Friday’s 5: Region play, raising for a cause and razors under wraps

Not that the games didn’t count before, but they really do now.

This week marks the start of region play for the area’s High School League teams, with a handful drawing key games right out of the gate.

“We’re going to find out where we stand,” said Whale Branch coach Jerry Hatcher, whose team plays host to Woodland in a matchup of battle-tested Class 2A teams.

1. Rodney Summers is staying away from razors until May River wins.

Don’t read anything ominous into that, but the coach has vowed not to shave until the Sharks record that historic first varsity victory. “Or the end of the season,” he quickly added.

(C’mon now, admit it. An image of Summers sporting a ZZ Top beard ever-so-briefly flashed through your brain.)

The bewhiskered look started a couple of weeks ago, when Summers let it go for a weekend and decided not to go back. It’s a reversal of what he’s done in the past, sometimes letting it grow during a winning streak.

“You’ve got to have some fun with it,” he said, though his wife isn’t necessarily enjoying the new look.

She might have gotten in the best line, though. When Summers left a note a few days ago asking her to pick up some aftershave, “she hit me back with, ‘You think you’re going to win this week?’ Dot-dot-dot, happy face.”

It’s Bluffton Rematch week, so it’s a tall order. But if the Sharks can keep things closer than the 77-3 initial meeting, it’ll be tangible progress.

“One thing we’ve got to stop doing is turning the ball over,” Summers said. “If you go back to that (first) game, it was bam-bam-bam and they were 21 (points) up. We can’t allow that to happen. We’ve got to keep the score down low.”

2. Hilton Head Island coach B.J. Payne is keeping his quarterback situation close to the vest.

No surprise there, considering the Seahawks’ visit to Berkeley could go a long way to deciding a Class 4A playoff spot. Starter Collin Kaiser, who sat out last week with his right foot in a walking boot, got out of the boot Monday but still needed to show himself in practice.

“It’s just a matter of functionality,” Payne said. “If he’s good to go, then he’ll play. If there’s any wavering, he won’t. We’ll hold him. At the end of the day, it’s not just about one game.”

Bryce Singleton kept things humming against Ridgeland-Hardeeville, producing touchdowns rushing, passing and receiving in a 50-0 romp. “The fallback plan isn’t too bad,” Payne said.

The Seahawks prepared two offensive game plans for this week, Payne said, hinting that the decision could go down to Friday afternoon. “I don’t know even if our team will know,” he said.

3. Whale Branch survived its non-region slate with the big schools. Now if they can kick the stomach bug ...

Six Warriors, plus Hatcher, have been waylaid by the virus in the past week.

“I hope nobody comes in here (Friday) and says, ‘I don’t feel good, Coach,’ ” Hatcher said. “Literally I went home (Wednesday) and told my wife I’m going to bed. Didn’t eat a thing. I had no energy left.”

The Warriors went 2-3 through the schedule’s first half, including a comeback win over Battery Creek that signaled a prime debut for quarterback Daijion Galloway. Marion Smalls, who won the job in preseason, figures to miss the rest of the season with a broken wrist.

The Woodland tilt could play a big factor in deciding the Region 6-2A playoff race. Though Woodland is just 1-4, the Wolverines also faced a tough non-region schedule that included three higher-division teams and Bamberg-Ehrhardt, ranked No.2 in Class 2A.

4. It’s unlikely any Shrine Bowl coach can claim as many players this year as Union County assistant Michael Bailey.

Bailey coached Singleton and Tyler Hamilton during his time at Hilton Head Island, then went to Bluffton last year and worked with Cam Bent. Union County’s Shi Smith rounds out a nice quartet.

“I told him the other day, that says something about you,” Payne said. “He says, ‘Yeah, it means I got a lot of talent to coach.’ ”

5. Bluffton and May River aren’t the only ones raising money this week to help Eric Szczepanik.

Hilton Head Prep, where Szczepanik’s brother Steve is an assistant coach, held a student fundraiser earlier in the week that raised more than $1,800 over two days. Eric Szczepanik, born with Marfan Syndrome, is awaiting a heart transplant.

Prep students were encouraged to make a donation that would allow them to dress out of uniform for the day. The option was open to students in all grades — junior kindergarten through Upper School seniors.

Bobcats and Sharks, the bar has been set.

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Friday’s 5: Region play, raising for a cause and razors under wraps."