Lexington wins OT thriller. Columbia, White Knoll clinch football playoff berths
After going winless a season ago, Lexington football will be hosting a playoff game this year.
Keshawn Gladden scored on a 2-yard run on Lexington’s second play of overtime to help the Wildcats edge Chapin, 23-17, on Friday night.
With the win, Lexington finishes second in Region 5-5A and it hosts Conway next week. Chapin will open the playoffs on the road at Carolina Forest.
“Last year was rough on everybody with COVID and then not winning a game,” Lexington coach Perry Woolbright said. “Our kids fought all year last year but never could come out on top. ... But our kids just fight and scrap. We don’t make things look pretty but they get after it. Our kids messed up first play of the game and a lot of teams would layed down. But our kids keep fighting and play the next play and good things happen for them.”
Four of Lexington’s seven wins this season are by six points or less.
Lexington took a 17-9 lead in the third quarter on quarterback Taiden Mines’ 1-yard run. Mines also had a TD pass to Jerrod Mewborn, who made an acrobatic catch with a Chapin defender on him.
The score stayed 17-9 until Chapin’s Bennett Galloway scored on a 3-yard run on a fourth-and-goal. Jayden Bradford hit Yates Bland on the two-point conversion to tie the score at 17 with 5:10 left.
Chapin had the first possession in overtime, but Chris Frye picked off Bradford on the Eagles’ first play.
Gladden finished with a season-high 138 yards rushing and Tyler Walker added 83.
Galloway caught four passes for 107 yards, including a 70-yarder from receiver Zavier Short on the game’s first play to put Chapin up 7-0. The N.C. State commit was held to just 40 yards rushing.
Gray Collegiate 56, Newberry 29: Mr. Football finalist KZ Adams rushed for 316 yards and six touchdowns as the War Eagles won the Region 3-2A championship. Gray will host North Central in the first round next week. Adams finished the regular season just 52 yards shy of 2,000 yards rushing.
Brookland-Cayce 37, Orangeburg-Wilkinson 6: Jahmari Kennerly caught two touchdown passes and Deshawn Washington added a TD as the Bearcats won the Region 5-3A championship. B-C will have homefield throughout the playoffs as long as it keeps winning.
Columbia 26, Eau Claire 14: Running back Randall McDaniel rushed for three touchdowns as the Capitals clinched the final playoff spot from Region 3-2A. Columbia will open up the playoffs on the road at Chesterfield.
Gilbert 47, Swansea 0: Quarterback Chance Jennings threw for two touchdowns and Alias Graham-Woodberry ran for two TDs as the Indians earned the No. 2 spot from Region 5-3A and a home playoff game. Gilbert will host Loris in first round.
White Knoll 28, River Bluff 21: Running back Jaquez Frederick ran for two touchdowns and quarterback Landon Sharpe threw two as the Timberwolves won the winner-take all game for the final playoff spot in Region 5-5A. White Knoll will travel to Sumter in the first round next week. Frederick finished with 190 yards and two touchdowns while Sharpe was 7-of-14 for 146 yards. Hasan Lee caught two passes for 108 yards and two TDs. Cooper Johns rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
AC Flora 74, Dreher 0: Running back Markel Townsend rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons earned the top seed from Region 4-4A and will host a first-round playoff game next week. Chris Lofton added a kickoff return for a score, and Tyrell Green returned an interception for a TD.
Hammond 33, Heathwood Hall 0: Michigan commit CJ Stokes ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter, and the Skyhawks recorded their sixth shutout of the season to complete an undefeated regular season. Stokes finished with 150 yards rushing and went over 1,000 yards rushing for the third straight season. Quarterback Dylan Richardson had a TD run and threw a TD pass for the Skyhawks.
Ridge View 43, Blythewood 7: The Blazers outscored the Bengals 27-0 in the second half to defeat their rivals and earn the third seed from Region 4-5A. Quarterback Andre Washington threw TD passes to Zion Agnew and Tyree Byrd and the Blazers also blocked a punt for a touchdown in the win.
Westwood 22, Richland Northeast 6: The Redhawks wrapped up the No. 2 seed from Region 4-4A and will host Catawba Ridge in a first-round playoff game for the first time since 2014. It is the first time Westwood has won or shared a region title in football in school history. Running back Julian Milligan ran for two touchdowns and Cam Brown threw a TD pass.
Irmo 17, Lugoff-Elgin 10: The Yellow Jackets earned the No. 3 seed from Region 4-4A with the win and will travel to York next week. DeAree Rogers had 160 yards receiving and went over 1,000 for the season. He also returned a punt for a touchdown and also had an interception on defense.
Pelion 31, Edisto 28: The Panthers won their second straight game and will be the No. 3 seed from Region 5-2A. Quarterback Payton Whitten ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score late in the fourth quater. He also threw a TD pass to Jacob Osmanski, who also returned an interception for a touchdown. The Panthers blocked a potential game-tying field goal to preserve the win.
Richard Winn 34 Wardlaw 6: Quarterback Landon Caulder threw two touchdown passes and ran for two as the Eagles completed an unbeaten regular season and will open up the SCISA 8-man playoffs at home next week.
CA Johnson 38, McBee 18: The Green Hornets earned the No. 2 seed from Region 2-2A and first-round home game with the win over McBee. Quarterback Isom Harris threw three touchdown passes, one to Dawan Rice who also rushed for two touchdowns.
Trinity Collegiate 35, Cardinal Newman 26: Duncan Skehan threw two touchdown passes to John Heimes in the loss for Cardinal Newman. The second TD pass got Cardinal Newman within 27-26 with 5:24 left. But the Titans added on a late touchdown for the win. Laithe Dutton returned a fumble for a TD and AJ Reyes had a kickoff return for touchdown for Cardinal Newman.
Augusta Christian 56, Ben Lippen 40: Dobson Ricks threw for touchdowns and Evan Warner and Josh Plush each had more than 100 yards receiving for Ben Lippen. Ricks was 27-of-49 for 331 yards. Plush had seven catches for 121 yards and a TD and Werner had 11 catches for 107 yards. Bryce Craft also had two TD runs.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 11:56 PM.
