A pair of region champions took the field at Donald R. Poole Stadium on Friday when Lamar welcomed Allendale-Fairfax for the right to play in the Class A Division I lower state championship game.

Despite the rain Tuesday, Lamar High School had something to be happy about: breaking ground on a track.

Estill put up more of a fight than the final score would indicate, but the Lamar Silver Foxes (10-1) still rolled through the first round of the playoffs at home Friday night, winning 40-6 to set up a second round home contest versus Allendale-Fairfax. Allendale-Fairfax overwhelmed Baptist Hill (50-6) and will now face Lamar at 7:30 p.m. this Friday night in Lamar.

It wasn’t always a thing of beauty, but the Lamar Silver Foxes came away with what counted, a 28-6 Homecoming night victory, this Friday night in the region opener against C.E. Murray.

Friday night, Marion heads to Lamar with a pair of banged up running backs. Justin Gause and Brian Gillard have both been hampered in 2009. 

A pair of Pee Dee NFL players are battling injuries. Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who played at Wilson, is dealing with a high ankle sprain while Lamar’s Michael Hamlin, a safety for the Cowboys, broke his wrist and is expected to miss more than a month.

Throughout the second half, Cheraw’s defense and dropped balls accounted for Lamar quarterback Trevor Norris completing just one pass before the Silver Foxes’ final drive.

The last thing anyone expects at a Lamar-Cheraw game is an aerial showcase. But Friday’s Morning News Game of the Week might provide a little more fireworks than normal.

Three more Pee Dee athletes signed letters of intent to play college football.

By the time their respective seasons are over, Timmonsville and Lamar will know each other very well. In the second of four meetings between rivals separated by just six miles, Timmonsville turned relentless defense into transition offense as the Whirlwinds downed the Silver Foxes, 74-61.

The name Geathers is synonymous with the Carvers Bay football program, with several family members achieving high school, college and professional glory on the gridiron. And after Friday’s Class A Division I lower state championship, it might be time to add Clayton’s name to the list.

Despite a lot of new faces, including a new coach, the Lamar Silver Foxes and Carvers Bay Bears will find themselves in familiar territory this Friday —
playing for the Class A Division I lower state championship.

Marshall McFadden is back at home. After playing in the S.C. State secondary his first three years, McFadden is back at linebacker — the position for which he was recruited coming out of Lamar.

In the first half of Lamar’s homecoming game against Hannah-Pamplico on Friday, the Silver Foxes were a confident team, pounding the Raider defense en route to a 14-point halftime lead. The second half told a different story.

With three Class A state titles on his resumé, J.R. Boyd’s return to the sideline at Lamar undoubtedly changed expectations in the community and on the team.
A season-opening 42-0 loss to two-time defending Class 2A state champion Cheraw might have changed them back.