Hilton Head Christian, May River wrap up football region titles
Hilton Head Christian won the SCISA Region 1-2A title and moved a win away from an unbeaten regular season on Friday.
Jace Blackshear ran for two touchdowns and the Eagle defense also scored twice to defeat Beaufort Academy, 35-6. With the win, HHCA moves to 9-0 on the season and will host Hilton Head Prep next week to end the regular season.
Blackshear had TD runs of 32 and 12 yards. The first TD put HHCA up 7-0. BA answered with a long drive but was stopped inside the HHCA 5. But BA’s Jaxen Porter picked off Blackshear and returned it for a touchdown to cut the lead to 7-6. Porter had two interceptions in the game.
HHCA scored the first of its two defensive touchdowns to lead 15-6 at the half. Blacshear made it 21-6 with a 12-yard run in the third quarter.
The Eagles tackled on two more TDs in the second half, one on Riley Shinn’s 70-yard interception return and the other on Joseph Robinson’s TD run.
▪ May River 34, Colleton County 3: May River wrapped up the Region 7-4A championship in impressive fashion Friday night. Quarterback Garvin Douglas, who was named to the Touchstone Energy Bowl earlier in the week, ran for four touchdowns as the Sharks defeated Colleton County. Cam Scott added a TD run for May River, which faces Hilton Head Island in the regular-season finale next week.
▪ Beaufort 45, Bluffton 12: Quarterback Tyler Haley had another big night as the Eagles wrapped up the No. 2 spot in Region 7-4A. Haley was 14-of-20 passing for 327 yards and four total touchdowns. Zyrin Odom had four catches for 114 yards and three scores while McLeod Reichel had 130 yards receiving. Zion Smart and Caleb Ulmer also ran for TDs for Beaufort. Qion Rivers picked off a pass and Alvin Wilson had a sack, forced a fumble and tied for team high with six tackles.
▪ James Island 28, Hilton Head Island 7: The Seahawks’ hopes of a region title ended Friday at James Island. Hilton Head Island played the second half without Notre Dame commit Jaylen Sneed, who left the game with an injury and will be reexamined on Saturday according to coach BJ Payne.
▪ John Paul II 24, Hilton Head Prep 10: Quarterback Christian Tilton threw two TDs and ran for one in the Warriors’ victory. Jackson Ogden caught a TD pass and ran for one. Loncelle Daley rushed for 79 yards and a TD for the Dolphins. Trevor Weldon hit a 42-yard FG.
▪ Whale Branch 42, Allendale Fairfax 0: Joseph Hicks had five TD runs as the Warriors ended the regular-season with a win. Whale Branch will be the No. 2 seed from Region 7-A in the playoffs.
▪ Thomas Heyward 45, Bethesda 0: Tony O’Banner scored three touchdowns, including a kickoff return to start the game as the Rebels rolled to another win. O’Banner also picked off a pass on defense. Brandon Howard returned an interception for a score while Tyshon Mansell threw a TD pass and Nicolas Robinson added a TD run for the Rebels. THA ends the regular-season next week against Greenwood Christian.