Underdog Brookland-Cayce looks to pull upset over Dillon

Brookland-Cayce coach Rusty Charpia has no problems being the underdog heading into Friday’s Class 3A Lower State championship against Dillon.

Dillon has been one of the marquee programs in the state since Jackie Hayes took over in 1992. The Wildcats have won 85 percent of their games since then and are playing in their 10th Lower State championship in a row.

“On paper, it probably doesn’t look good for us. They completed destroyed two teams that destroyed us during the season in Gilbert and Strom Thurmond,” Charpia said Wednesday at practice. “We got a challenge. Hopefully we can get to the second half unlike most of their opponents and don’t get blown out. Anything can happen. Look what Syracuse did to Clemson and supposedly Syracuse didn’t have a chance on paper.

“We are going to need some breaks. We are going to need Dillon to not have their best game and we are going to have the best game. If that happens maybe we are going to be hanging around in the fourth quarter.”

Dillon hasn’t been challenged much going into the final quarter this season. All of the Wildcats wins have been by 17 points or more and they have given up more than 20 points just once this season.

It is the second consecutive year the two teams are meeting in the state semifinals. Dillon won 34-21, last season at B-C, ending the Bearcats’ winningest season in school history.

B-C, which hasn’t won a state title since 1966, is looking to win at least 10 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.

Getting to this point was a challenge for the Bearcats, who had a two-game losing streak earlier in this season and then lost to Strom Thurmond, 14-13, in the regular-season finale.

But Brookland-Cayce regrouped in the playoffs and has won each of its playoff games by more than 10 points, including last week’s 28-12 victory at Timberland.

Quarterback Reed Charpia is healthy after dealing with a shoulder injury earlier in the year. The junior has thrown for 1,692 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Senior running back Rasheed Taylor leads the way on the ground and has gone for 1,538 yards and 27 scores.

“We got some good players and played well at times and lost some close games an overtime game to Lexington and didn’t play well at Gilbert,” Charpia said. “But the last couple weeks, we kind of righted the ship and got players back that were injured and were suspended. So, maybe we are peaking at the right time.”

This story was originally published November 23, 2017 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Underdog Brookland-Cayce looks to pull upset over Dillon."