Red Foxes get second chance against Conway

Nearly every football team can recall a game or two that slipped away during a season.

But few teams get a shot at redemption in the same year.

The Hartsville Red Foxes are fortunate in that respect.

The Red Foxes, who blew an 18-point lead to Conway on Oct. 12 at Kelleytown Stadium, have a chance for redemption Friday in the Morning News Game of the Week.

Hartsville (8-3) will take on Conway (9-2) at “The Backyard” in the first round of the Class 4A Division II playoffs.

“I don’t know that anybody who draws Conway in the first round of the plays is jumping up and down,” Hartsville coach Jeff Calabrese said. “But they’re one of the teams that tripped us up this season, and now we get a second crack at them.

“That’s all you can ask. If they beat you twice, then it’s just not your year.”

The Red Foxes jumped to a 21-10 halftime lead in the first meeting and were ahead 28-10 early in the third quarter. Then the game, and Hartsville’s season, took a dramatic turn.

A 19-play drive by the Tigers, a failed fourth-down gamble by the Red Foxes and a 225-yard passing performance by Conway quarterback Dakota Derrick left Hartsville with a 36-28 defeat.

“It was a game of momentum, and we just captured the momentum at the right time,” Conway coach Chuck Jordan said. “I thought we played extremely well in the second half and made plays when needed to.”

The hangover appeared to carry over to the next week, when rival West Florence held the Red Foxes to three points, their lowest total of the season.

“I think everybody learns from their mistakes, and we’re no different,” Calabrese said. “We looked at some of the reasons why we hit that rough stretch and did our best to correct them.”

And Hartsville did, capping the season with a 40-28 win over region champ Sumter in the regular-season finale.

If knocking off the top team in 6-4A wasn’t enough of a confidence boost, the way the Red Foxes won was.

“As the game was progressing, I told one of my coaches that this game was playing out like the Conway game,” Calabrese said. “I wanted to see if we could weather this storm a little better than we did against Conway.

“For our kids to be in a similar situation and find a way to scratch and claw for a win, that was very big on a lot of levels for us.”

West Florence (7-4) at Berkeley (9-2)

West Florence is in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, and the Knights will have to pull off a major upset if they want to advance.

West’s staunch defense faces a challenge in the team’s Class 4A Division II opener at top-seeded Berkeley.

The Stags have averaged 36 points per game this season, while the Knights have allowed an average of less than 11 points per game.

Berkeley is allowing 13.5 points per game, while West is scoring an average of 19.

Wilson (8-3) at Timberland (9-2)

The Tigers and Wolves clash in a rematch of last year’s Class 3A lower state title game, which Timberland won 14-0.

Wilson beat Socastee 33-21 last week, while Timberland handled Midland Valley 35-20.

Wilson quarterbacks Richard Cue and Maliek McCall went a combined 10-for-13 for 160 yards and three touchdowns against Socastee. The duo has 1,339 passing yards and 16 TDs this season.

Wilson has allowed an average of 14.3 points this season, but will be challenged by a Timberland offense scoring an average of 41.4 points.

Strom Thurmond (7-4) at Marlboro County (9-2)

The Bulldogs pounded North Myrtle Beach 42-17 last week in a rematch of a regular-season game.

Marlboro has won eight straight games behind sophomore quarterback Elliot Alford, who has thrown for more than 1,700 yards and 19 touchdowns.

The Bulldogs are allowing 12 points per game this season and haven’t allowed more than 20 in any game.

The Rebels routed North Charleston 49-14 last week. Strom Thurmond has scored an average of 33 points per game, but the Rebels are 2-3 away from home and have averaged 23 points on the road.

Marion (7-4) at Manning (10-1)

The Swamp Foxes and Monarchs meet for the fourth time in the last two seasons. Manning won all three previous games, including last year’s second-round tilt at Fox Field.

Manning won this season’s Week 2 matchup 37-19.

Marion’s D.J. Gause accounted for 1,134 yards in the regular season — 412 rushing, 560 passing and 162 receiving.

The Monarchs have relied on dual-threat quarterback Chris Hammett. Hammett has thrown for more than 1,000 yards and rushed for more than 600. He also has accounted for 12 touchdowns.

The Monarchs are averaging 42 points per game while allowing 12.

Hanahan (9-2) at Dillon (9-1)

The Wildcats will face their toughest matchup since a Week 3 loss to Myrtle Beach.

Hanahan has lost just two games, one to 3A powerhouse Timberland by two points and one to 2A power Manning by nine points.

The Hawks are putting up an average of 45 points each week, while the Dillon defense has allowed more than seven points once this season (30 to Myrtle Beach).

The Wildcats have allowed an average of 2.7 points during their last seven games with four shutouts.

Edisto (5-6) at Cheraw (9-2)

The Cougars pulled off a 23-21 upset over Bishop England in the first round. Now they get to face the defending 2A state champs.

Edisto finished fourth in Region 5-2A and scored an average of 18 points per game while allowing 20.

With a 41-0 romp over Kingstree, the Braves recorded their third straight shutout and fourth of the season.

Cheraw, averaging 36 points per game, is on an eight-game winning streak.

Hemingway (9-2) at Lamar (9-2)

The Tigers and Silver Foxes meet in a game with two potent passing attacks led by two dual-threat quarterbacks.

Hemingway’s Denzel Wedgeworth has thrown for 1,462 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 791 yards and nine TDs.

Lamar’s Tyler Boyd has passed for 1,366 yards and 15 TDs and has rushed for 521 yards and 14 TDs.

Lamar has allowed more than 14 points in just one game this season (49 to Blythewood).

Scott’s Branch (10-1) at Carvers Bay (9-2)

The Bears are looking to reach the Class A Division I state championship for the second straight year after dropping from 2A.

They’ll have to go through Scott’s Branch, whose only loss this season came to top-ranked Lamar.

The Eagles have rushed for more than 2,000 yards but face a huge challenge in the Bears’ defense.

Carvers Bay has not allowed more than 17 points in a game this season, and the Bears are on a five-game shutout streak.

Williston-Elko (7-4) at Lake View (10-1)

The Blue Devils survived a tough region race with Bamberg-Ehrhardt and Allendale-Fairfax to go 7-4 and defeat Timmonsville last week.

Williston-Elko has relied on a solid defense that’s allowing less than 14 points per game.

A week after capturing the Region 8-A title, the Wild Gators celebrated with a 61-19 win over Denmark-Olar.

Jamaris Thompson, Luray Huggins and Quandon Christian have combined to rush for more than 2,000 yards and 28 TDs.