The Dillon Wildcats remained firmly at the top of the Class 2A rankings this week after their 36-7 performance against Darlington on Friday night.
Dillon will be traveling to face rival Marlboro County for this week. The series record since Marlboro County consolidated in 1988 has Dillon leading 10-9, but the Bulldogs have won the last two years and four of the past six years. Dillon’s last win was a 56-9 blowout at Dillon in 2011. Dillon was knocked out of the playoffs that year by Timberland.
This Friday will be Marlboro’s first home game of the season, and the Bulldogs are 1-3 heading into the game, while the Wildcats have won 13 straight and are 4-0 on the season.
Friday could also see Dillon quarterback Avery McCall pass the 1,000 yards passing mark for the third straight year. The junior is only 101 yards away from the milestone. It will also mark the first time McCall has faced the Bulldogs; he was not a starter in 2012 and was injured last year when Marlboro earned a 26-7 win over the Wildcats.
McCall is one of South Carolina’s best quarterback prospects with a completion percentage rate of 79 percent. He has yet to be intercepted this season and has thrown for 12 touchdowns.
Marlboro’s quarterback London Johnson and receiver Tabari Hines will be the biggest threat the Bulldogs will have to offer the Wildcats. Hines had a great week with a 163 yards of offense and two touchdowns in Marlboro’s loss to Conway, but Johnson has a 40 percent completion rate for 320 yards and three interceptions this season. Marlboro has also been plagued with injuries this season.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Marlboro.
The rest of the Class 2A rankings saw Timberland in second place, followed by Loris, Woodruff, Strom Thurmond, Fairfield Central, Newberry, Chesnee, Powdersville and Mid-Carolina.
In Class 3A, Darlington fell out of the top 10, with Myrtle Beach, Hartsville, Wren, Daniel, and A.C. Flora claiming the top five spots. York was ranked first in Class 4A.
In Class A, Lake View once again fell out of the top 10 after their 28-27 loss to Lamar. Lamar was ranked seventh with Christ Church in the top spot, followed by Allendale-Fairfax, Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Hemingway, and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler.
Lake View will be hosting Aynor this week at 7:30 p.m. in the only local home game. Aynor is 3-1 on the season.
Also in Class A football action, Latta will travel to go up against East Clarendon. The Vikings will be pursuing their first win of the season, while East Clarendon is 2-2 heading into the game.
In SCISA action, the Dillon Christian Warriors will be headed to Robert E. Lee Academy to face the Cavaliers.
The Warriors are 3-1 heading into the game after falling 26-20 to Williamsburg Academy last week. The Cavaliers are 3-2, including a 43-0 win over Christian Academy last Friday.