SC football state title venues set, three weeks from high school championship games
The venues have been announced for next month’s South Carolina high school football championships.
The championships will be held at Benedict College and Spring Valley High School on Dec. 4-5, the S.C. High School League confirmed Thursday. Spring Valley will host two games — one on each day — and Benedict will host a game Dec. 4 and two on Dec. 5.
There are five championship games, and it wasn’t immediately known Thursday which of those will be held at which venue. The SCHSL also didn’t release what the capacity would be for each venue.
All COVID-19 safety and sanitation protocols related to spectator attendance will be followed, the SCHSL said in a news release.
The football state championships are typically held at South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium for Class 3A, 4A and 5A, and Benedict College in Columbia for Class A and 2A. The state cheerleading finals are usually at USC’s Colonial Life Arena.
The Gamecocks’ venues are not an option this year. SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton said holding games at USC would be too costly.
A location for the competitive cheerleading championships hasn’t been finalized yet.
S.C. public schools are playing a shortened-regular season of season games with the playoffs beginning Friday. The playoffs were trimmed to four rounds with the top two teams qualifying for the playoffs in most classifications. Class A, 2A and 4A were able to have some at-large berths because of uneven amount of regions in their classes.
The S.C. Independent Schools Association, which leads the state’s private school athletics, will hold its football championships next weekend at Charleston Southern University with Class 3A on Nov. 20 and Class A and 2A on Nov. 21.
2020 S.C. football championship schedule
Which classifications play when and where are to be determined
Spring Valley High School
- 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4
- 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
Benedict College
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4
- 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec 5
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec 5
SCHSL football playoffs
First-round games begin Nov. 13
——Class 5A: Upper State——
Ridge View at TL Hanna
Byrnes at Gaffney
Boiling Springs at Dorman
Hillcrest at Northwestern
——Class 5A: Lower State——
Summerville at Dutch Fork
Carolina Forest at Goose Creek
Berkeley at Sumter
River Bluff at Fort Dorchester
——Class 4A: Upper State——
Irmo at Westside
Catawba Ridge at Greer (Saturday)
Greenwood at South Pointe
Travelers Rest at AC Flora
——Class 4A: Lower State——
West Florence at Beaufort
Myrtle Beach at South Aiken
James Island at North Myrtle Beach
May River at North Augusta
——Class 3A: Upper State——
Wren at Fairfield Central
Woodruff at Palmetto
Powdersville at Chapman
Chester at Daniel
——Class 3A: Lower State——
Aynor at Oceanside Collegiate
Brookland-Cayce at Camden
Lake City at Gilbert
Hanahan at Dillon (Saturday)
——Class 2A: Upper State——
Batesburg-Leesville at Abbeville
Newberry at Chesnee
St. Joseph’s at Gray Collegiate (At Midlands Sports Complex)
Christ Church at North Central
——Class 2A: Lower State——
Andrews at Cheraw
Phillip Simmons at Pelion
Barnwell at Woodland
Andrew Jackson at Marion
——Class A: Upper State——
CA Johnson at Southside Christian
Whitmire at Blackville-Hilda
Williston-Elko at Lamar
McCormick at Wagener-Salley
——Class A: Lower State——
Baptist Hill at Carvers Bay
Allendale Fairfax at Lake View
CE Murray at Bamberg-Ehrhardt
Johnsonville at Whale Branch
-----------------------
SCISA football playoffs
Second Round, Nov. 13
Class 3A
Ben Lippen at Laurence Manning
Augusta Christian at Hammond
Class 2A
Orangeburg Prep at Carolina Academy
Pee Dee Academy at Hilton Head Christian
Class A
St. John’s Christian at Lee Academy
Dillon Christian at Thomas Heyward
8-man
Andrew Jackson at Richard Winn
Laurens Academy at Holly Hill
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 2:10 PM with the headline "SC football state title venues set, three weeks from high school championship games."
