Photos: Brookland-Cayce, Gray Collegiate march on, Gilbert falls

Brookland-Cayce and Gray Collegiate advanced to the state football semifinals with wins over Crestwood and Strom Thurmond Nov. 17, while Gilbert fell to Camden in a heartbreaking loss. 

The Bearcats and War Eagles join Dutch Fork, Irmo and White Knoll as Lexington County representatives in the Upper and Lower state championships. 

The Bearcats dominated Crestwood, winning 53-27 at home to advance to the 3A Lower State final. 

Quarterback Will Young rushed for five touchdowns and 315 yards to elevate his team over the Knights. Brookland-Cayce continued its explosive play and won its ninth game in a row. 

Brookland-Cayce led for most of the game and jumped to an 18- 7 halftime lead. But on the second-half kick-off, Crestwood returned the ball to the endzone and cut the lead to four. 

That was as close as the game would get, as the Bearcats outscored Crestwood 35-13 the rest of the way. 

Brookland-Cayce moves on to its first state semifinal game since 2017. The team will host Camden for a shot at advancing to the state title game. 

Gray Collegiate defeated Strom Thurmond after the late-game heroics of Blake Croft, who returned an interception for a touchdown with less than a minute left to give Gray a 35-25 lead.

The War Eagles led 28-25 with their backs against the wall before Croft intercepted the pass. Strom Thurmond responded and marched down the field to kick a field goal with 11 seconds left. Gray recovered the onside kick to seal the win. 

Running back B.J. Montgomery ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns in the game, carrying most of the offensive load. He took 22 handoffs and averaged 8.7 yards per carry. Receiver Zai Offord added a touchdown reception from quarterback Tyler Waller. 

The defense made plays behind the line of scrimmage, recording four tackles for loss, The team sacked the opposing quarterback once but forced nine hurries, including five from Zeb Taylor. 

Gray moves on to the 2A Upper State title game to face defending 2A state champ Abbeville at home. 

Gilbert’s season ended after suffering a 35-28 loss to Camden in the 3A playoffs. 

The Indians scored on their first two drives to jump out to a 14-0 first quarter lead but let the Bulldogs dig their way out of the hole. Camden went on to score the game’s final 14 points to win by a touchdown and send Gilbert home in the third round. 

The Bulldogs tied the game at 14 before the halftime break, but Gilbert rebuilt a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter. Camden scored a touchdown early in the fourth to tie the game, and a few drives later, Bulldog quarterback Grayson White marched the team down the field and kept it himself to score the go-ahead touchdown.

The Indians had a pair of opportunities to tie the game before it ended but failed to do so. Gilbert got the ball in Camden territory, but quarterback Drake Braddock threw a pick to end the drive. 

The next drive was the last of the game. Gilbert made it into Camden territory, but with one second left on the clock, it came down to the two quarterbacks as White sacked Braddock and sent his team to the Lower State final. 

Gilbert ends its season 11-2. Camden will face the only other team to beat the Indians this season when it travels to Brookland-Cayce.