The high school football postseason is here and 11 local teams will be in action this week looking to advance to the next round. 

Last week two Lexington County teams won their region championships and earned the top seed in their classification’s tournament. 

Batesburg-Leesville won its region for the first time since 2014 after defeating Strom Thurmond in a low-scoring contest. The Panthers scored their only points with just over three minutes left on the clock on an Amadre Wooden run.

 Instead of attempting a game-tying PAT, the team attempted a two-point conversion. Wooden was given the ball again and he punched it in to put the Panthers up 8-7.

Strom Thurmond had the chance for a walk-off win but missed a field goal, giving the Panthers the region championship and an undefeated regular season. 

In 5A Region 4, Dutch Fork and Irmo met to decide the region champion. The two cross-town rivals played in a close match, and the Silver Foxes escaped with a 24-14 win. 

Irmo was held scoreless in the second half as Dutch Fork’s defense shut down the Yellow Jackets' explosive offense. 

Dutch Fork and Irmo were both named top seeds in the 5A playoffs and will have this week off. Dutch Fork will have home-field advantage through the 5A Division I upper state bracket, and Irmo will be at home throughout the 5A Division II lower state. 

The four other teams in 5A Region 4 will begin their playoff journeys this week. Chapin, White Knoll and River Bluff all earned home-field advantage. Lexington will play on the road.

The Gators finished third place in the region after going winless and finishing last in 2023. River Bluff will play Mauldin this week, and should they win, travel to Rock Hill next week. There is also the potential for a rematch with Dutch Fork if both teams make it to the third round. 

After finishing first in the region last season and placing second in 5A, White Knoll struggled in region this year, finishing in a three-way tie for last at 1-4. The Timberwolves still have the potential to make a deep run and will host Lugoff-Elgin this week in the first round of the Division II lower state bracket. 

Chapin will host Goose Creek in the eight-nine matchup in the Division II lower state bracket. Should the Eagles win that game, they won’t have to travel far for the next as they would travel to Irmo for an inter-region playoff game. 

Lexington is the only team that will have to travel for its playoff game. The Wildcats will go to Byrnes looking to pull off an upset in the Division I upper state bracket. 

Three of the four Lexington County 4A teams qualified for the playoffs. The lone team that missed out is Gray Collegiate.

Despite winning six of its seven region games, the War Eagles were forced to forfeit all of their region games due to an ineligible player. This came after head coach De’Angelo Bryant was suspended for the rest of the season because of a recruiting violation. 

Airport, Brookland-Cayce and Gilbert will play this week. Gilbert is the lone team with home-field advantage this week. The Indians will host Lower Richland and look to move on to play the winner of Bishop England and South Aiken. 

Brookland-Cayce is a 13-seed in the 4A lower state. The Bearcats will play last year’s 4A state runner-up South Florence in the first round. 

Airport squeaked into the playoffs as the 15-seed in the lower state. The Eagles will look to upset region rival North Augusta in the first round. The two met earlier in region play, and North Augusta won that game 56-8. 

The county’s lone 3A team, Swansea, returns to the postseason after missing out the past few seasons. The Tigers had their best regular season in 10 years after finishing 7-4. The team tied for second in the region with a 202 record, but tiebreaker rules have them in fourth. The team will have to travel throughout the postseason and will start this week with a game at Waccamaw. 

Pelion joins Batesburg-Leesville in qualifying for the 2A tournament. The Panthers finished the year 2-8 and 1-4 in region. The team will travel to Clinton and play 2A Region 1’s first-place team. 

In SCISA, Northside Christian is looking to advance to the 3A championship round after winning its first-round match against First Baptist 53-28. The Crusaders will first have to get through Pinewood Prep this week. Should they win, the team will play the winner of Wilson Hall and Hilton Head Chrisitan. Northside’s lone loss this season came against region rival Wilson Hall. A rematch in the state title game is a good possibility. 

Last Week’s Big Performances

Amadre Wooden scored a touchdown and the go-ahead two-point conversion to give Batesburg-Leesville the region championship.

Anthony Turnbow had three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score for Chapin against White Knoll.

Sam Burks ran for three touchdowns and even threw for one in Northside’s round-one playoff win. 

Hayden Myers rushed for over 100 yards and had two touchdowns as River Bluff locked up third place in its region. 

Week 11 Area Scoreboard 

Chapin: 35, White Knoll: 34

River Bluff: 24, Lexington: 10

South Aiken: 40, Airport: 27

Gilbert: 52, Aiken: 7

North Augusta: 20, Gray Collegiate: 17

Saluda: 57, American Leadership: 0

Batesburg-Leesville: 8, Strom Thurmond: 7

Northside Christian: 53, First Baptist: 28

Playoff Games to Watch

Gilbert vs. Lower Richland

Lexington vs. Byrnes

Swansea at Waccamaw

Northside Christian vs Pinewood Prep