Playoff slots come into focus as football season enters final 2 weeks

Before Hurricane Matthew tore a chunk out of the Lowcountry’s high school sports schedules, Friday was to be opening night for the football playoffs.

Friday now marks the first of two makeup weeks, though playoffs remain very much on the minds of area coaches and players — even at May River.

Yes, May River.

In fact, the Sharks (1-8) have a chance to nail down third place in Region 8-3A if they can play spoiler to Ridgeland-Hardeeville’s delayed homecoming.

“Can you believe that?” May River coach Rodney Summers said. “That’s what I told our guys the other day — you have a chance to control your fate this week. You pull it out, and you’re definitely third because you beat Battery Creek and Ridgeland.”

OK, it isn’t exactly the AFC West, but it would give the Sharks two wins in their final three regular-season games. No matter the playoff outcome — unbeaten Gilbert and 7-1 Brookland-Cayce are the possible foes — a building block is a building block.

“That would be a small feat for us this first year. Gosh, I’m not complaining,” said Summers, who built Westwood from scratch before agreeing to go through it all again with the Sharks.

Westwood also notched just one win in its first year, and didn’t reach the playoffs until Year 2. So in that sense, the young Sharks already are slightly ahead of that pace.

“I’m excited for our kids to have that opportunity,” Summers said. “So many of these guys are freshmen; the experience alone would just be great.”

The area’s Class 4A and 2A programs also have their eyes on playoff positioning this week and next. The breakdown by region:

Class 4A

Beaufort’s victory over Hilton Head last week put the Eagles (6-2) in the hunt for the Region 8 title, but they need to keep the momentum with a win over Colleton County. That would set up a showdown at Berkeley next week for the No. 1 playoff seed.

Berkeley sits atop the standings following wins over Hilton Head and Cane Bay, but Beaufort could leapfrog them by winning out. The Eagles currently have the advantage in the event of a three-way tie with Cane Bay and Berkeley.

Hilton Head (5-3), sitting fourth, could grab a share of third by knocking off Cane Bay this week. That also would give them a tiebreaker edge over the Cobras.

Class 3A

Unbeaten Bluffton (8-0) may be ranked No. 2 in the state but still needs to win next week’s showdown at Wade Hampton to finish atop Region 8. The Red Devils (7-2) are no less unbeaten in region play and could easily play spoiler for the Bobcats.

“We’ve got to take care of business,” Bluffton coach Ken Cribb said. “Don’t think Battery Creek (this week) and Wade Hampton aren’t trying to motivate their kids. They’ve got the same goals as us.”

As mentioned above, May River could lock up third with a win on Friday. If not, they’ll have to wait on the Battery Creek-RHHS finale next week for all three to learn their playoff fate. Either way, the Dolphins (1-7) and Jaguars (2-6) will have at least one playoff spot in play next week.

Class 2A

Whale Branch (4-4) has won two straight and has eyes firmly set on second place in Region 6 behind Woodland, which already has won the head-to-head showdown. A win Friday at North Charleston sets up a showdown next week against Academic Magnet for the No. 2 spot and a home playoff opener.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 6:59 PM with the headline "Playoff slots come into focus as football season enters final 2 weeks."