Rematches on tap for Midlands teams this week in playoffs

Fairfield Central coach Demetrius Davis knew he hadn’t seen the last of Phil Strickland and Newberry when the two shook hands following the Griffins’ 29-27 win Oct. 9.

“When that game was over, I told him, ‘We’ll see you in a month.’ We knew it was coming,” Davis said.

The teams meet again Friday with a trip to the Class 2A, Division I championship on the line. It’s the fourth straight year the teams have met in the playoffs, with three of them coming in the Upper State title game.

The Griffins have won four of their last five against the Bulldogs.

Fairfield and Newberry is one of three rematches involving Midlands teams in the playoffs this week. Lexington hosts Blythewood in the second round of the Class 4A, Division II playoffs, while Dutch Fork hosts Dorman in the second round in Class 4A, Division I.

Lexington used a 21-play, 93-yard drive in the fourth quarter to defeat Blythewood 21-20 on Sept. 4. The Wildcats hold a 5-2 all-time advantage against the Bengals, but four of the seven meetings have been decided by four points or less.

“It’s going to be a tough football game,” Lexington coach Josh Stepp said following his team’s 45-14 win over Fort Mill on Friday. “Every time we play those guys it is a close game, and it goes down to the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. We expect it to be the same way next week. They got a good ballclub and tremendous athletes.”

The Silver Foxes face Dorman for the fourth time in the past two years. Dutch Fork defeated the Cavaliers 38-35 on Sept. 18. If Dutch Fork wins, it would be the sixth straight season with at least 10 victories. Prior to 2010, the Silver Foxes had only two 10-win seasons in school history.

Back on track

Westwood snapped its two-game losing streak with Friday’s 34-13 win over Conway in the first round of the Class 4A, Division II playoffs.

Led by Rudy Mitchell’s 260 yards, the Redhawks amassed 400 yards rushing in the victory. Senior Andrew Plante also ran for three touchdowns in the game.

Defensively, Westwood held the Tigers to a season low in points.

Bailey’s monster season continues

Chapin quarterback Logan Bailey added to his historical season in the second round of the 3A playoffs against Wren.

Bailey had 401 total yards and six touchdowns in the 42-30 victory over the Hurricanes.

The senior now has 64 touchdowns on the season and went over 1,000 yards rushing on Friday. According to the South Carolina High School web site, Bailey’s 64 touchdowns are second most in a single season behind former Byrnes quarterback Shuler Bentley’s 71 in 2013.

Bailey also needs just 252 yards to go over 3,000 yards passing for the season.

More milestones

Lexington running back Slade Carroll went over 4,000 rushing yards in his career following his 176 yards against Fort Mill.

Newberry quarterback and Georgia Southern commit Yafari Werts went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season and 3,000 in his career after going for 242 yards against Strom Thurmond. Werts’ teammate, Amir Abrams, also went over 1,000 on the season following his 207 yards against the Rebels.

Taneyhill returns to the Midlands

Former South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill will be back in the Midlands when he leads his Union County squad against Chapin in the third round of the Class 3A Upper State playoffs.

Union County knocked off unbeaten Greer 39-22 behind De’Arrius Smith’s 412 total yards and four touchdowns.

Taneyhill is in his fourth season at Union and led the Yellow Jackets to a state title appearance in 2012. Prior to coming to Union, he lead Chesterfield to three state titles from 2005-11.

SCHSL Playoffs

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 11:57 PM.