Congratulations to the Boiling Springs Bulldogs and the Chapman Panthers on winning the 5A and 3A Upper State Titles. Both teams will now represent Spartanburg County in Columbia and play for State Titles.
Chapman has played for a state title before. Back in 2007 the Panthers under head coach Kevin Farmer went to the 2A State Championship Game were they lost to Cheraw. Boiling Springs on the other hand has never played for a State Championship. So this isn’t real familiar territory for either team.
5A
Boiling Springs Bull Dogs vs Dutch Fork Silver Foxes-
Boiling Springs has one of the fastest, most athletic teams I have seen all year. They have a very talented and deep offensive line that has helped protect their very good Quarterback Mason Streater, and allowed him to make plays with his arm and his legs, all year. The thing that really worries me in this game is the Bulldogs defensive front. While their defense is very athletic and extremely fast, they are not very big. That could cause some big problems against Dutch Fork. Dutch Fork is very good at being physical and running the ball between the tackles. The Silver Foxes have not one but two one thousand yard rushers on the season. One of them is their Quarterback who has also thrown for over two thousand yards. I believe for Boiling Springs to win this game they will have to keep the QB contained and try to stop him from making plays when pass plays break down. They have been able to do that this year with a QB who is similar. Boiling Springs will also have to score some points. Scoring 7 in regulation like last week won’t get it done.
Pick-Dutch Fork
3A
Chapman Panthers vs Dillon Wildcats
Dillon has been one of the premiere programs in the State of South Carolina for quite a while now. Coach Jackie Hayes has built a great program at Dillon and they seem to be in the conversation for the state title every year. Entering this season Dillon had a 37 game win streak, which was snapped in week one by Mallard Creek. Mallard Creek, by the way was the number 13 team in the nation at the time and they beat Dillon 7-3. Dillon has since rattled off 13 straight wins in route to the lower state title. This team can run multiple offenses and have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the football. On defense they will have to respect the passing ability of Colton Bailey, which should open up some running lanes for DJ Twitty. Twitty and the running game could be the Panthers best weapon in this game keeping the prolific offense of Dillon off the field.
Pick-Chapman (in a shootout)
