Predicting the South Carolina 5-A Division 2 second round

See who High School on SI thinks will earn a spot in the second round

Fifth-seeded Hillcrest matches up against fourth-seeded Greenwood in one of the best games in the SCHSL 5-A Division 2 playoffs. / Hillcrest Football Instagram

The possibility of a Northwestern-Irmo matchup for the South Carolina High School Class AAAAA Division 2 state championship might be delicious to many football fans.

But they’ve got to get there first.

The second round of the state playoffs is Friday and upsets are always possible. Let’s look at the pairings.

Class AAAAA Upper State Division 2

No. 8 Indian Land (6-5) at No. 2 Northwestern (10-0)

Indian Land is coming off an impressive 34-7 thumping of Eastside in the first round as quarterback Matt Kucia threw for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Now the Warriors must play Northwestern – again. The first one was a 45-0 rout in favor of the Trojans. Northwestern quarterback Finley Polk is having a dynamic season and he has an excellent set of receivers.

WINNER: Northwestern

No. 5 Hillcrest (8-3) at No. 4 Greenwood (8-2)

Hillcrest drubbed Nation Ford 48-23 in the first round, which stopped a two-game skid. One of those losses was a 38-16 decision to Greenwood. The Rams were held to 5 yards rushing and committed 4 turnovers.

WINNER: Greenwood

No. 6 Catawba Ridge (8-3) at No. 3 T.L. Hanna (8-2)

Catawba Ridge held off Woodmont 38-35 in the first round. Quarterback C.J. Couch has thrown for 2,488 yards and 24 touchdowns. Wide receiver Braylen Burgis has 61 catches for 664 yards and 7 touchdowns.

T.L. Hanna was won six in a row, with none of those games being close.

WINNER: T.L. Hanna

No. 7 Riverside (6-4) at No. 2 Gaffney (8-1)

Riverside outscored Greenville 47-38 in the first round. Gaffney has Jamarcus Smith, one of the top playmakers in the state. Smith has caught 48 passes for 708 yards and ran 42 times for 372 yards. He has nine total touchdowns. Smith made history by having two 99-yard touchdowns in the same game. Quarterback Jayvon Gilmore is a Cincinnati commit.

WINNER: Gaffney

Class AAAAA Lower State Division 2

No. 8 Chapin (6-5) at No. 1 Irmo (9-1)

Irmo has some of the most explosive players in the state. Quarterback A.J. Brand, a Virginia Tech commit, has thrown for 2,047 yards and 21 touchdowns while running for 1,397 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has two superb receivers in senior four-star Donovan Murph (74 catches, 991 yards, 6 TDs) and sophomore Maleek Miller (44 catches, 764 yards, 6 TDs). Sophomore running back Amire White has 816 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Chapin edged Goose Creek 17-16 in the first round and quarterback Brady Albro is solid. 

These also played in the regular season and Irmo dominated, 55-21.

WINNER: Irmo

No. 5 North Myrtle Beach (5-6) at No. 4 West Florence (7-3)

North Myrtle Beach rolled past Lucy Beckham 42-28 in the first round. It was 42-7 until the Chiefs played reserves and JV call-ups in the fourth quarter. Landon Cloninger is solid at quarterback and Drew Prince runs well. The Chiefs have one of the biggest offensive lines in the state. 

West Florence overwhelmed Spring Valley 53-12 in the first round.

WINNER: West Florence

No. 6 Westwood (6-5) at No. 3 Berkeley (5-5)

Westwood overcame an early deficit and beat Socastee 34-14 in the first round. Berkeley got a first-round bye despite an upset loss to Cane Bay in the last week of the regular season.

Berkeley features sophomore dual threat Henry Rivers, who has accounted for more than 2,400 total yards and 23 touchdowns.

WINNER: Berkeley

No. 7 White Knoll (6-5) at No. 2 Myrtle Beach (6-4)

This may be the most intriguing matchup. White Knoll, a finalist last year, beat Lugoff-Elgin 41-18 in the first round. Quarterback Landon Sharpe is a talented, seasoned quarterback with college offers. Three of the Timberwolves’ losses have come to Dutch Fork, Irmo and Sumter.

John Simmons is a 6-foot-4 wide receiver who makes big plays for Myrtle Beach and Michael Cohen is a tough runner. Junior left-hander Tanner Gaddy stepped in for the injured Gibson Goodroe and has played well.

This one could go either way.

WINNER: Myrtle Beach