Midlands’ title hopes rest on two remaining teams

And then there were two.

In just two short weeks, the Midlands has seen their contribution to the playoff matchups dwindle down to just two teams – Lexington and Newberry. The Wildcats will travel to Spartanburg on Friday to take on the defending Class 4A, Division II champion Vikings and Newberry will face defending Class 2A champion Dillon in a rematch of last year’s title game.

Here are the keys to those two games:

LEXINGTON AT SPARTANBURG – This Lexington Wildcat team is strong on defense when they don’t give up big plays. They will get a heavy dose of running and passing against the Vikings.

They will need to keep Spartanburg QB Austin Scott on the move while not allowing him to hurt them with his legs. Containing the all-state running back, Tavien Feaster from big plays is key. Offensively, the Wildcats need to give a heavy dose of the ground game and stretch the field to keep the line backers off of the line.

KEY PLAYERS: RB Slade Carroll on offense and LB Trey Mitchell on defense.

NEWBERRY AT DILLON – The Bulldogs of Newberry had played strong throughout the playoffs and got a solid win over Fairfield-Central on Friday. The Bulldogs must be successful on first down plays to prevent 2nd and 3rd and long against this Nasty Cat defense.

And when on defense, pressure on the quarterback quickly because if they allow him to sit in the pocket, Avery McCall will pick apart the Bulldog secondary.

KEY PLAYERS: QB Yafari Werts on offense and DE JaCeree Caldwell on defense.