Class A -- Championship Edition

A new champion to emerge
It seems like forever since a team besides Chesterfield would wear the Class A - Division I crown.
Abbeville and Bamberg-Ehrhardt will aim to do just that Friday afternoon, the two teams vying for the Class A- Division I title at Benedict College Stadium in Columbia.
The Red Raiders found their way to the championship game with a last second field goal off the leg of Randon Sandifer to defeat previously undefeated Hemingway in the Lower State title game. Meanwhile, the Panthers wound up as the last standing in a slugfest with Lamar in the Upper State title tilt, getting by their foes from the Pee Dee 20-12.
Both schools are trying to earn its first taste of gridiron glory in quite some time. Abbeville has not won a title since 1996, while B-E has not played for a state championship in 20 years.
The Panthers are about as smash mouth as it gets, featuring a power running game and a hard -hitting defense.
Leading the way for Abbeville is the two-headed rushing tandem of Ashton Heard and Quay Watt, which both have run for more than 1,000 yards this season and combined for 31 trips to the end zone.
Since a season opening 35-21 loss to Chester, the Panthers have not allowed more than 21 points in a game. His team being one of its victims, Blacksburg head coach Mickey Moss said that Abbeville is one of the hardest hitting teams he’s seen in quite a while.
B-E has had its share of close calls this season, beginning with an upset victory over Class AAAA rival Orangeburg-Wilkinson. Led by Demetrious Williams and Okeefe Jones -- the anchors of an attack averaging more than 356 yards on the ground and 33 points per contest-- a team has yet to defeat the Red Raiders on their way to Columbia.
Similar to Abbeville, B-E is also a well-rounded team, giving up just above 150 yards per game on defense. Three Red Raiders starters have over 100 tackles this season, including defensive lineman Randall Ransom, who has 120 tackles and 16 sacks.

Williston-Elko, Scott’s Branch meet in grudge match
Eight points were what delivered Scott’s Branch a Class A- Division II title in 2008, a 14-6 win over Williston-Elko.
The next year, that same deficit is what sunk the Eagles in their rematch with the Blue Devils, losing 34-26 in the state championship game at Benedict College.
It is becoming a quite common occurrence for these two programs to meet the day after Thanksgiving, each vying to add another trophy to its collection.
Few expected these squads not to get here; W-E one of the more dominant squads in any of the state’s four classifications, while Scott’s Branch was one of the Palmetto State’s most consistent.
The Eagles have thrown the ball all of 46 times this season, while scoring 67 touchdowns on the ground. Amassing many of the rushing scores is Traven Parker, who has run for 1,803 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Parker and his teammates better not fall too far behind the Blue Devils however, which have scored 682 points this season, most in the state.
W-E likes to air things out quite a bit more than the squad lining up across from them Friday afternoon, its aerial attack led by quarterback Tamyn Garrick. He has thrown for 2,502 yards and 31 scores this year while throwing only eight interceptions.
Equally dangerous is the Blue Devils’ supply of home run threats, which include 2,000-yard rusher Kendrick Salley and Dexter Staley, who has 962 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
In fact, last week Christ Church held W-E to its lowest points total since its season opening loss to Strom Thurmond, 7-0. During that 11-game stretch, the Blue Devils did not score less than 41 points in a contest.

Class A-Division I championship
Abbeville vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt, noon

Class A-Division II championship
Williston-Elko vs. Scott's Branch, 3:30 p.m.