Wilson living life on road

Most teams would rather play at home.

The Wilson Tigers, however, have road trips down to such a science, this week’s jaunt won’t seem like much.

Wilson travels to Crestwood on Friday for the Class 3A lower state championship game coming off three straight road playoff wins — all of which were played farther away from Florence than Sumter.

The Tigers (10-3) traveled for all four playoff games last season, giving them plenty of practice in road preparation.

“We try to get into a routine,” Wilson coach Darryl Page said. “Last few weeks, we’ve been in that routine. After Wednesday afternoon’s practice, we get in that mode to get everything ready to go.

“You try to have as set a schedule as possible. It’s worked out so far. This is the routine. This is what we do on Fridays now. It’s a big attitude with the team.”

The road certainly has been kind to the Tigers this year. They’re 6-1 away from Memorial Stadium and 7-1 in road games — the other “road” win came over West Florence at Memorial.

Of course, that road loss was to Crestwood, which beat Wilson 37-32 on Oct. 12 in a Region 5-3A game. It was the first of two straight region losses that relegated the Tigers to third place and forced them to the road for the playoffs.

But, as they proved last year with three straight victories on the way to lower state, the road doesn’t seem to bother them.

“We’re in here,” Page said. “We just want to get in the playoff mix. Once we get in, let’s just play ball.”

The Knights (11-2) have proven themselves with postseason road wins as well — at Airport two weeks ago and last week at lower state favorite Myrtle Beach.

Coach Keith Crowley, for one, is glad to be back home for one more game.

“If you’re gonna win (the state title), you’re gonna have to win on the road at the state championship,” he said. “We’re glad to not have to travel.”

It’s already been a benchmark season for Crestwood, which had never been beyond the third round of the playoffs before this year.

The Knights have won on the ground with an offense that features two 1,000-yard backs, another with more than 900 yards and two more with at least 600 yards.

Terrence Wilson leads the running game with 1,195 yards and 11 touchdowns, followed by Mike McMillan’s 1,028 yards and 17 scores. Tarik Hall has 906 yards and nine TDs, while quarterback Treginald Wilson has 727 yards and 13 TDs. Dion Franklin has chipped in 611 yards and nine scores.

While Crestwood’s Wilson has just 384 yards passing, four TDs and eight interceptions, Wilson High’s two-QB system has proven to be a valuable outlet.

Richard Cue holds the slight lead in stats with 883 yards on 52-of-113 passing with 11 TDs and four picks. The other half of the tandem, Maliek McCall, has gone 52 of 92 for 804 yards, seven TDs and five picks while rushing for 323 yards and three scores.

Anthony Green leads the running backs with 640 yards and seven TDs, while Antwan Brunson has 418 yards and six scores.

Wilson should have the chance to score against offensive-minded Crestwood, which allows 23.8 points per game. The Tigers, meanwhile, allow an average of 14.3 points per game — though the most they’ve given up is the 37 to the Knights.

“We’re looking for a war,” Crowley said. “We think it’s gonna be a war. We think it’s gonna come down to controlling the ball and not turning it over.”

The Tigers are simply trying to stick with their playoff routine — and not dwell on the prospect of their first state championship game berth.

“I try not to think about it,” Page said. “But we want to get an opportunity to play next week. To tell you anything different, I’d be lying to you.”