saturday
Fox Creek at Ben Lippen
Bezjak: Fox Creek
Mid-Carolina at Newberry
Bezjak’s prediction: Newberry
Monday
Fairfield Central at Blythewood
Bezjak’s prediction: Blythewood
Games canceled: Airport at Swansea; Crestwood at Airport; CA Johnson at Denmark-Olar; Chapin at Irmo; Chapin at Keenan; Columbia at Chesterfield; Fox Creek at Dreher; Timberland at Keenan; Orangeburg Prep at Ben Lippen; AC Flora at Brookland-Cayce
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
